{"id":3650,"date":"2013-05-02T12:12:11","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T17:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=3650"},"modified":"2013-05-02T12:12:11","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T17:12:11","slug":"alumni-profile-matt-sawatzky-cmu-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2013\/alumni-profile-matt-sawatzky-cmu-06\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Profile \u2013 Matt Sawatzky (CMU \u201906)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Matt<\/a>
CMU alumnus Matt Sawatzky. Photo by Corey Aronec.<\/figcaption><\/figure>May 2, 2013 \u2013 Matt Sawatzky likes photography because photos tell stories in ways that words cannot.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning to do that well\u2014to be able to capture a story visually\u2014is interesting to me,\u201d says Sawatzky, who participated in CMU\u2019s Outtatown Discipleship School 2001-2002 and graduated from CMU with a three-year B.A. in International Development Studies (IDS) in 2006.<\/p>\n

Sawatzky\u2019s latest project combines his love for photography with his interest in international development. \u201cA Sad Sort of Clean: Hydropower in Northern Manitoba\u201d is an exhibit opening this Friday, May 3 at Winnipeg\u2019s Flatlanders Studio that features photography and video Sawatzky created along with Cree elder Ellen Cook.<\/p>\n

The photos and videos feature people and waterways that have been affected by hydro development in Northern Manitoba. Sawatzky and Cook spent 11 days last spring visiting Grand Rapids, Split Lake, and South Indian Lake, three communities that are between five and 11 hours north of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

Commissioned by the Interfaith Task Force on Northern Hydro Development, a coalition of leaders from Mennonite, United, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches and The Thunderbird Lodge who aim to promote thoughtful debate on hydro issues, \u201cA Sad Sort of Clean\u201d asks three questions: Is hydropower clean? Are new dams a good idea? Does Manitoba need new dams or a new approach to hydro?<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5455\"<\/a>
This image from “A Sad Sort of Clean” depicts fisherman Robert Spence of the Tataskweyak Cree Nation. Photo by Matt Sawatzky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the project is to show the human cost of our \u2018green\u2019 energy,\u201d Sawatzky says. \u201cIt\u2019s not to disparage or demonize Manitoba Hydro, but rather, to counter the clean image they present themselves with by showing the people and waterways at the end of the transmission line.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was to show that our great hydro-electricity comes at a cost,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

It was during his time in Guatemala on Outtatown that Sawatzky first fell in love with photography. When he returned home to Winnipeg, he enjoyed getting the prints back that he had shot with a small point-and-shoot camera.<\/p>\n

Sawatzky says he enjoys photography in part because it’s a way for him to record his experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people have a journal that they write in, but I\u2019ve started to assemble photo albums for every year of my life,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a way for me to document memories visually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"090912MS662\"<\/a>
Elder Herb Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids) surveys wood debris littering Cedar Lake in this image from “A Sad Sort of Clean.” Photo by Matt Sawatzky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sawatzky\u2019s Outtatown experience also led him to study IDS. The poverty he witnessed in Guatemala was eye-opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the poverty, being out of my comfort zone, and seeing how the world actually operates made a big impact on me,\u201d Sawatzky says.<\/p>\n

In the years since, he has combined his love for photography and interest in IDS by working with non-governmental organizations in Egypt, Nepal, South Africa, and Zambia. He\u2019s also travelled through India and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Sawatzky is currently working for a landscaping company and in September will start a pre-Master\u2019s program in Landscape Architecture at the University of Manitoba.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time at CMU definitely shaped how I try and direct my life,\u201d Sawatzky says. \u201cUltimately, I want to do work, whether it\u2019s photographic or otherwise, that\u2019s going to address inequalities in the world and work toward justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA Sad Sort of Clean\u201d opens at Winnipeg\u2019s Flatlanders Studio (782 Main St.) on Friday, May 3 from 7-10 PM. The exhibit will be up until the end of June. Regular hours are 1-4 PM on Saturdays and Sundays (closed May 25-26). For more information, visit the exhibit\u2019s Facebook page at <\/i>www.tinyurl.com\/SadClean<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 2, 2013 \u2013 Matt Sawatzky likes photography because photos tell stories in ways that words cannot. \u201cLearning to do that well\u2014to be able to capture a story visually\u2014is interesting to me,\u201d says Sawatzky, who participated in CMU\u2019s Outtatown Discipleship School 2001-2002 and graduated from CMU with a three-year B.A. in International Development Studies (IDS) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[171,156],"tags":[152,40,398,866],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3650"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3660,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3650\/revisions\/3660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}