By Sonia Kuczaj
Image arts and graphic communications management students are getting ready to rock.
This Friday, they’re putting on a show to raise money for the publication of Function, their annual art magazine. One of the bands that will be performing is Blackeyes, composed of sibling team Katia and Nick Taylor, as well as Randy Ray and Kim Temple.
Two other bands, Royal Wood and Trains and Aeroplanes, will be joining Blackeyes at the fundraiser. There will also be a DJ, door prizes, slide shows and film loop projections featuring works of image arts students.
Katia, 23, a fourth-year image arts student, has done fundraising for Function in the past and is the organizer of this year’s show. She says it is especially important for image arts students who are submitting their work to Function to come out and support the event.
With its thick paper and coloured pages, Function looks more like a book than a magazine. It features images and writing that showcase work by students in the three image arts streams — film, photography and new media.
Function, a student-run publication, launched its first issue two years ago in February, 1998. Most of its funding comes from private sponsors and benefit shows. Past editors have also applied for a grant from Ryerson. Amee King, a fourth-year stills students and co-editor of the magazine, says she is in the process of applying for another grant this year.
But there is more to the benefit than fundraising.
“We want to raise awareness. People do not necessarily know what Function is, both in the school and outside of the school,” says Suzy Malik, a fourth-year new media student and co-editor of the magazine. Through the benefit show, Malik and King are also hoping to give local bands some exposure.
“A lot of people playing in the bands are from the school,” King says. “It’s a way to get their music out to people who would not normally see them.”
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