MORGAN RHYS TAMS
>
About Me.
Morgan Tams is a Canadian artist who regularly struggles with writing about himself in the third person.
He works primarily in the mediums of film and photography, with an interest in the inherent iconography of landscape, and the humanity within it. His practice focuses on process-driven projects in remote and challenging locations around the world. Traveling by foot with a camera and tripod slung across his back is his favourite place to be. Immersion in his environment, trust, relationship building and sensitivity to the world around him are his core values as an art maker.
His film credits include the documentaries 'Dear Mr. Dudley' (2021) 'Strangers in a Strange Land' (2016) and 'Bella and Don' (2016), site specific and interactive works 'Window Movie' (2016) and 'A Cartography of Iconic Memory' (2014) and the psychedelic hybrid western/rock opera ‘Killer’s Crossing’ (2013). He cut his cinematic teeth producing the award winning short films ‘Hello Faye’ (2007) and ‘Marnie Love’ (2006) with Canadian artist and playwright Norman Yeung.
His research into modes of 'Elevated Cinema' and his work as a creative facilitator has resulted in a series of installations, interactive, and community-based art interventions which re-imagine traditional storytelling, distribution and power structures in media creation.
As an educator Morgan has taught in partnership with The National Film Board of Canada, The City of Victoria, The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, The Cortes Island Academy and The Klondike Institute of Art and Culture. He is also a creative advisor for The Weight of Mountains, a biennial residency project for filmmakers held in remote, challenging, or uniquely inspiring locations across the globe.
He has received awards from the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council for his creative work and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production from Ryerson University in Toronto (2008), and a Masters Degree in Art Education from the University of Victoria (2013).
Morgan currently spends his time on the road shooting and/or living on an off-grid community farm property on Canada's west coast.
Selected Awards,
Exhibitions and Residencies.
2022.
Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival:
Official Selection - Telefilm's 'Canada: Not Short on Talent'
Canada Council for the Arts
Concept to Realization Support Recipient.
DOXA Documentary Film Festival:
Official Selection - 'Dear Mr. Dudley'
Big Sky International Film Festival:
Official Selection - 'Dear Mr. Dudley'
2021.
Canada Council for the Arts:
Explore and Create Grant Recipient.
Festival du Nouveau Cinema:
Official Selection - 'Dear Mr. Dudley'
2020.
Cannes Film Festival:
Official Selection - Telefilm's 'Canada: Not Short on Talent'
Canada Council for the Arts:
CBC Digital Originals Grant Recipient
2018.
Canada Council for the Arts:
Concept to Realization Support Recipient.
2017.
British Columbia Arts Council:
Project Assistance for Media Artists.
CreativeBC / MPPIA:
Short Film Award Pitch Finalist.
2016.
FLUX Gallery, Victoria BC.
Interchange Symposium on Digital Art.
National Film Board of Canada:
Filmmaker Assistance Program Support Recipient.
2015.
The Weight of Mountains International Artist's Residency
Guest Facilitator - Tissardmine, Morocco
Canada Council for the Arts:
Travel Grant for Media Arts Professionals.
Artscape Gibraltar Point
Artist in Residence.
2014.
The Pandora Arts Collective
Filmmaker in Residence.
Short Circuit Film Festival
"Killer’s Crossing"
Best Actor - Clay George
Best Composer - Brooke Gallupe
The Weight of Mountains Film Festival
"Killer’s Crossing"
"A Cartography of Iconic Memory"
2013.
Canada Council for the Arts
Travel Grant for Media Arts Professionals.
British Columbia Arts Council
Professional Development Assistance Grant.
The Weight of Mountains International Artist's Residency
Filmmaker in Residence - Skagastrond, Iceland.
CACGV Café Gallery
"Culmination" - Group photography show.
Cenote Gallery
"Magic Lanterns" - Group photography show.
Dawson City International Short Film Festival
"Killer’s Crossing"
Publications and Press.
'Island Filmmaker Films Ode to Family, Memory and the Distance in Between'
Victoria Times Colonist, October 2022.
https://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/island-filmmaker-films-ode-to-family-memory-and-the-distance-in-between-5976844
InFlux Journal of Critical Writings on Media Art.
'Window Movie.' Volume 1, Number 2.
‘A Neighbourhood in Stop Motion’
The Martlet, October 2014.
http://www.martlet.ca/culture/a-neighbourhood-in-stop-motion/
Korsakow Artist Profiles: ‘A Cartography of Iconic Memory’
https://web.archive.org/web/20141213214233/http://korsakow.org:80/a-cartography-of-iconic-memory-by-morgan-rhys-tams/
The BC Art Teachers Association Journal:
'Making Connections in Remote Locations.' Volume 56, Number 1.
The Journal of the Canadian Society of Education Through Art:
'Windows into Digital Worlds.' Volume 11, Number 1.
