The presentation that I attended was called, “Art in Response to Backlash”: a presentation by Sonya Stefan. Sonya Stefan is a media artist that aims to create work using real-time electronic glitchery and she is very interested in the deterioration of objects. She uses damaged materials and transforms them into contemporary new media works. Sonya Stefan is the curator at Lux Magna, Pop Montreal and Suoni Per II Popolo. She is the cofounder of La Lumiere Collective and Ibrida Pluri. She is full of adventures and is a very hard worker. Apart from collaborating with many artists, Stefan is a professional dancer and she performs with Animals of Distinction, Estelle Clareton, The Toronto Dance Theatre, etc. She also enjoys filmmaking and has proven to be a very successful filmmaker. While filming, she focuses on single framed works, insolation, music and DIY (Do it yourself) films.
The key message that Sonya Stefan conveyed during her presentation is to have courage to not be afraid to push the boundaries and to think outside the box. She taught us that weird is cool and that normal is boring. She also spoke to us about collaboration and how important it is to work with people that can teach you new things and help you explore new concepts. She enjoys collaborating with musicians because she knows little about music and they teach her how to mix music with filmmaking. She also loves including children in her events and festivals because she loves when families are brought together. She has children of her own and realized that they were not able to attend art events, therefore she began creating events that would allow parents to bring their kids along with them.
During the presentation many students asked her questions about her determination and courage. We were all very inspired by her hard work and dedication. I would recommend this presentation to others because of the will power that was shown through the eyes of Sonya Stefan. She has proven that anything is possible and that if you set the right goals, you will be able to achieve them and leave a print on the world. She has participated in so many events and has changed the lives of many people including filmmakers, musicians and families. Before this event, I did not know much about filmmaking or any of the events that Sonya Stefan spoke about during her presentation. She opened my eyes to many things that are happening here in my own city that I did not even know about. She made me think about the different activities that are currently going on that can help others find their right path. Sonya Stefan is a very powerful woman that has paved the way for many artists and it is thanks to people like her that the art industry continues to grow and leave a mark on our society.
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