Join us on the Mainstage at the University of Lethbridge as Vibe Fest prepares to return to campus on Saturday, April 18.
Showcasing the top-level creative work of Faculty of Fine Arts students, alumni and employees, Vibe Fest promises audiences a vibrant, interactive celebration of artistic excellence.
Our classrooms and learning spaces transform into experiences that are open, inclusive and free to the public. From engaging performances to experimental installations, audiences are invited to explore the full spectrum of emerging art practices across disciplines.
New Media Advanced Studio Exhibition
During Vibe Fest, the University Theatre will be transformed into an interactive, multimedia exhibition with our New Media Advanced Studio students.
These senior-level students are showcasing projects that feature advanced research and design, as they create unique displays using familiar and innovate creative technologies.
Eight student works will be shown during Vibe Fest, with each project encompassing different forms of technology, topics and design.
Blake Bagu is creating a dictionary and etymology of design language — from colour and shape associations to capturing emotions.
"I'm putting into words things that you feel when you see something that you don't exactly acknowledge all the time. Why does this visual make me feel this way? Why does this shape seem harsh and this one soft? Why does this colour make me sad and this colour make me happy?"
He adds that Vibe Fest is a rare opportunity for New Media students to present their work to a large audience, and helps students feel more a part of the Fine Arts, as New Media students don't typically get traditional exhibition opportunities.
A couple of students, like Ava Daly and Kevyn Worbetz, are making games, as Ava builds a story that captures her learning, while Kevyn is utilizing local surroundings to make mythical creatures come to life.
Other students, like Harlee Grier and Logan Feit, are immersing audiences in scenes to evoke emotion. Harlee is working on a narrative art book while Logan is working on creating an alien scene through digital animation.
The excitement for Vibe Fest is echoed by many other students, including Holden Fafard. Holden is combining their interests in film and multimedia technologies to re-create their favourite movie posters in new and novel forms.
"I want to take the films I love and re-imagine them through new posters, combining photo, video and 3D modelling, to explore how visual storytelling and theme analysis come together to create a poster design that captures attention and invites people into the world of a film," Holden says.
Other students, like Megan Perry, are finishing their studies with an Honours Thesis, a significant academic accomplishment of an advanced research project.
Megan's thesis is a cherry blossom landscape that centres around traditional Japanese gardens, specifically the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden.
"Growing up, my grandma always took me to the Japanese gardens to ring the bell and spend time there. Now she's passed, so this will be kind of like a love letter to her and my past."
Megan adds that her project is hosted in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Audiences get to do a VR walkthrough when they first experience her project, then they can do a physical walkthrough of the cherry blossom groves in AR.
View these projects and more at Vibe Fest on Saturday, April 18. The New Media Advanced Studio Exhibition will be held in the University Theatre on the fifth floor of the University Centre for the Arts.