Last REC 348 Class

On Monday, July 25th it was my last lecture for my REC 348 class with Professor Brayham. In our class my team presented our research project recommendations for the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. Tony Chau, Craig Dumart, and I came up with two long term plans to attract new populations to the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.

Our first idea was to implement an arts night which would occur bi-weekly with attractions that are appropriate for all demographic groups. For example, restaurant owners and musicians could promote both their food and music outside the gallery.

The second plan was to create a viral marketing campaign, which would feature pieces of clay that come together to construct vases. A piece of clay would be sent to local residents in the Waterloo Region by mail. Residents will be able to take their piece of clay they received from the mail and attempt to reconstruct a vase with their received piece. If the piece fits, the resident would receive the vase as a prize.

I really enjoyed working with my two group members and coming up with different ideas to attract people back to the gallery.

Summary: "Recontextualizing the experiences of the volunteer" Bryan Smale & Susan Arai

Summary

In the article we learn about the true meaning of volunteering inside a community. People are able to be part of a community where they are able to express, to understand, and to experience themselves. Many organizations and governments today require volunteers to help provide key services and support in the culture, recreation, and social services. In today's society, volunteers have to deal with policy and politics, social issues, and the structure of community and family.

The article also focuses on leisure and questions how volunteering can also be a form of leisure. The central question for volunteers is to attempt to understand their motivation and benefits of volunteering. The personal meaning and experience you gain from volunteering is what makes it important. In today's society the study of volunteers is a multidisciplinary study beyond sociology and psychology.



My Experience as a Volunteer

This term I am enrolled in REC 356: Rec & Community Development. During the first half of the term, each student had to volunteer at a certain location. I ended up volunteering for the City of Waterloo Recreational Department where I was a research assistant. I helped review Waterloo's Outdoor Sports Facility Strategy and also reviewed other cities strategies (Oakville and London). We made recommendations from our readings to our supervisor. However, there were weaknesses that I found when working as a research assistant. I found that there was too much research, reading and report writing and lack of actual hands on work. In the end, I had a great experience and gained a good understanding of the behind the scene work that goes into creating safe active and healthy communities.

Turkish Festival at Waterloo Square

So today I decided to head down to Waterloo Park Square to have lunch and there happened to be a Turkish Festival going on in the square.  Lots of booths were set up for both food and souvenirs. Bands and young folk dancers in their traditional dresses could be seen performing. I was able to try the shish kabob, which was chunks of chicken wrapped inside a pita with veggies. It atmosphere was quite interesting because it made me feel like I was in a Turkish market. The people were helpful in explaining what each type of food was from dessert to sandwiches.

I think the idea of having a Turkish festival is important to the Waterloo Region. What brings people together is that waterloo has a lot of cultural variety. It is important to help both students and the community smooth out their transition to the Waterloo community. Also, the people not familiar with the Turkish culture will become familiar with the culture. It would be a better idea to better promote these festivals since I had no idea it was going on. The two universities should have volunteers who promote these events within their school.

Canada Day - Toronto Ribfest Festival

Ribfest Crowd

This past Friday, I had the experience to enjoy my first ever Canada Day long weekend celebration at the 12th annual Ribfest festival held at Centennial Park. I had no idea of such a event until my friends brought me there. The event turned out to be free and there was at least thousands of people. Basically barbecue specialists from all over North America come and compete against each other for the best ribs. Other than food the festival also provided rides, carnival games, musical performances, and family entertainment. It was a nice sunny day on Friday, so I saw lots and lots of families have the time to hang out with each other. It made me miss my family because they are all the way across the world.

Different Rib Stands

I would highly recommend the Ribfest festival to anyone who not only enjoys food but wants to have a good time. The only issue I had with the festival was that it took way too long for my friends and I to get our foods. The wait was at least 20 minutes minimum for each stand. I was able to try the ribs from last year's champion, Camp 31. I am not a big ribs fan but I did enjoy the ribs with their signature special sauce which had a distinct barbecue and smokey flavor. Thankfully, this years Canada took place on a Friday, allowing families to have a extra day off to spend with their families. Festivals are important towards recreation and community development. It allows for people to get together and have fun.

In Class Lecture (June 27)

In today's class lecture, Professor Brayham went over the concept of programming


Programming
-Interface that exists between the institution and the public

Arts programming consists of personal and collection meanings. There are different types of activities that can be considered programming such as: readings, films, lectures, and school visits. Programming is a balancing act because you have to take the publics interest. The staff and board of directors decide on the programming.

Staff                                                   Board of Directors
-Curator                                             -Program Committee
-Artistic Director                                -Exhibition Commitee
-General Director
-Executive Director
-Education / Interpretation
-Marketing

There are different ways of measuring performance:

-Critical Reviews (people who write for papers that review programming, a good review helps ticket sales)
-Honours and Awards (quality of programming, its the people in the field who are handing out awards)
-Reputation of institution (you have star performers in the field)
-Attendance (you need an audience)
-Number of exhibition / performances (number doesn't always reflect quality but people look at what you do)

-Number of new productions / exhibitions (better measure than actual number, want to be innovative and having new artists and exhibitions)

-Funding (

Programming Planning Cycle
-Most new exhibitions are brought out in September. Not a lot of summer programs.
-Programming takes a lot of time
-Small organizations do their own programming to expensive to rent

The Clay and Glass Gallery Visit

Swounds Exhibition

On Monday, June 20 our class had the chance to visit the 'Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery'  in the City of Waterloo. We also had Christian Singer, who is the curator of gallery show us around and have him talk to us about the artists work.

We were introduced to Julie Oakes Swounds Exhibtion which featured over 100 glass sparrows being suspended from the Gallery's ceiling. There was another piece of art known as 'Noahs Ark' which consisted of 50 pairs of hand-painted clay feet. The 50 hand-painted clay feet are used to depict the various species that were taken onto Noahs Ark. According to our curator Christian, he explained to us that Julie's exhibition is based on life and death. Julie had 3 friends who passed away and she tries to explain how everyone is unique. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday a sparrow falls from the ceiling and shatters on the floor. Before each sparrow is shattered a song is played.

An ark and 50 pairs of hand-painted clay

The typical visitors to the gallery have been people from the region. When I saw the exhibition I was surprised because I suspected just pots and sculptures. Instead I was amazed by the detail of the glass design of the sparrows.

The current gallery space is architecturally sound. It is very important to know where to place each item, as well as color. I know that I have not been to many art galleries, but the Swounds Exhibition really amazed me because of all the thinking that went into the process of creating the gallery.





Below is a video of Julie Oakes Swounds Exhibition:
(video courtesy of Youtube)

(all images courtesy of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery)

Ice Hockey at CIF ARENA

This afternoon I decided to play some ice hockey for my third/fourth time in my life. My friend Craig invited seven of his friends to come play at the CIF arena. He rented out the ice for a hour so we ended up playing some 4 on 4 ice hockey. I am not a very good skater but I had help from 'Dan Kelly' who was a NHL player drafted from the New Jersey Devils. Since I have been living in Canada for more than half my life, I believe that it is essential to play hockey since it is Canada's national sport.