Wonder Woman statue unveiled at Bow Valley College’s Centre for Entertainment Arts
CEA educational assistant Anamaria Galindo and VFX student Luisa Echeverry stand next to the newly unveiled Wonder Woman statue at Bow Valley College in Calgary on Friday, September 8, 2023.
ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
By Aryn Toombs
September 8, 2023
A little bit of the magic of the silver screen was brought to Bow Valley College on Sept. 8, as a statue of Wonder Woman in the likeness of Gail Gadot was unveiled at the college’s Centre for Entertainment Arts (CEA).
The centre, which has been training students in all aspects of VFX, film, sound, and video game design in Calgary since 2019, received the statue after the Vancouver branch of CEA put up a statue of Marvel Supervillain Thanos.
“Vancouver had a statue and they said we would love to gift you with a statue and you get to select,” said Alison Anderson, Dean of Business, Technology, and Centre for Entertainment Arts.
“When I think about our institution and what we do, inclusion is so important and in the creative space, we want more women to come. In creative industries, the more inclusive and diversity that we have is important, so [Wonder Woman] really exemplified that piece for us.”
The statue will be on permanent display outside of the CEA on the third floor of the South Campus building.
Anderson said that the statue would serve as a visible symbol of what students can achieve in the creative industries.
“So when they have a symbol like this, this is ‘we can create this, we can be in this space.’ And the work that they do is amazing—I’m always amazed by our students work even in first and second semester—but this just symbolizes something that they can strive for and be part of,” Anderson said.
By Aryn Toombs
September 8, 2023
A little bit of the magic of the silver screen was brought to Bow Valley College on Sept. 8, as a statue of Wonder Woman in the likeness of Gail Gadot was unveiled at the college’s Centre for Entertainment Arts (CEA).
The centre, which has been training students in all aspects of VFX, film, sound, and video game design in Calgary since 2019, received the statue after the Vancouver branch of CEA put up a statue of Marvel Supervillain Thanos.
“Vancouver had a statue and they said we would love to gift you with a statue and you get to select,” said Alison Anderson, Dean of Business, Technology, and Centre for Entertainment Arts.
“When I think about our institution and what we do, inclusion is so important and in the creative space, we want more women to come. In creative industries, the more inclusive and diversity that we have is important, so [Wonder Woman] really exemplified that piece for us.”
The statue will be on permanent display outside of the CEA on the third floor of the South Campus building.
Anderson said that the statue would serve as a visible symbol of what students can achieve in the creative industries.
“So when they have a symbol like this, this is ‘we can create this, we can be in this space.’ And the work that they do is amazing—I’m always amazed by our students work even in first and second semester—but this just symbolizes something that they can strive for and be part of,” Anderson said.
Personal history with Wonder Woman
Current VFX student at the CEA, Luisa Echeverry, said that the statue had a personal connection to her. The very first Halloween costume her mother had was of Wonder Woman.
“Like, ‘oh, my mom.’ It’s all I can think of,” she said.
“Also the women empowerment is important and is nice, having you know the female representation.”
Echeverry said that she notices the lack of female representation, and having a visible symbol for more representation is important to her and a reminder that women are seen.
“For me, it is definitely a nice reminder that we can get into the industry, especially since I’m so close to graduating from the VFX program,” she said.
CEA educational assistant Anamaria Galindo said that the statue was a reminder of the changing entertainment industry, pointing to Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins as an example of more women being involved in making the top tier of movies.
“It’s nice to see that they are giving us the kind of power to be in these kind of high positions,” Galindo said.
“It’s a good message for all the communities in Bow Valley, but also Calgary in general to like show that us women, we have the power to change a lot of things.”
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