DEPARTMENT AWARDS

This award is granted annually to a student who has completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Design degree. It honours academic excellence achieved throughout their program. 

This award is granted annually to a student who has completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Computation Arts degree. It honours academic excellence achieved throughout their program.

The Lydia Sharman Award is granted annually to a student who has completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Design degree, whose profile demonstrates an abiding commitment to sustainable design. 

Dr. Sharman was a member of the full-time faculty of Concordia University from 1992 until her retirement in 2008, and served as Chair of the Department from 1998 until 2001. Having begun her career in London, she subsequently practiced in New York and Montreal. In the latter city, her design contributions included the interior of Dorval (now Trudeau) Airport, Alcan’s offices in Place Ville Marie, and the theme exhibit “Man in Control?” at Expo 67. From 1963 to 1991 she was Canadian correspondent for several European design journals and contributed over one hundred articles on city planning, architecture, graphic, product and interior design, and design education. 

Dr. Sharman has had a deep interest in design education: she was one of the founders of the Montreal Public School FACE (Fine Arts Core Education); she developed a program to introduce students to the construction and symbology of pattern design, out of which came her book, The Amazing Book of Shapes, which has been translated into six languages and sold over 75,000 copies; and she was awarded the Faculty of Fine Arts Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001. Lydia Sharman inspired Concordia students to be mindful of their relationship to the built environment, to the responsible use of resources, and to their commitment to community engagement – hence the appropriateness of this award.

The Experiential Award recognizes work that shows a thoughtful and innovative engagement with its audience, whether through interactive software, physical installation, or any other medium. This is the award for the most experimental and exciting experience designers amongst us.

The Sustainability Award recognizes work that most emphatically subscribes to and reflects the principles of sustainability, whether environmental or socio-cultural.

The Initiatives in Design Art Research Award is granted annually to a student who has completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Design degree. It honours outstanding achievement in the creation and exploration of research initiatives throughout their program. 

Valérie Lamontagne (1968-2019) was a long-time part-time faculty member of the Department of Design and Computation Arts, as well as a graduate both of Concordia's PhD Individualized (INDI) program and its MFA program. 

A digital media artist, designer, theorist and curator researching techno-artistic frameworks that explore human/nonhuman agencies, she was owner and designer of 3lectromode, a design group committed to developing wearables that combine DIY technology with current fashion research. 

Well-known internationally as an artist and curator in the field of wearable technologies, Valerie was a valuable member of the Concordia community, and a respected teacher to students in both the Design and Computation Arts programs of the department. This award, built on contributions by her friends, family and colleagues, honours her outstanding achievements as a scholar, artist, and student mentor. It also underscores the commitment of the donors – and of Valerie herself – to increase the number of women-identified people in computation arts and related fields. 

The Department of Design and Computation Arts is committed to fostering an equitable and positive experience for all students, faculty, and staff. We value diversity and difference, and strive together to create safer spaces in our shared environment, in which everyone can fully engage in scholarly and artistic pursuits knowing that harmful behaviour is unacceptable. We believe that celebrating difference is fundamental to supporting an academic community in which innovation, creative exploration, and intellectual freedom can flourish. 

Derived from this commitment, three Rhona Richman Kenneally Prizes, formerly known as The Inclusivity Prize, are awarded annually to projects exhibited in the Department’s annual Year End Shows. The selected designs are those that most profoundly reflect a commitment to, and advocate for, equity, diversity and inclusion. One is given to a project undertaken in the BFA, Design Program, one in the BFA, Computation Arts Program, and the third in the Master of Design Program; if the projects meets the established criteria.