The business and arts communities have so much in common, including a desire to make Newfoundland and Labrador a vibrant, modern, and compelling place in which to live, work, and play. This series follows the threads of our shared traits, interests, and aspirations to build powerful uncommon results.
BUSINESS AND ARTS NL PROUDLY PRESENTS
(UN)COMMON THREADS:
CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
Join us for an engaging conversation with three influential leaders from the realms of tech, film, and architecture. Discover how their creative teams excel in cultivating individual talents, collaborating on intricate projects, and consistently exceeding creative benchmarks while meeting deadlines and targets.
Wally Haas will delve into the innovative dynamics at Avalon Holographics, shedding light on how teams specializing in spectroscopy, nanofabrication, and material chemistry collaborate to craft ingenious problem-solving solutions.
Ruth Lawrence will share her experiences in uniting teams of creative minds, including writers, actors, and designers, to deliver award-winning films and TV shows on schedule and within budget.
Jim Case will discuss the creations born from his teams’ endeavours, spanning from oil production platforms to towering office structures. He’ll illustrate how creative solutions take distinct forms in each unique project.
The conversation will be facilitated by Sarah Smellie, a St. John’s arts community veteran and journalist for The Canadian Press.
EVENT DETAILS
Thursday, October 12, 2023
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (NDT)
Emera Innovation Exchange
This event offers two ways to participate: in person at Emera Innovation Exchange, 100 Signal Hill Campus and online via WebEx.
TICKETS
In-person:
$40 General admission
$30 Business and Arts members
$15 Students and Arts workers
Online:
$20 General admission
$10 Business and Arts members
$10 Students and Arts workers
JIM CASE, ARCHITECT & AUTHOR
James (Jim) Case was born and raised on Springdale Street in St. John’s, Newfoundland. After working professionally throughout Atlantic Canada and for extended periods in Quebec, Australia, Korea and Norway, he formed Sheppard Case Architects in 2000 and LAT49 Architecture Inc. in 2014.
Jim’s projects have been featured in Canadian Architect and Domus, with notable recent works that include Fortis Place and the internationally acclaimed Fogo Island Inn. But according to Jim, his best work cannot be viewed by the public, as it is stationed 250 miles east of St. John’s in the Atlantic Ocean – oil production platforms that include Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron. Each of these megaliths is a planned city in miniature, with heliports, accommodations, kitchens and dining, medical facilities, fitness spas and recreational venues.
Jim has now changed his life course and is a published author of historical fiction. His book, Ananias, was published in 2020.
WALLY HAAS, CO-FOUNDER AVALON HOLOGRAPHICS
Avalon Holographics is leading the next wave of display technology with professional holographic displays that revolutionize the way people produce, view and understand visual content. By replicating the experience of looking at real objects, Avalon’s displays produce realistic and natural 3D experiences that facilitate collaboration and reduce cognitive load.
Wally has spent over twenty-five years in high technology industries, with several well-regarded companies such as Nortel, PMC-Sierra, and AMCC, focused largely on semiconductor design for optical networking. When Wally moved to Newfoundland for family reasons, he founded Avalon Microelectronics to continue his career and passion for semiconductors. Without the need for any venture capital, Wally grew the company to 31 people and nearly $4M in annual revenue, and then sold the company to Altera (now part of Intel) in 2010.
Wally founded Avalon Holographics in 2015 and has led a team of over 70 people since that time. Outside of the office, Wally is a proud hockey dad (and goalie himself) and is not afraid of a plate of nachos.
RUTH LAWRENCE, FILMMAKER
Ruth Lawrence is a director/writer/actor in film and theatre. In 2020, her first narrative feature, Little Orphans (Imagine That Productions), a micro-budget, premiered in Galas across Canada and won the Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature at Whistler Film Festival. Her second movie, the comedy Party Pirate, will premiere in October 2023. In 2019, she released her first CBC-TV feature documentary, Circus by Komatik (Fire Crown Productions). Ruth was one of the writer-directors on the 2018 portmanteau feature, Hopeless Romantic (Northeast Productions). She directed The Ennis Sisters music video, Shine Your Light, to mark the 100th Anniversary of the CMHA. Her short films include Talus & Scree and Sweet Pickle. Ruth co-produced the feature Hunting Pignut, winner of two best feature awards, with Pope Productions. She is the director of the 5-episode web series, Buy the Boards by comedians Luke Lawrence and Matt Wright. Ruth was Artistic Director for White Rooster Theatre for 22 years.