The View no. 14, 2005. Oil painting by Melissa Doherty.

K-W Gallery show features UW artists

UW faculty and alumni are among the 13 artists featured in Sampler: The 2nd Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Biennial, which runs from July 3 to September 4.

Selected from among more than 100 artists who submitted their work to the juried exhibition, the 13 artists include fine arts faculty members Cora Cluett, Doug Kirton and Robert Linsley; sessional instructors Paul Dignan and Eva McCauley; and alumnae Melissa Doherty and In-Sun Kim.

Curated by independent artist, writer and curator Andrew Hunter, Dundas, the exhibition is described by the gallery as reflecting “the impressive depth of contemporary production in the region” in works by both emerging and established artists.

In choosing the work for the show, Hunter says he “tried to present a selection of artists who I feel are making strong work and are representative of the range of activity in the area.”

The gallery, located in the Centre in the Square, Kitchener, is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.

Energy efficiency retrofit grants available to more homes
-- from UW Media Relations

Student renters stand to benefit from a federal government's home energy-efficiency retrofit grant that has been extended to rental properties, along with new incentives for assisted housing.

Natural Resources Canada recently announced that landlords and property owners now are included in the residential green program. They can receive up to $100,000 by making changes delivered locally by the Residential Energy Efficiency Project (REEP), a joint initiative of the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Environmental Studies and the Elora Centre for Environmental Excellence.

"Previously, only owner-occupied and unsubsidized residences could be rewarded for improving their efficiency through EnerGuide for Houses (EGH)," said Tom Bird, REEP's  Cambridge marketing and project coordinator. "This ignored a large amount of housing stock where energy demand and C02 (carbon dioxide) emissions could be reduced.

"This is great news for tenants, especially students, who stand to have more comfortable and affordable accommodations, and landlords who can get money back for needed improvements that will ultimately increase the value of their properties. And of course, these improvements can help everyone since using less energy means a cleaner environment."

Don Eaton, executive director of the Elora Centre for Environmental Excellence, said that providing incentives for the improvement of rental properties will spur urban renewal and help keep neighbourhoods vibrant. "Plus, reducing the dollars leaving our region to pay for energy means more money is available to fuel local economies," Eaton added.

Landlords can use the services of REEP to get an EGH evaluation, perform the recommended upgrades, get a free follow-up evaluation and apply for a grant. The grant amount is based on the degree of improvement in efficiency as demonstrated by the follow-up evaluation.

While not eligible for the retrofit grant, assisted housing operators can be reimbursed for part of the cost of getting EGH evaluations performed, at $100 per dwelling up to $50,000 in total. 

If the upgrades undertaken by rental property owners include installing ENERGY STAR-qualified high-efficiency furnaces, they will get a direct incentive back of up to $100 per unit. The combined total of the furnace incentives, plus the grant, cannot exceed $100,000. The incentives are in addition to savings on monthly energy bills, enjoyed by either the property owners or their tenants. They are designed to protect the environment and economy by taking action on climate change.

So you want to be prime minister

The search is on for young Canadians across the country who believe they've got what it takes to be "the Next Great Prime Minister."  In what is being billed as a Canadian first, "The Next Great Prime Minister" show will showcase the top five contestants who will face a panel of celebrity judges and a live studio audience to compete for more than $100,000 in prizes during a one-hour special, scheduled to air this fall on Global Television.

The competition will provide young Canadians with the opportunity to offer their solutions for building a better country.  The national winner will receive a $50,000 cash reward and the four other finalists will each receive a $10,000 cash award. All of the finalists will be offered internships with the corporate sponsor, Magna International.

Program contestants must be between the ages of 18 and 29 and must submit a three-to-five-minute videotaped speech outlining their vision for Canada and what policies and/or legislation they would pursue as prime minister. Contestants must be "compelling, original and inspirational." Deadline for submissions is August 15. More information on the website.

Research ethics talk Monday

"Living With Evolving Research Ethics Guidelines" is the title of a talk by Susan E. Sykes, director of UW's office of research ethics, to be presented Monday, 1-2:30 p.m., in Needles Hall room 3004. "Why does it seem like the 'rules' for conducting research with humans keep changing? This interactive presentation will provide an overview of the evolution of Canadian and US research ethics requirements. Specific attention will be directed to the role of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans in the Canadian system of research ethics oversight. The UW guidelines for conducting research with humans will serve as a framework for a discussion of some of the issues that can arise during the ethics review process and challenges related to reconciling certain research methodologies and research ethics guidelines." This event is sponsored by the Teaching Based Research Group. For more information: vschoner@admmail.uwaterloo.ca or call ext. 2940.

C&PA