Arbor Awards

Photographer Edward Burtynsky’s new show focuses on environmental challenges 'at our doorstep'

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 17:16:04 +0000

Photographer Edward Burtynsky’s new show focuses on environmental challenges 'at our doorstep'

geoff.vendeville Tue, 06/21/2022 - 13:16

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Edward Burtynsky's latest show, "In the Wake of Progress," premiered on the screens surrounding Yonge-Dundas Square as part of the Luminato Festival. It will be followed by an indoor immersive experience that runs June 25 to July 17 (photo by Jim Panou)

Mariam Matti

Topic

City & Culture

Arbor Awards

Climate Change

Honorary Degree

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Photography

Sustainability

Earlier in his career as a photographer and artist, Edward Burtynsky saw an opportunity to dedicate his life’s work to a single idea: humanity's impact on the planet.

In the 1980s, Burtynsky saw the growing sustainability challenges posed by the combination of heavy industry and billions of people.

His work would ultimately take him all over the world – and garner numerous awards and accolades – as he captured how humanity is reshaping the Earth through resource extraction, urban sprawl and manufacturing, to name a few.

Edward Burtynsky (photo by Birgit Kleber)

“I became an observer of the human condition at the scale of industry – building cities and transport systems, making clothes, all that stuff,” Burtynsky says. “There is a whole other world that exists that we don’t see.

“I thought the camera was the perfect tool to bring that world into our consciousness.”

Over the years, Burtynsky – who received an honorary degree from U of T in 2017 and supports the Natural Curiosity Environmental Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education’s Dr. Jackman Institute of Child Study – has produced several documentaries and photo exhibitions about environmental threats.

But he is tackling a new medium in his latest show with the Luminato Festival.

In the Wake of Progress premiered during the opening weekend of the festival on the massive screens surrounding Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. Next, the piece will be transformed into a ticketed indoor immersive experience at the Canadian Opera Company Theatre from June 25 to July 17.

Inside the theatre, the 22-minute piece will be presented on 30-foot screens through images and film. It’s produced by Canadian music “super-producer” Bob Ezrin – who helped produce Pink Floyd's The Wall among other classic albums – and features an original score by award-winning composer and sound designer Phil Strong.

There will also be a curated gallery of photographs and high-resolution murals, two augmented reality experiences exploring the impacts and legacy of the internal combustion engine and a “Change Station,” where audiences will tackle the question: “What can I do now?”

Burtynsky wants people to walk away from his work thinking deeply and emotionally about humanity’s stark impact on the planet.

“The story is very much about what we’re doing to nature, how our success is pushing back the biodiversity,” he says. “It’s changing the nature of the oceans – we’re watching coral die off, we’re watching fisheries collapse.”

“We’re seeing all kinds of issues – deforestation, desertification, droughts, storms, heat domes. Thirty years ago, you could say climate change is something out there. Now, we can’t brush that off. It’s at our doorstep.”

Burtynsky has gone to great lengths to capture his thought-provoking artwork.

“How it appears, the time of year, the light – all those things play a really crucial role,” he says. “I’ll go back to a location four or five times under different lights.”

Sometimes it takes him years to gain access to a location. When he and his team wanted to travel to Norilsk in Russia’s High Arctic – the location of the world’s leading nickel and palladium producer – they were met with strong opposition.

“It gets called one of the most polluted cities in the world,” he says. “They said, ‘There’s only one story you want to go in and do, which is a pollution story.’

“We spent a year convincing them otherwise. We did get in, but they still didn’t trust us. We were constantly detained and taken into immigration or police offices.”

Burtynsky has always been determined to find a way in.

“I’ve always stuck to my guns. Our work is revelatory, not accusatory. We want to show the world these large-scale things,” he says.

When he’s not documenting from the ground, Burtynsky is riding in a helicopter to capture stunning landscapes at altitude. Through decades of experience, he’s learned how to work with the buzzing aircraft – often directing the pilot through his headset to find the right position to photograph.

“I’m trying to make the images look like I have my old-fashioned camera on a tripod, but the reality is I’m bouncing in a helicopter, shooting at high shutter speeds, trying to compose in motion. At the end of the day, it feels like it was a steady, contemplated and highly composed shot.”

For an artist who has spent 40 years of his career highlighting the myriad ways humanity has negatively impacted the planet, he remains optimistic.

“[Climate change] seems to be at the top of everyone’s agenda,” he says. “U of T is doing some great work in the geothermal piece and getting away from fossil fuels in their funds.

Burtynsky says he wants people to walk away from his work thinking deeply and emotionally about humanity’s stark impact on the planet (photo by Jim Panou)

“The high price of gas, as much as it hurts, will be a great motivator for us to get off gas. These changes never come without some pain. Once we get the economics right on this, change happens fast.”

Born in St. Catharines, Ont., Burtynsky was exposed to industrial spaces early in his life. The General Motors plant in his hometown sparked his interest in capturing the effects of industry.

Some of his many distinctions include Officer of the Order of Canada, the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts and eight honorary doctorate degrees – including one from U of T, which recognized him for his influence on society through his focus on environmental issues. He also received an Arbor Award from U of T in 2014 for his involvement with the Dr. Jackman Institute of Child Study, and there’s an award in his name that honours three educators across Canada every year for excellence in environmental education.

Burtynsky hopes that his new show will resonate with students, in particular.

“I hope it facilities a conversation. When you touch them emotionally, it gets their minds thinking a different way,” he says. “It’s a universal story that starts with nature and ends with nature.”

The smile doctors: U of T Dentistry instructor, students help thousands through overseas volunteer effort

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 21:15:18 +0000

The smile doctors: U of T Dentistry instructor, students help thousands through overseas volunteer effort

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/29/2019 - 16:15

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Courtney David and Elahe Behrooz with volunteer supervisor Izchak Barzilay in Kabale, Uganda (photo courtesy of David Chvartszaid)

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Izchak Barzilay has been an instructor at the ��Ƶ’s Faculty of Dentistry for over 33 years while maintaining a successful practice. But about five years ago he branched out into volunteer dentistry – a decision that took him all the way to Kabale, Uganda.

Now he travels annually to the region with his not-for-profit Build Your Smile Dental Foundation, each time bringing with him two fourth-year U of T students who are pursuing doctorate degrees in dental surgery. Over the course of eight days, the group sets up make-shift dental hospitals in fields and villages, where they perform hundreds of procedures.

It’s vital aid for communities that can lack even basic oral hygiene supplies. “Many of the stores we saw didn’t have tooth care products,” says Elahe Behrooz, one of the first students to go on rotation in Uganda in 2016. “They didn’t even carry toothbrushes.”

Over the years, the team has shifted their emphasis from emergency dental care – mostly fillings and extractions – to restoring people’s teeth via dentures. They bring supplies donated from the Canadian dental community, and co-ordinate treatment in conjunction with local health authorities.

Students benefit as much as the patients, according to volunteer supervisors such as Barzilay. On the cusp of graduation, fourth-year students become faster at performing procedures, more adaptable and learn to think outside the box. They also gain insight into how their skills and knowledge can support underserved populations. A number of students, like Behrooz, have become repeat volunteers post-graduation or support the foundation’s work in shelters across the Greater Toronto Area.

“We have seen wonderful things come from these students,” Barzilay says.

Dentistry student Elahe Behrooz at work in Uganda (photo courtesy of David Chvartszaid)

Alongside his dentistry skills, Marshell Kurniawan’s rotation in Honduras last February taught him what he truly valued in a future career path. Working under William Kerr – a U of T Scarborough graduate and the site supervisor of the programs in Honduras and Haliburton County in Ontario – Kurniawan realized that mentorship “is so important as part of the profession. It goes such a long way to develop you professionally and as a person.”

Kerr began volunteering as a dentist in El Porvenir, Honduras in 2009. He’s been supervising the faculty’s students on international rotations since 2017, offering free dental care to the children of the economically depressed area. “Many of [the town’s] young children had rampant decay,” he explains.

The team’s interventions have had a massive impact. Over the past 11 years, Kerr and his small crew have attended to over 6,000 young patients. That breaks down to 1,295 extractions, 1,832 restorations, 263 root canals and 14 partial dentures for the children of the town.

The team at work inside the Ugandan facility (photo courtesy David of Chvartszaid)

It wasn’t long before Kerr’s international work led to a project closer to home: the Volunteer Dental Outreach for Haliburton County, a charity offering free dentistry to low income adults. A pilot project rotation with the school’s doctor of dental surgery students began in 2016.

The Haliburton placement was – and is – a family affair. “The two students stayed at our home and spent two days treating many adult patients,” says Kerr, who estimates that the charity has provided over $2.7 million in free dental care to the region.

The successful pilot project quickly expanded to up to 34 students annually – all hosted by Kerr and his family (two at a time).

The Central American teams have also grown. Two students have attended the Honduras site each year since 2017 while an additional two-student rotation began in Guatemala in 2018.

“I try to teach students that, ultimately, they always have to do their very best for every patient and, as they prepare to graduate, they need to hone their skills to get better and faster.”

Bill Kerr (left) and Izchak Barzilay (right) with Daniel Haas, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at U of T’s Arbor Awards, which recognize exceptional volunteerism (photo courtesy of Dave Hanson)

For the dentists who supervise the students on these trips, it’s not just about the work.

“I love to see joy in a student’s eyes when they accomplish something they have never done before or develop a new skill or technique,” Kerr says. “It is very rewarding to see the students help someone who needs their help and can’t afford their help.

“I hope we are helping build up the next generation of volunteers.”

The students are just as affected.

“He’s my Yoda,” Kurniawan says of Kerr, a reference to the Star Wars character. “I’m going to do more of this in the future. I want to do what Dr. Kerr is able to do.”

U of T honours 'excellence and dedication' of more than 100 volunteers at Arbor Awards

davidlee1 — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 14:47:08 +0000

U of T honours 'excellence and dedication' of more than 100 volunteers at Arbor Awards

davidlee1 Tue, 10/15/2019 - 10:47

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Erika and Stephanie Savage, both U of T alumnae and accomplished entertainment industry professionals, received Arbor Awards last Thursday for their work mentoring current and former students (all photos by Gustavo Toledo Photography)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

When sisters Erika and Stephanie Savage learned they were among this year’s Arbor Awards recipients, there was no question the ��Ƶ alumnae would attend the ceremony – even if meant flying from Los Angeles.

“We shared U of T and now we’re both in L.A.,” said Erika, who worked with pop music megastars like Lady Gaga as a music industry executive after graduating in 1995.

Now in the beauty business, Erika spoke to U of T News at the 30^th annual Arbor Awards gala on Thursday, held at the Carlu in downtown Toronto. The awards, the highest honour granted by the university, recognize U of T’s most outstanding volunteers.

“We both feel that our education defined our journeys – not just in terms of our careers, but also our life paths,” added Stephanie, who graduated in 1990 and became an executive producer and screenwriter behind hit shows such as Gossip Girl, Runaways and the Dynasty reboot.

“It’s about understanding just how important that is and how you stay connected to that for your whole life.”

The sisters, whose mother flew in from Calgary to attend the event, mentor current and former Innis College students who aspire to join the entertainment industry. They’ve helped create a vibrant L.A. nexus in the worldwide diaspora of U of T alumni, connecting with fellow grads such as award-winning director and screenwriter Dawn Wilkinson.

Speaking at the event, U of T President Meric Gertler thanked the sisters and more than 100 other recipients for their ongoing contributions, from mentoring young women in engineering to playing the Soldiers’ Tower carillon and building connections with local, regional and global communities.

“This year’s Arbor Award winners represent the excellence and diversity of the U of T community across our three campuses,” said President Gertler, noting that U of T is ranked as one of the world’s top universities.

“Our success is due in no small measure to the excellence and dedication of our Arbor Award winners, past and present.”

President Meric Gertler thanked the more than 100 recipients of the Arbor Awards at an event held at the Carlu last Thursday.

Barbara Dick, U of T’s assistant vice-president of alumni relations, lauded both past and current recipients for their impact on the entire university community, including students, staff, faculty and alumni.

“It has truly been our honour to recognize and celebrate you, our most loyal volunteers, over the past three decades and take pride in the fact that you have chosen to give us your most precious non-renewable resource – your time.”

Award-winner Glen Boothe (left), who works for the Division of University Advancement, is one of many volunteers who has been particularly generous in that regard. Boothe has organized U of T’s Black History Month Luncheon for 17 years.

“I think of volunteerism as a boundless form of giving back to the community that you’re part of – and the less obvious part: giving back to yourself,” Boothe told U of T News.

“It’s hard to put a value on what I get back in terms of doing this, and having people appreciate it and getting to know my culture. They feel good about themselves and that in itself is a domino effect that makes them feel they want to do good for other people too.”

Echoing those themes, David Palmer, vice-president of university advancement, noted that U of T’s Boundless campaign set records for philanthropy and alumni engagement.

“The campaign’s tremendous success was in large part due to our dedicated alumni and the loyal volunteers like those of you in attendance tonight who played a vital role,” said Palmer.

“Your volunteerism is fundamental to the success of the ��Ƶ.”

One such volunteer is Christopher Thompson (right), past president of the U of T Mississauga Student Union and the U of T Mississauga Alumni Association. Thompson – one of the first in his family to receive a post-secondary education – mentors youth who want to pursue higher education.

“I never expected to go to university, much less become president of the student union and alumni association,” said Thompson, who graduated in 2012 and is now the executive director of a youth charity he started called Skills For Life Inc.

“Getting involved and giving back has enriched my own career and personal growth.”

Niya Bajaj (left), another winner of the award, graduated in 2008 with a degree in sexual diversity studies and has since mentored hundreds of students through programs such as Backpack to Briefcase, the Next Steps Conference, Dinner at New College, Career Mentorship at New College, and Ten Thousand Coffees.

“It is important to volunteer because people did it for me,” Bajaj said.

“I was very lucky to have a lot of really amazing mentors and I love that I get to be that person for somebody else.”

U of T Chancellor Rose Patten – a past recipient of the award herself – told this year’s honourees that volunteering at U of T was one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

“You energize the entire U of T community with your passion for this vital institution and all its wonderful diversity,” Patten said.