Sharon Carry
Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) bestowed its first Honorary Master of Fine Arts to Sharon Carry and graduated their first class of MFA students in Craft Media at its Convocation on Thursday, May 18 at at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. The institution also graduated students from the Bachelor of Design and Fine Arts programs at the annual ceremony.
Recently ending her two-decade tenure as President and CEO at Bow Valley College (BVC), Sharon has been a long-standing and tireless advocate of institutional collaborations across Alberta including theArtstream program between ACAD and Bow Valley College (BVC). While not a practicing artist or designer, Sharon is a creative problem solver and advocate of the arts and art and design education.
“I am humbled and delighted to be the first recipient of an Honorary Masters of Fine Arts from this esteemed institution,” said Sharon Carry. “I was proud to nurture theArtstream program during my time at BVC and see Artstream double in size since its inception. This partnership was also the catalyst for BVC to acquire 650 pieces of Canadian art for display; many created by ACAD graduates.”
“Sharon receives our first Honorary MFA due to her tireless efforts to advance education, the arts and helping Alberta’s vulnerable population,” said ACAD President + CEO Dr. Daniel Doz. “Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that she is a true team player who always understood the value of the collective good in today’s academic world.”
ACAD will also honour their indigenous graduates with eagle feathers presented by Elder Casey Eagle Speaker, a representative from ACAD’s Elder Council. “The eagle feather is gifted to honour the achievement of graduation,” said Elder Casey Eagle Speaker. “The feathers are symbolic and help guide ones’ journey and encourage success in the future.”
Special recognition will also go to three extraordinaryfaculty who are retiring and moving on to new adventures. Gord Ferguson, Katrina Chaytor and Dave Casey have served the college for a combined 80 years and will become Professors Emeritus of ACAD this year.
The 2017 Grad Show exhibition at ACAD opened following the convocation. The exhibition is an exciting chance to view the work of graduating students from ACAD’s Ceramics, Drawing, Fibre, Glass, Jewellery + Metals, Media Arts + Digital Technologies, Painting, Photography, Print Media, Sculpture, and Visual Communication Design programs. The exhibition runs from May 18 to the 27.
Source: Alberta College of Art + Design
