Images of Research 2016 Winner Pony Meyer

Images of Research (IOR), a competition for graduate students to showcase their research in one image, launches for its second year on Monday, January 23, 2017. Last year’s winner,  Pony Meyer, was recently featured on the UAlberta home page.

Meyer, who identifies as non-binary, is currently pursuing an Interdisciplinary PhD between the Drama department and Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. Their winning portrait,  entitled “King Me!”,  captures the community validation aspect of their research, which explores the role of drag king performance in the lives of transgender/genderqueer drag king performers.  The photo was created in collaboration with Katie Cutting of Lazy Kitten Productions and shot with friends who volunteered their time.



“I thought it was a great opportunity to share something about your research in a different way,” said Meyer who thinks the competition has much to offer. “Even creating the written description is good practice for graduate students, to try to make the connection between images and writing.”

Meyer, who hails from Kentucky, U.S., appreciated that the competition was open to international students and that there was a cash prize,  which was used to pay for interview transcription services, something that is difficult for them due to chronic pain. Meyer will also use the image as part of their final dissertation along with other images and video links to performances.

Since the first Images of Research Competition and Exhibition was a great success, the University of Alberta Libraries (UAL) and Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) are eager to see the submissions for 2017.

“We were thrilled with the response in 2016, over 100 stunning entries, so we have made the deadline a bit earlier this year to provide even more time for students to prepare and submit their entries,” said Trish Rosseel, Associate University Librarian and one of the organizers.  Submissions for IOR 2017 will be accepted from Jan. 23 to Feb. 10, 2017.

Digital image workshops are being offered in collaboration with Campus Design and Print Solutions on January 26 and February 2 to help grad students navigate the technical requirements.