Four graduates from Holland College's Graphic Design, and Photography and Digital Imaging programs received countrywide recognition recently as they vied with students across the region and across the country in national competitions.

Hunter River native Andrew Bennett, a recent graduate of the Graphic Design program, was named a regional winner in the BMO 1st Art! Invitational Student Art Competition, which celebrates the excellence of Canadian art students from post-secondary institutions across Canada. Almost 150 entries were submitted.

A contrary nature and a sense of mischief aided Bennett in the creation of Falling, a work combining India ink, digital photography and photo matte paper. In both halves of Falling, the male and female faces represent the dualistic nature of human beings as we try to avoid falling down and being pushed around. Bennett received $1,500 for his artwork, which will be installed in BMO offices across the country and join one of the country's most prestigious corporate art collections.

While judges for the BMO 1st Art! Invitational Student Art Competition were contemplating Bennett's work, editors at the offices of PhotoLife magazine were considering submissions from three students from the college's Photography and Digital Imaging program for inclusion in the magazine's annual student edition. Photo Life is a magazine for professional and amateur photographers.  Its annual student special provides fledgling photographers with the opportunity to get national coverage of their work. Christopher MacIsaac of Dartmouth, NS; Lydia Ross of Charlottetown; and Twillingate native Maggie Facey all have the honour of having their images featured in the magazine.

It's been a big year for Facey. Her image, Brandon Kale, also won the Professional Photographers Association of Canada's prize for Best Student Portrait at their national convention in Halifax, and she was named Maritime Professional Photographers' choice for Student Photographer of the Year a few months ago.

In this picture: Falling, by Andrew Bennett.