SGCI EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD:
WALTER JULE
Award Ceremony and Keynote Presentation:
Saturday, March 21, 2015, Knoxville Convention Center, Lecture Hall, 8:30-9:30am
Featured Exhibition:
"Ungraspable: Walter Jule, Printworks,"
Gallery 103B, UTK Art and Architecture Building, Reception, Friday March 20, 2015, 6:00-8:30pm
Walter Jule, Professor Emeritus from the University of Alberta has been selected to receive the 2015 SGC International Excellence in Teaching Award, which is presented to “an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to teaching printmaking and has demonstrated excellence in his or her own creative work.”
As one of Canada’s most important printmakers, Walter Jule’s work can be found in over 60 major public collections. Having taught at the University of Alberta beginning in 1970, his former students comprise a notable list of important artists making an impact on the practice and teaching of printmaking in both Canada and the United States. A partial list includes Liz Ingram, Professor, University of Alberta; Davida Kidd, Professor, University of Fraser Valley, Abbottsford, BC; Sean Caulfield, Centennial Professor, University of Alberta; David Armstrong: Associate Professor, York University Toronto; Mark Bovey, Associate Professor, NASCAD University; Nancy Fox, Sheridan College, Toronto; Tracy Templeton, Associate Professor, Indiana University; Koichi Yamamoto, Associate Professor, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Shannon Collis, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland; Michelle Murillo, Assistant Professor, California College of Arts; Erik Waterkotte, Assistant Professor, The University of North Carolina, Charlotte; and Jenn Bowes, Studio Program Coordinator, Northern Lights College, Dawson Creek, B.C. Several of these individuals, and others wrote letters in support of his nomination.
“Work and life seem almost inseparable for Walter Jule” notes Rebecca Beardmore from the Sydney College of the Arts in her letter. She continues, “As his student, I was captivated by his classroom delivery as was his entire audience. He had an uncanny ability to find an intimate connection with all of his students, to empathize and help drive their pursuits.” Davida Kidd states in her letter of nomination “Walter deserves this award immensely. This kind of teaching and dedication to curriculum development, community building, global and local, represents decades of dedication.”
Walter Jule is committed to preparing his students to make an impact on and to advance the profession. In this respect, the teaching enterprise exists not only in the studio classroom, but also involves exposing his students to the profession through traveling exhibitions, residencies and conferences. Two good examples include the international symposium and book of the same name Sightlines: Printmaking and Image Culture (The University of Alberta Press, 1997) with articles by 13 international contributors and Print Voice: Precarious Balance (University of Alberta Press, 1990) with articles by 11 international contributors. Fostering critical dialogue about the discipline is a central part of being a teacher. Of particular note are the many European and Asian connections that Professor Jule has cultivated for the University of Alberta printmaking program that has resulted in exchange exhibitions and opportunities for his students to work with a wide range of visiting artists.
Walter Jule, "The Interpenetration of Things and Things" lithograph with gampi chine-colle 2013 Sheet: 132 x 97cm. Image: 113 x 70cm
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