Thaddeus Holownia
This fall, renowned photographer Thaddeus Holownia was presented with a New Brunswick Merit Award. He was honoured for his support, encouragement and development of the arts in Sackville, where he has made his home since 1977.
Thaddeus, his wife Gay Hansen and their children Joseph, Inga, Theo and Julian live on a farm in Jolicure. Their home overlooks the Tantramar Marsh, a source of inspiration and the subject of his book Dykelands (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1989), which he co-authored with Sackville poet Douglas Lockhead. The book celebrates the elusive, subtle beauty of the marshland and explores the 'uneasy truce between the organic and the technological'.
This is by no means the first award Thaddeus has received. A professor in the Fine Arts Department of Mount Allison University, Thaddeus was awarded the Paul Paré Award for excellence in teaching in 1995, 1996 and 2000. In 1998 he received the Paul Paré Medal for his outstanding contribution to the University, Sackville and the international arts community. He has exhibited his art in galleries across the country and in the United States, and has been published internationally. Through his work, Thaddeus has helped create a consciousness of Sackville in the rest of Canada and beyond.
Locally, Thaddeus has held photography workshops, lectured in schools throughout the Tantramar region and worked with youth groups such as the 4H, for which he received a Volunteer Recognition Award. He has also been involved as a Canadian Pony Club dad and was the Competition Secretary at the National Tetrathlon Competition held in Wolfville this past summer. As organizer of the Film Society at the Vogue Theater, Thaddeus helps nurture the stimulating and creative environment that makes Sackville unique among small towns.