KITCHENER, Ont. – (May 14, 2020) – The Christie Design Award at the University of Waterloo gives students the opportunity to display their artistic, technical and creative skills in a projection mapping competition with monetary prizes. But this is the first year where students also had to prove their adaptability and resiliency due to the global pandemic.

Students in the Digital Arts Communication undergraduate program were challenged with designing a short projection mapping piece that was to be projected onto a 3D printed model of Kitchener’s City Hall. But with community lock-down measures in place, in-person collaboration and testing were no longer possible. Students rose to the challenge, and along with their videos, submitted plans to the judges on how their content would be projected.

"The students were undaunted in the face of significant challenges and adapted quickly to the new reality of completing their work while in self-isolation. Given the limitations they face, the projects are all the more impressive," said Shana MacDonald, assistant professor, Department of Communication Arts, University of Waterloo.

The winning project, "BRB", by Alexis Condotta, Jean Do, Carly McLeod and Evelyn Vo, is four coordinated video clips of a young woman getting ready, depicting her increasing frustration with society’s expectations of beauty. "This was a great opportunity to work with a team of creative minds to bring our story to life," said Carly McLeod. "This project was neat since there were very few restrictions, we had a lot of freedom to explore just about any subject."

The second-place project was "In the Name of Progress" by Josée-Claire Malenfant, and third place was shared by "Routine Movement" by Nancy Le and "Pasta La Vista" by Michaela Waugh.

"We were thrilled to see the students’ final projects," said Arlonna Seymour, senior director, Corporate Marketing, Christie. "Creativity, technical expertise and visualization skills were evident in each. Christie is proud to sponsor these awards and help the next generation of digital artists continue to hone their skills."