“We’re looking forward to an evening with this esteemed artist,” said Sara Vipond, NIC Artist Talk coordinator and fine art and design department chair. “His creative process is a reminder that art is about exploring new ideas and thinking about the world differently.”
Walde’s work suggests interconnections between landscape, identity and technology. His public art pieces raise awareness of the impact of human-caused climate change and rural land use.
In 2013, he completed Requiem for a Glacier, a live sound performance featuring a 55-piece orchestra atop the Farnham Glacier in the Kootenays. Requiem was later developed into a multi-channel sound and video installation featured in solo exhibitions at WKP Kennedy Gallery in North Bay, Ont., l’ Université Laval Art Gallery in Quebec City and various galleries throughout BC.
His recent exhibitions include: Au Loin Une Île at Mains d’Œuvres in Paris (2018); Records and Wireframes at Dundee Contemporary Arts as part of the NEoN Digital Arts Festival in Scotland (2017); and The View from Up Here at the Anchorage Museum, Alaska and the Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum in Tromsø, Norway (2016 and 2017).
Walde is an associate professor of visual art at UVic. He graduated with his BFA from the University of Western Ontario and earned MA from New York University. Prior to moving to Victoria, he completed several artist residencies and served as artistic director and visual arts curator of the London Ontario Live Arts Festival from 2007 to 2010.
The NIC Artist Talk series offers an engaging line-up of speakers that foster students and professional artists in the community.
Walde is the second artist in the winter, 2019 series which kicked off on Jan. 24 with Barb Hunt and will include appearances by Anne J. Steves (March 7) and Michael Yahgulanaas (March 29).
He speaks from 6 to 7 pm at the Stan Hagen Theatre at NIC’s Comox Valley campus. Admission is free and all are welcome.
The 2019 Artist Talk Series is possible thanks to community gifts and corporate sponsorship, including key support from lead sponsor RBC Dominion Securities. If you are interested in supporting future Artist Talk events, please call 250-334-5085 or visit https://foundation.nic.bc.ca/what-can-i-do/sponsorship.
For more information on NIC’s Artist Talk Series, visit www.nic.bc.ca/fine-art.
