A global design firm has established two new scholarships for eligible Indigenous students studying at the McEwen School of Architecture in Sudbury.
Perkins&Will, which has studios in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, is partnering with the Indigenous charity Indspire to provide up to $5,000 to two deserving students annually.
The Perkins&Will Canada Indigenous Graduate Architecture Award will go to a student enrolled in the master's in architecture program. The recipient will be chosen based on academic achievement and a thesis research project.
The Perkins&Will Canada Indigenous Architecture Excellence Award will go to a third- or fourth-year student who is enrolled in the bachelor of architectural studies program and has demonstrated academic achievement and design excellence.
Recipients will also be granted an internship at Perkins&Will’s donor studio in either Vancouver or Calgary.
The company said it created the scholarships as part of its commitment to reconciliation in Canada, in response to the calls to action that resulted from the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
“Indigenous peoples are underrepresented in architecture with less than 30 professionals registered in Canada,” said Susan Gushe, the principal and managing director of the Vancouver and Calgary studios of Perkins&Will, a news release.
“We created these scholarships to support talented students to graduation and build capacity within the field.”
The first of these scholarships have already been awarded.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, the Perkins&Will Canada Indigneous Graduate Architecture Award went to Kyara Wendling, a member of the Archigantegou community in Quebec, while Bohdana Chiupka Innes, a member of Moose Cree First Nation, received the award in 2021-2022.
Mackenzie Pitawanakwat, a member of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation, received the Perkins&Will Canada Indigenous Architecture Excellence Award for both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years.
Read the full news release here.
