POLY 2017: Master of None

Art Crawl: April 14, 2017. 7-10pm.

Factory Media Centre is pleased to present POLY 2017, McMaster University’s Multimedia Program Graduating Exhibition, featuring multidisciplinary works by students and creators of all backgrounds and creative practices.

Jack of all trades, master of none—though oftentimes better than master of one.

“The McMaster Multimedia program is a unique program where students dabble in design, code, audio, photography and time-based production, all while grounding their technical knowledge with media theory and artistic critique. We come from diverse walks of life and academic and professional backgrounds, all weaving in distinct world views and approaches in multimedia production. The result is a thriving community of artists with diverse voices, coming together in synergy to create a truly multifaceted body of work ranging from documentaries to musical albums and graphic design. As jacks of all trades, we believe that being a master of none is more important than a master of one. And while we usually wear many hats, this month, we wear just one thing on our heads—our graduation cap.”
— McMaster Multimedia Class of 2017

Meet the artists:

Adam Austin is a Multimedia graduate with an interest in digital audio production, sound design, and composition – specifically within the realm of video games. He began classical piano lessons at a young age and taught himself guitar in high school. Due to his musical background, he was given permission by McMaster’s School of the Arts to take many of their music theory courses.

Allison Hamilton is a visual designer and story teller who enjoys using the power of cinematography and simplistic design, coupled with strategic planning, to create functional and personal work. She enjoys producing commercial and narrative- oriented projects, but often exercises differing techniques through abstract work.
Allison has developed a promising freelance career which has led her to produce promotional films for the Canada-wide business competition, JDCC. Allison aspires to continue developing her skills in the advertising and marketing fields, having worked as a copywriter for TechTAP Inc., as well as a social media and marketing intern at KnixWear. Allison is particularly interested in working with creative agencies with clients in the fashion, lifestyle, and hospitality and tourism industries.
Allison is currently seeking travel opportunities as well as access to pug hugs.

Ans Li is currently finishing up her fourth year of Multimedia and Theatre & Film Studies at McMaster University and is expected to continue her study in California. She was being selected as a finalist in the 2017 Emerge Media Awards in the Photography category. Most of her work is interdisciplinary. Ans tries to integrate photography with different mediums and fields such as painting, sculpture and embroidery.

Courtney McNeely is a 21 year old, Honours Multimedia and Economics Student. With a passion for cinematography, graphic design, and the art of storytelling – Courtney is currently working as a content creator (aspiring to work for sites such as: Buzzfeed and Liquid Squid), and hopes to one day become the creator and producer of several television series. After she is finished school she plans on traveling, further pursuing her writing, and eating as much ice cream as possible.

Daven Bigelow is a 4th year Multimedia student and Research Assistant for Dr. David Harris Smith at McMaster University. He is a published author on game development, and a Co-Founder of Causal Bit Games Inc. who had released their first commercial title Insanity’s Blade on Steam in 2014.

Dimitri Marekic is a 22 year old Multimedia artist. With an extensive background in theater, Dimitri began shooting short films at age 8. In his free time you can find him skateboarding, or fronting the hardcore band, Burden.

Ella Gair has lived in Hamilton all her life. She grew up with her dad being an employee of Dofasco who also had a keen interest in nature and animals. Ancaster Creek ran through her backyard and she used to play in the water and the forest as a kid. Because of her dad Ella learned to appreciate how both the natural and industrial side of Hamilton are intertwined.

James Clark is a 21-year-old Canadian filmmaker graduating from Multimedia and Communications Studies at McMaster University. Ever since James was 4 years old he had been engaged in storytelling and entertainment media. It wasn’t until he learned how to create videos in 2010 that James knew exactly how to harness his creativity into a specific medium. After  becoming proficient with video making, he then began to enter himself into 24 hour film festivals where he learned of the most skills used to create his thesis.

Jason Lau is a 4th year student in Multimedia and Anthropology at McMaster University, who recently spent a semester abroad studying Graphic Design and Communication at the University of Leeds. He is a D&AD (British Design & Art Direction) Pencil winner, as well as a graduate from the D&AD New Blood Academy, an annual creative bootcamp featuring the top 50 young creatives from all over the world. As a human-centric designer and artist, his work draws from his passion for anthropology, the study of human stories, prehistory and cultural diversity through space and time. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of Incite Magazine, McMaster’s creative publication (a finalist this year at the Emerge Media Awards in Toronto), as well as a Research Assistant for the Stélida Naxos Archaeological Project. In his free time, Jason enjoys creating surrealist photography, as well as making music with anything from a trombone to a guitar, or even his computer.

Jessica Escoto is thrilled to be graduating this summer from Communications Studies and Multimedia. She hopes to pursue all of her dreams no matter how much work it will take. She would like to thank God, her family and her better half James for always being there for her.

Leah Flanagan is a soon-to-be graduate currently based in Toronto, Canada. After graduation, Leah will be moving to London, England, in hopes of working in the creative industry and traveling. Eventually she would like to move into the entrepreneur path and work to combine her love of publishing and digital media. She’s a “hybrid creative” meaning she will take on just about anything creative and execute it.
Since the beginning of her creative career, Leah has been in a battle with minimalism and work to challenge the idea that less is more. She likes​ to create works with a multi-layered meaning that can be interpreted differently by how the viewer perceives it. She likes to make the audience stop and think rather than be passive.

Luke Meneok is a fifth year Honours Theatre & Film and Multimedia student. A stagehand and camera operator by trade, he is passionate about film and photography, as well as cinematic scoring and composition. He generally prefers to let his work speak for itself. After graduating, he looks forward to binge-watching Netflix without feeling guilty, and reading for pleasure again, if he can remember how.

Marco Gugliucciello is a fourth year Honours Communications and Multimedia student with a passion for music and audio/video production and editing. For the last four years Marco has had the privilege of being exposed to the incredible arts and culture scene here in Hamilton, Ontario. As a result, he was motivated to create his own electronic dance music radio show on McMaster University’s campus radio which is dedicated to showcasing talent found across the GTHA. Marco has also become involved in McMaster’s campus programming, organizing and coordinating a variety of concerts/events.

Marwa Eid loves to create and design. Whether it be through photography, graphics or cinematography, she strives to incorporate art into her daily life and believes that one should always embrace the eclectic and appreciate the little things.
Throughout the last four years Marwa has developed a diverse palette of skills in Communications and Multimedia, while interning at Spot 6 Management as a social media coordinator. After university she plans to travel as much as possible – on the bucket-list: Tokyo, Netherlands and Peru. She aims to work at a digital or creative agency, preferably ones with dogs.

Nick Bommarito is a traditional and multimedia artist that is interested in creative theory and creating objects in many mediums. His work often takes the form of sculpture and assemblage but he also creates works that engage with the idea of video art.

Nicole Vasarevic was born in Mississauga, Ontario and currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario. She is obtaining her bachelors degree with honours in Communication Studies and Multimedia from McMaster University at the end of this month. Nicole has taken a special interest in graphic design and photography and uses her skills to explore and reflect the world around her. Nicole will be travelling across Canada this summer and continuing her thesis project soles. She is hoping to document her experiences through photography, video and journaling, which will be updated onto her blog.  She hopes to pursue a career in communications later on in life.

Serafina Thoma has taken an interest in Music Journalism, covering electronic music festivals across the Greater Toronto Area with a focus on local artists. She has focussed developing her photography, videography and writing skills throughout her Multimedia degree at McMaster University, as well as working for a music blog in Toronto called Euphoradio.

Sherri Murray is graduating as a Honours Communications and Multimedia student with a minor in Theatre and Film. Her passions always stem into the medium of photography, whether that being the Executive Director of Photography for Style at Mac or the Social Media Content Coordinator for McMaster Humanities Society throughout her undergrad while focusing on establishing her photography business. Her main keen interest is that of photojournalism, in which she hopes to expand her knowledge in with a masters in journalism and media in the near future. After she finishes schooling, she aims to travel, try as many types of restaurants as possible, and to always stay curious.

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Join us in celebrating the graduating work of the class of 2017 during this month’s art crawl, Friday April 14th, 7-10pm.
Factory Media Centre is located at 228 James Street North, Hamilton ON L8R 2L3. The main gallery space is wheelchair accessible. Our washrooms are gender-neutral but unfortunately are not wheelchair accessible.