In November 2014, Associate Professors Amber Frid-Jimenez and Dr. Garnet Hertz were appointed to Canada Research Chairs. This historic milestone marks the first Canada Research Chair appointments for Emily Carr University of Art + Design recognizing the university’s capacity, faculty and contributions-to-date in the fields of art, media and design research.
Alumna Tiziana La Melia (’08) received the distinguished $25,000 RBC Canadian Painting Competition award on October 1, 2014, for her work, Hanging onto the part. The award, now in its 16th year, is one of the largest in Canada and recognizes emerging artists.
Tiziana’s work, along with the two runner-up winners, will now become a part of the RBC Corporate Art Collection, which currently numbers more than 4,000 pieces.
clothing(s) as conversation is an interdisciplinary research initiative founded by Associate Professor Hélène Day Fraser (MAA ’08) and Keith Doyle, Adjunct Research Associate, seeks to broaden contemporary perspectives of the clothing we wear. In June 2014, the pair successfully secured a three-year, $185, 000, Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada grant to pursue the project. Read more →
In May, real estate developer Reliance Properties announced a $7-million donation, which publicly launched Emily Carr University’s capital campaign, THE BIG IDEA. The gift represents the largest financial donation ever given to Emily Carr University and will help build the Libby Leshgold Gallery and the Reliance Lecture Theatre at Emily Carr’s new campus at Great Northern Way. This contribution set a new standard for philanthropy, as it is the largest gift ever given to an arts-only University in Canada. Read more →
In January 2014, alumna Corin Sworn (’02) was announced as the winner of the bi-annual Max Mara Art Prize for Women, run in collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery. The prize included a six-month, fully-funded residency in Italy, followed by two major solo exhibtions at the Whitechapel Gallery in London and the Collezione Maramotti near Milan. Read more →
As 2014 draws to a close, we would like to take a moment and reflect on the many highlights from the past year. Each day, from now until December 22, we will share stories of outstanding accomplishments from the Emily Carr community. Celebrate with us and share in the spirit of creativity!
In January 2014, Dr. Ron Burnett was made a Member of the Order of Canada for his leadership in arts education, notably as president of Emily Carr University.
With his vision and commitment, the Emily Carr community has achieved significant milestones over nearly two decades, becoming the prestigious, world-recognized center of art and design innovation it is today, noted for: a values-driven culture; interdisciplinary balance between fine art, interactive media and communication design; and a strong focus on research, partnership and innovation. Read more →
For more than 40 years, Michael O’Brian has matched his extraordinary career in investment banking with a distinguished reputation as one of Canada’s leading arts philanthropists.
Throughout his career, including in his current position as President of Nairbo Investments Inc., Michael has shown an intuitive sense for financial management, and his passion for the arts has lead him to share that wisdom with numerous arts and culture organizations throughout the province. Michael’s understanding of the unique economic obstacles faced by non-profit organizations has informed his many volunteer roles in support of these organizations. These include Directorship roles for the Vancouver Art Gallery Foundation, the Thomas Foundation, the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, and along with his wife Inna, Vancouver Opera. He is a past trustee of the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Museum of Anthropology, and is a past member of the Deans Advisory Board of the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia. An avid advocate for education, Michael is also an advisor to Create Change Foundation, an NGO currently sending over 1000 young girls to school in Ghana. Read more →
Professor Landon Mackenzie has had a long relationship with Emily Carr University – she began teaching visual arts at the institution in 1986, and has seen it grow through several official designations. But it could be argued that Mackenzie has had an even longer relationship with Emily Carr (1871 – 1945), the woman, painter, writer and overlooked pioneer of modernism. Although born in very different historical periods, they each faced cultural influences that shaped their work and, at times, forced them to work outside of conventional practices to interpret the environment in which they lived and created. Read more →
Emily Carr University is pleased to welcome David Zink Yi, who will join us in early 2015 as the Audain Distinguished Artist-in-Residence. The Audain Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Program, funded by Michael Audain and the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts, enables the University to bring the world’s leading contemporary artists to live and work in Vancouver for a one to three month period. Guest artists and visiting lecturers are an integral part of the Emily Carr community – artists complement students’ education, work with existing faculty and bringing new opportunities for collaboration and engagement. Read more →
On Friday, May 2nd, Emily Carr University hosted Vancouver’s most notable philanthropists and creative economy leaders for a spectacular evening celebrating creativity, our greatest natural resource! Our University’s purpose is to transform creativity in art, design and media into an infinite spectrum of possibilities for our culture as well as for our economy. With such an ambitious mandate, the University has numerous contributors to recognize and thank for their ongoing support. To do just that, on May 2nd, we hosted three distinct yet simultaneous cultural events which mingled festivities for: the launch of THE BIG IDEA Capital Campaign for our new campus; the announcement of a milestone gift which kicked off the Campaign; and Emily Carr’s famous annual graduation show Preview Night for The Show at Emily Carr (if you missed it, the online catalogue is a great way to take a virtual tour of many pieces.)
And, the Red Carpet Photos below aren’t to be missed – especially if you’re in them!
