On today’s CHMA local news:
- Talking about mandatory masks in New Brunswick;
- Mount A’s fine arts department figures out how to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions;
- Another heat warning for southern New Brunswick;
- Talking with musician and Mount A grad David Dunham;
- and the Maritimes COVID update.
Five active cases left in the Maritimes
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI all continue to report no new cases of COVID-19.
There are three remaining active cases in New Brunswick, one in the South East zone and two in the central zone.
There are two active cases of COVID-19 in PEI, and none in Nova Scotia.
Mandatory masks: will New Brunswick join Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia has announced that wearing a mask indoors will become mandatory in the province on July 31st, this coming Friday.
The news has sparked the debate in New Brunswick about whether mask policies are adequate.
Currently the rule in New Brunswick is that masks are required indoors whenever social distancing is not possible.
On Monday, Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell told the CBC that New Brunswick rules require people to carry masks with them. She also said fully mandatory masks are “not off the table.”
New Brunswick has been encouraging community face masks since at least early May. On June 5th, mandatory masks inside public buildings were announced, but the policy was quickly amended. A few days later, Premier Blaine Higgs explained the intention behind New Brunswick’s rule is that people carry a mask with them at all times.
Click to listen:
“So the idea here was basically, you know, we wanted people to always have a mask with them so that they wouldn’t find themselves in a situation where they suddenly couldn’t social distance, but they didn’t have the proper protection. So that was the goal of this, you know, and I’m hopeful that it’s all part of, of trying to start up in an incremental way that allows our society to function, and function as best as we can, in a new environment. But, you know, will it happen that that we could get to that mandatory requirement? I hope not.“
Russell told the CBC that ”if there were a surge in cases, or there were evidence of community transmission,” then New Brunswick could change the rules.
Last month Russell stressed that masks are only one tool in the public health toolbox when it comes to reducing the spread of coronavirus.
Click to listen:
“Every province knows that when you’re framing the risks around masks and the benefits around masks, it’s important to put it in the context of this is one piece of protection in a list of many pieces of protection that are in place, whether it be border limitations, whether it be travel restrictions, whether it be physical distancing…”
Mount A’s Fine Arts program figures out how to adapt to COVID restrictions
The fine arts department at Mount Allison is facing a unique set of challenges returning to class this fall.
Fine arts programming takes place in the Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts, which is full of specialized equipment and studios.
Department head Erik Edson says that programming had to come to nearly a complete halt in March when COVID-19 shut down Mount Allison.
Click to listen:
“Students were working on their final projects, or working on completing work through the semester. So the real disappointment was they didn’t have an opportunity in the studios to complete those things.“
Students gathered their projects if they were able, and left for the rest of the year.
Edson says that many end of the year events had to be cancelled until further notice, including the 2020 grad show at the Owens Art Gallery.
The department has had a busy summer figuring out how students can use equipment and receive instruction safely.
CHMA’s Meg Cunningham spoke with Erik Edson about the specifics of how the department will adapt.
Click to listen:
Meg Cunningham: How have you managed to prepare for online teaching in the fall? and how much of fine arts is going to be online since you’re in such a unique scenario where being in the same room as your students is kind of necessary, from what I understand, for certain aspects like your printmaking class or like intro to drawing, there’s a it’s very important to have your professor like literally standing behind you for a lot of it.
Erik Edson: For classes that have been determined to have on campus elements, which is most of the fine arts studio classes, we are likely going to be sectioning depending on the size of the class sectioning it. You mentioned the first year drawing, so a class like that will be broken into groups. And so only one group will be in the classroom at the time. We’re still determining how we will section those groups exactly, but it means that we hope to still have a fairly personal in person experience. But the timing and scheduling will limit the amount of time that people will have in the studios.
M: From what I understand it sounds like there’s like a rotating element like when you have certain kids in the classroom at once the other ones are not in the classroom and are they taking turns between? Okay, so let’s say Group A is in the classroom on Monday and the other two are at home doing this stuff on Moodle and they just rotate those things. That’s what I understand based on what you just said.
E: That’s correct, and I think the word rotation is a good way to put it. Some spaces are larger or give us more opportunity to work, and others don’t. And the medium, of course, does depend there’s certain health and safety concerns beyond any covid concerns that we have always had to deal with. So when you’re using spray paint, you have to be in the spray booth, or something like that. And so those things, those limited spaces require us to sort of figure out a scheduling or rotation that is plausible.
Fine Arts Department head Erik Edson says students in the Purdy Crawford will require a face covering or a mask.
Much of fine arts students’ work is completed outside of class time in shared studio spaces and on their own schedules.
Edson says that style of working, among many other aspects of the programming, will have to change this upcoming year.
Click to listen:
E: I think the thing that will change this year is that the opportunity for students to really sort of come to the spaces casually and work is going to be more limited. So, they will be, even in the non class times there will be scheduled times to use certain things and those things, those structures will have to be in place just for safety in regards to the virus.
M: There’s a difference between looking at somebody’s work standing in front of it and looking at a picture of somebody’s work, especially where phone cameras are likely going to be what’s used to document work from home in theory. Are you concerned about that at all from a teaching perspective?
E: We are and and I mean, and I think another component of that, too, is also the if we are meeting or looking at things on something like zoom, you know, or another platform is there, how much detail are we getting in are in what we’re reviewing. So, those are challenges that we’re trying to address. I think the other thing along with that is just the ability for people to because of limitations say what their phone or whatever we take a picture of, but also how far they can get back from it in their apartment or something, it may be very challenging. So those are things we’re trying to adapt to. I think one of the things we will do very early on for our classes is help them actually do a workshop on documentation and how to document your work, so that people feel a little more confident with that just as a practice. And then we’re also thinking about how we’re adapting projects and thinking about platforms that will allow us to sort of share that material if we are doing it exclusively or partially online.
M: A big part of fine arts education, at least at Mount Allison, is learning how to give and receive critique. And I could see why you would be concerned about having a spontaneous reaction to work, because that’s a big part of how you teach how to give critique, from what I understand. So is there still going to be an emphasis on learning how to give and participate in critique from a distance?
E: I think so. And that will be something that I mean, I think that’s a pedagogical challenge that we need to continue to address. Even in the case of some courses, like our third year sculpture course, is going to be completely online and structured that way. We will attempt to make sure that there’s still that kind of engagement, but it may happen on an online platform. It will be a challenge. But I don’t think it’s problematic in terms of… I think also the kind of dialogue and discussion you have through an online media doesn’t have to be second best. I think when people are engaged in the topic and really considering the work, and we’re finding a way to look at the work with the best reproduction or documentation possible, we can still have that real engagement and really learn the practices of critique and discussion and understanding how to look at your work and articulate those ideas.
Erik Edsen says the Fine Arts department is working on a “plan B” that is entirely online in case campus is required to shut down due to an outbreak.
Edson says the department is eager to eventually return to their previous tactile methods of teaching.
Click to listen:
We can learn from the experience, but I don’t get the feeling that anyone wants to have a wholesale change. And I think that the, you know, the, the physicality of what we’re doing in fine arts in terms of learning materials, and even the haptic skills that go along with that, in terms of how you physically make a sculpture are really important components of what we teach. We don’t want to lose that. But at the same time, I think there’s certain things we can take from this that will be advantageous in the long run.
That was Mount Allison Fine Arts department head Erik Edsen in conversation with CHMA’s Meg Cunningham.
Another heat warning for southern NB
New Brunswick public health has issued a level 1 heat warning for southern areas of the province, including Sackville and the southeast region.
A level 1 heat warning means vulnerable people may be affected, such as those with pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Environment Canada says temperatures will hit 27 to 29 degrees celsius.
Taking humidity into account, that will feel like 36 to 40 degrees for most people.
The agency is advising people to reduce their heat risk, and schedule outdoor activities for the coolest parts of the day.
Talking music creation with musician and Mount A grad David Dunham
CHMA Music Director Christina Acton is keeping tabs on new music coming out of Sackville and New Brunswick.
Most recently, she spoke with musician and Mount Allison music grad David Dunham:
Click to listen:
“Honestly, one of the biggest things I’ve taken from university, [was not] a singular thing. It’s the mindset of how to practice. Like, yeah I’ve learned a bunch of cool pieces and played very cool stuff and that’s all fine, but the biggest takeaway for me from university is that I know how to learn music better. So that’s definitely had an impact on writing and recording my album.”
You can find out more about David’s new album Red, and his post-university, pandemic-altered, music plans over at CHMAFM.com.
You can tune in to Attic Transmissions at 2pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for new music handpicked by CHMA music director Christina Acton.
CHMA Local News is hosted Mahalia Thompson-Onichino, and produced by Erica Butler, with contributions from Bruce Wark, Meg Cunningham, Aura-Lynn Groomes, and James Anderson.
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If you have questions or concerns about life in Sackville and the Tantramar area, get in touch with us at news@chmafm.com
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