Ariel Magnes Ambassadorial Scholar

Ariel Magnes an ambassadorial scholar to Australia and Melbourne sponsored by the Rotary Club of Rotterdam (in New York) addressed the club at its meeting on July 31.   Ariel reminded us that this program started way back just after World War 2 with the aim of placing students in foreign countries and so bring about cultural sharing experiences for the traveller and the host country.  She noted from her own experiences as a current ambassador in Australia this Rotary aim was being achieved.   A lovely insight to the cultural interaction was her contrast of Vegemite and Smucker’s peanut butter grape jelly.

Ariel explained that she was a native of Brooklyn but has lived in Israel, China and Thailand and had diverse interests ranging from the physical extreme of scuba diving, through illustrations and English Literature to the more sedate cooking and reading.

Her past work experiences, for  instance with Sesame Street had an emphasis on communication with children and matched her recent study at RMIT namely gaining a Master’s Degree in Animation and Interactive Media Studies  Ariel showed us photos of her home studio explaining that she had worked 70+ hours per week mostly centred on the computer while studying.  She became involved in several projects including those requiring teams of students in the course of her research (there were 23 of mixed disciplines and nationalities in a “3D interactive illustration” project).

Some external awards were gained in the course of her study.   The thesis element of the degree centred on the “Use of Art in Visual Conflict Narratives” exploring the way in which various artists have employed techniques to convey stories of various historical conflicts .

The typical product of a project in her speciality of animation and interactive media was described as a computer based “Pop-Up”   Much more than computer program development this needed first a story to be created, drawings, two dimensional images expanding them to three dimensional ones and then programming to ensure robust interactive features

In answering questions from the audience Ariel demonstrated her knowledge and thoughts on the quality of various animated products available, most of which are tailored for children.

Ariel concluded by reasserting the life changing nature of her ambassadorial experience, and her stay in Melbourne. Currently intending to build further on this cultural exchange she will spend more time in Australia.  It was no surprise that she hopes to gain employment using her skills in creating digital pop up books for children. She reported some success already in her authorship.

Ariel in the centre with our members Robert Ball her Australian Rotary mentor and David Corrigan