March 7, 2023

The Region of Waterloo Arts Fund recently announced new funding for local artists and arts organizations, including three members of the Wilfrid Laurier University community. Kai Reimer-Watts, a PhD student in Community Psychology, and alumni Mary Abdel-Malek Neil (MA ’15, ’19) and Carlos Morgan (MA ’21) were awarded support for their creative projects.

As creative director of the People’s Climate Collective, Reimer-Watts received $9,500 for an immersive group exhibit at THEMUSEUM called “Passages.” Based on environmental themes, the exhibit will merge sculptural installations with multimedia.

Listen to Reimer-Watts discuss his research on Laurier’s Research Chat podcast:

Abdel-Malek Neil, a community musician and alumni officer at Laurier, was awarded $5,100 for the Good and Mad podcast miniseries, dedicated to helping women artists reclaim their voices and bodies, as well as their rights to feel fury and fight for their art.

Watch Abdel-Malek Neil discuss her work as the 2019 City of Kitchener artist-in-residence:

Morgan, a performing artist and producer who graduated from Laurier’s Master of Arts in Community Music program, received $11,000 for the Mel Brown Music Festival and Symposium. The weekend-long event, launched in 2022 in collaboration with Laurier’s Centre for Music in the Community, celebrates Black artistry and music in Waterloo Region.

Watch a recap of the inaugural Mel Brown Music Festival and Symposium: