PETER & BETH POWNING TO RECEIVE HONORARY DOCTOR OF LETTERS DEGREES AT FALL CONVOCATION
The husband and wife artistic team, Peter and Beth Powning will receive honorary degrees together from UNBSJ at its fall convocation. Highly creative and incredibly hard working, the Pownings have contributed much to our community since their arrival in the early 1970s.
Peter Powning’s career as a visual artist has been remarkable, from his early ceramic work to his large scale multi-media sculptures which are in demand across North America. His most recent installation locally is Shards of Time which sits on Saint John’s Harbour Passage. He has received numerous awards for his work including a Strathbutler Award for Excellence in the Arts, a Deichmann Award for Excellence in Craft and the 2006 Saidye Bronfman Award.
Beth Powning has excelled in the field of visual art through her photography, but is perhaps best known for her writing. The author of several acclaimed works, she has been both long-listed and short-listed for various prestigious literary awards. She received the 2010 Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for High Achievement in English Language Literary Arts.
DEANNA MUSGRAVE SELECTED TO CREATE MURAL FOR UNBSJ
Deanna Musgrave has been selected to create a large mural for the Hans Klohn Building at UNB Saint John. Musgrave was chosen by the jury from a field of five artists considered for this exciting project.
The artist has explained her work as “confluent organisms”, cloud-like images that pull together references from the history of visual art. Musgrave says the piece will be quite large, consisting of eight panels, the full work measuring 120″ x 672″. She says that the large cloud imagery will reference the evolution of thought, consciosness and the storage of knowledge.
She feels the piece will fit well with the architecture of the building, with its airy openness, large windows and access to sky. The installation of the mural is planned for April 2015.
The gallery wishes to congratulate Peter and Beth Powning and Deanna Musgrave.