Richard Oliver and Anne Maheux, One With Everything

For Thomas Craig Oliver, taking U of G’s studio art program in the late ’70s propelled him into a passionate and dynamic artistic life that spanned more than 30 years. A new book about the Ontario artist, who passed away in 2013, was published this year.

One With Everything: The Art of Thomas Craig Oliver was written by the artist’s brother, Richard Oliver, and by well-known art conservator Anne Maheux. Oliver found his creative voice at U of G and acquired the technical skills and inspiration that fuelled his career, according to the authors.

Claude Cormier, Breakwater Park

Claude Cormier studied agronomy at U of G before he got the brilliant idea to create playful public spaces for people and animals. The renowned landscape architect, head of Claude Cormier + Associés Inc., was honoured in the 2019 CSLA Excellence Awards for his firm’s Breakwater Park project, which the company describes as a “magically immersive encounter with Lake Ontario.” It won in the medium-scale public landscapes category.

Among the company’s ongoing projects is The Cats, a cat-themed park in Toronto’s Wellington Street West neighbourhood.

Carolyn Hickey, Woodstock Art Gallery

Carolyn Hickey, an MA grad in art history and visual culture, was named the new head of collections at the Woodstock Art Gallery in Woodstock, Ont. She graduated in 2018 and landed the job last spring.

Hickey said the training and internships during her U of G program prepared her for her new role.

“I get to work with art every day and it’s great,” said Hickey, who is passionate about community engagement and accessibility of arts in Canada.

Jael Richardson, Freedom to Read Award

Author of The Stone Thrower, book columnist and guest host on CBC Radio’s q, Jael Richardson has received the Writers’ Union of Canada’s Freedom to Read Award.

The award recognizes passionate support of freedom of speech. Richardson is the founder of the Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton, Ont., which is a co-winner of the award.

She has a BA in drama (’03) and an MFA in creative writing (’10) from U of G.

Linda Hutsell-Manning, Fearless and Determined

Linda Hutsell-Manning attended the University of Guelph in the 1970s as a mature student, with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher. But her Canadian literature professors encouraged her to write. She has published 11 children’s books and a novel as well as numerous short stories and poems in Canadian literary magazines.

Her latest book is the memoir Fearless and Determined: Two Years Teaching in a One-Room School, due out this fall from Blue Denim Press.

Maggie Groat, New Monuments for New Cities

Interdisciplinary artist Maggie Groat’s career continues to flourish. Informed by her Haudenosaunee and Settler ancestry, Groat uses a wide range of media in her works, including sculpture, textiles, site-specific interventions and publications. She has an MFA from U of G.

This past summer, Groat led a tour in the New Monuments for New Cities series in Toronto’s The Bentway public space.

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