Mount Allison University recently received a $5-million donation to its fine arts department by way of businessman Pierre Lassonde.<\/p>\n
CHMA and\u00a0Warktimes\u00a0<\/em>collaborated to discover how those millions will impact fine arts programming, and the controversial source of Lassonde\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n The fine arts program, which will hereon be named the Pierre Lassonde School for Fine Arts after its benefactor, will introduce a recurring artist-in-residence and internship opportunities for incoming students.<\/p>\n Erik Edson, head of the department, says that planning is already underway to use the funding for 2021-2022.<\/p>\n If all goes according to plan, the fine arts department will have an artist-in-residence by this time next year.<\/p>\n Mount Allison has had an artist-in-residence program in the past, where artists from all over stay and create work in the community.<\/p>\n The problem with their previous programming, says Edson, was they couldn\u2019t rely on consistent funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not wondering if it will happen the following year, we can have a real continuity and consistency,\u201d says Edson.<\/p>\n The interest generated from the $5-million donation will ensure continuous funding for future artists-in-residence.<\/p>\n The goal of the artist-in-residence program, says Edson, is to bring new perspectives into Mount Allison.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important where we are and for the size of our program,\u201d says Edson. \u201cIt will renew and bring new ideas every year. Over the course of a four year degree, students will have interacted with four different artists-in-residence. That\u2019s pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n The consistent funding, says Edson, will also benefit the contemporary art community as a whole.<\/p>\n \u201cThe program is something that artists will become aware of nationally and internationally. They can apply rather than looking through ads online.\u201d<\/p>\n Another new student-focused program coming soon is the implementation of internships with neighboring institutions.<\/p>\n Edson says the department is still working out which institutions will be involved, but anticipates the internships to be beneficial for students in a number of ways.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly museum and curatorial studies [students] would be able to go to another institution and engage as an intern at another museum, gallery, or art space in a meaningful way,\u201d says Edson.<\/p>\n Between the new scholarships, awards, and internships, Edson is hopeful that more students with financial barriers will be able to attend the University for fine arts.<\/p>\n The planning of these services are still in early days, but CHMA will check in with Edson periodically as details emerge.<\/p>\n Bruce Wark of\u00a0Warktimes\u00a0<\/em>spoke with Joan Kuyek, author of \u201cUnearthing Justices: How to Protect Your Community from the Mining Industry,\u201d to unearth the other side of Lassonde\u2019s philanthropy.<\/p>\n Kuyek suggests that the donation is good for Lassonde\u2019s public relations, since his name is now on Mount Allison\u2019s school of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n Tax deductible donations like Lassonde\u2019s can be used, says Kuyek, to veil the devastating environmental consequences of mining.<\/p>\n Lassonde\u2019s fortune comes from the gold mining industry, and he even has a place in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n He has ties to mines internationally, including ones in Mexico, Indonesia, Peru and Romania.<\/p>\n Wark also spoke with international politics professor at Mount Allison, David Thomas, who helped organize Kuyek\u2019s book promotion event on campus in 2019.<\/p>\n Thomas says that Lassonde\u2019s gift, and ties to environmentally destructive gold mining, speaks to his larger concern about big businesses\u2019 impact on universities.<\/p>\n He did not say that Mount Allison should have refused the gift, but does not think that Lassonde\u2019s name should be on a school.<\/p>\n Mount Allison\u2019s Vice President Gloria Jollymore did say that that university has guidelines when it comes to accepting donations to ensure no damage to their reputation.<\/p>\n While she is interested in a discussion about philanthropy in universities, she and Thomas disagree on the point of naming the School of Fine Arts after Lassonde.<\/p>\n Jollymore says that Lassonde\u2019s long history of supporting the arts warrants attaching his name to the donation.<\/p>\n Lassonde has gone on record in the past about the controversies surrounding gold mining, and says that environmentalists and other critics stir up opposition in developing countries where people don\u2019t really understand the positive aspects of mining.<\/p>\n Hear this story as reported:<\/p>\n\n