Grad Show Reception and Convocation take place on Thursday May 17th
May 16, 2012 (Calgary, Alberta) - The Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) is pleased to announce the 2012 Board of Governors’ Alumni Award of Excellence will be awarded to internationally renowned ceramic artist, Les Manning. Mr. Manning will be presented with the award at the 2012 ACAD Convocation ceremony on May 17th, 2012 at 1:00 PM in the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. This award is given annually to an alumnus or alumna of ACAD who has made a significant contribution to the arts community and has demonstrated excellence in their field of practice. This year’s Convocation Speaker will be local television personality, Dave Kelly, and renowned artist and ACAD alumnus Terrance Houle will also deliver remarks on behalf of ACAD alumni.
The Board of Governors of ACAD is especially pleased to recognize Mr. Manning with this award, and to honour the important contributions he has made to ACAD, and the wider arts community through his many remarkable accomplishments in more than four decades as an internationally recognized artist. Since graduating from ACAD in 1966, Manning went on to spend 25 years developing the Ceramics program at the Banff Centre for the Arts. More recently, his work as International Artist in Residence with the Medalta Potteries National Historic Site in Medicine Hat has garnered much attention and produced incredible work. The Les Manning Gallery was dedicated at the Shaw International Centre for Contemporary Ceramics, Medalta in 2009, and he has delivered more than 200 workshops and lectures in more than 46 countries.
“We are so very proud of Mr. Manning’s career and longstanding affiliation with ACAD. He has engaged the larger community both locally and internationally with his dedication and passion,” said Dr. Daniel Doz. “I am very pleased to join our Board of Governors in honouring him. And, I thank him for helping to define the ACAD experience, and for sharing that experience with an international community.”
Mr. Manning’s career as an artist, teacher, mentor, community builder, and international advocate for the arts has nurtured and touched a generation. According to ACAD Ceramics faculty member, Greg Payce (who recently mounted a solo exhibition at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto), Les Manning is “arguably the face of Canadian ceramics internationally.”
A Les Manning piece will be on display in the Main Mall as part of the Grad Show, which has its opening reception at 4:00 PM on Thursday, May 17th, immediately after the 2012 ACAD Convocation. The Grad Show continues through May 26th in the Main Mall of ACAD at 1407 – 14 Avenue NW.
Board of Governors Alumni Award of Excellence recipients for 2012 and 2011 will also be on display in the Alcove Gallery on First Balcony at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium from May 7th to June 15th, 2012. Works are on loan from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
About ACAD: The Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) is committed to an academic and studio-based education for students in fine art, design, craft and digital media. The result is a rigorous studio program, which produces critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, and artists with well-defined practices. ACAD is a leading centre for education and research, and a catalyst for creative inquiry and cultural development. We engage the world and create possibilities.
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For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Kim Alison Fraser
Director of Communications
V: 403-284-7656
C: 403-970-7382
E: kimalison.fraser@acad.ca