visions by Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Exhibit E Exhibition + Gala Art Auction

Stereoscopic 3D Centre

BC’s Creative Achievers

Student + Alumni Achievements

Em(powering) Industry Partnerships

Building Locally, Exploring Globally

Donor News

winter 2010/11

published by emily carr’s university advancement office

vısıons Exhibition + Gala Art Auction Brings Together Vancouver Art Community $441,000 RAISED IN SUPPORT OF EMILY CARR What began as a simple discussion between Emily Carr Board of Governors member Bob Rennie and Emily Carr’s President and Vice-Chancellor Ron Burnett, resulted in one of the most prestigious and successful art auctions in Vancouver’s history! With vision, leadership, synergy, a supportive community and a great cause anything is possible and this has never been truer than in the case of Exhibit E — an exclusive evening for art patrons, collectors and new friends in support of Emily Carr. The premise was to raise funds for Emily Carr to facilitate the development of an innovative Emily Carr artist-inresidence program and to provide additional and urgently needed student scholarships and Aboriginal awards. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the University’s 85th anniversary in a way that reinforced the important role that Emily Carr has played and will continue to play in the cultural development of Vancouver and Canada. What better way to do this than to exhibit and auction the works of significant artists — all with strong connections to the University? //CONTINUED ON PAGE 2.

03626881 1399 JOHNSTON STREET, VANCOUVER, BC CANADA

ecuad.ca

The 21st Century Student at Emily Carr A Message from the President + Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Ron Burnett, RCA

I will call her Mary. She arrived in Vancouver with a trunk full of DVD’s. She uses SMS and a variety of social networking tools to communicate with friends and family. She uses a small video camera to record her everyday life and edits the output on a laptop and then uploads the material onto the Web. She is adept at video games, though they are not an obsession. Cell phones are expensive, but she finds the money to have one. This may sound familiar because it describes an entire generation that is working creatively with Facebook, Vimeo,

YouTube and Flickr and a variety of other web and network tools. Mary loves old movies, hence the DVD’s. She knows more about films from the 1970’s and 1980’s than most film historians. She can quote dialogue from many films and reference specific shots with ease. She uses her expertise in editing to comment on the world and would prefer to show you a short video response to events than just talk about them. Cultural analysts tend to examine Mary’s activities and use of technology as one off phenomena, as moving targets, which will change with the time. This is similar to how critics saw pop music in the 1960’s as a momentary phase or like early comments on personal computers, which did not generally anticipate their present ubiquity and use by people of every generation. However, what Mary is doing is building a new form that combines many of the features of conventional languages but is more of a hybrid of different modes of speaking and writing. What if this is the new form and shape of writing in general? What if all of these fragments, verbal, non-verbal, images and sounds are fundamental to an entire generation and is their mode of expression? Language, verbal and written is at the core of what humans do everyday. But, language has always been very supple, capable of incorporating not only new words, but also new modalities of expression. As long as Mary’s incorporation of technology and new forms of expression is viewed as a momentary phenomenon it is unlikely that we will understand the degree to which she is changing basic notions of communications to which we have become accustomed over the last century.

Mary however has many problems with writing. She is uncomfortable with words on a page. She wants to use graphics and other media to make her points in an essay. She is more comfortable with fragments and with the poetic than she is with whole sentences. She is prepared to communicate, but only on her own terms. It is my own feeling that the ubiquity of computers and digital technologies means that all cultural phenomena are now available for use by Mary and her generation and they are producing a new framework of communications within which writing is only a piece and not the whole. Some may view this as a disaster. I see Mary as a harbinger of the future. She will not take traditional composition classes to learn how to write. Instead, she will communicate with the tools that she finds comfortable to use and she will persist in making herself heard or read. But, reading will not only depend on texts. Text on a page is as much design as it is media. The elliptical nature of the verbal will have to be accommodated within the traditions of writing, but writing and even grammar will have to change. Within this world, a camera, or mobile phone becomes a vehicle for writing. It is not enough to say that this means the end of literacy, as we know it. It simply means that language is evolving to meet the needs of far more complex expectations around communications. And, these changes only add to challenges of teaching the 21st Century student at Emily Carr.

Exhibit E Exhibition + Gala Art Auction //CONTINUED FROM COVER STORY

Twenty-three artists, fourteen of which are Emily Carr alumni, were invited by Cate Rimmer of the Charles H. Scott Gallery to participate in the event. Rimmer, one of the visionaries behind the conceptual artist-in-residence program, was overwhelmed by the generosity of the artists. In addition, Exhibit E participant and Emily Carr alumnus Gordon Smith was so inspired by his fellow contributors that he wrote a personal note of thanks to each artist, in which he stated how honoured and humbled he was to be included amongst such a distinguished list of contributors. The event, which took place on October 21, 2010 at Honorary Chairs Bob Rennie and Carey Fouks’ private gallery in historic Chinatown, would not have been as successful were it not for the expertise provided by Fouks and Wendy Chang, Director, Rennie Collection at Wing Sang. It was their unwavering commitment and determination that ensured such a positive outcome, with over $441,000 being raised in auction and ticket sales!

ALL EXHIBIT E IMAGES: JOHNLEEIMAGES.COM

As a gift for both gala guests and contributing artists, and in honour of the University’s 85th anniversary, internationally renowned artist Rodney Graham created two limited edition multiples. The acrylic-on-canvas text works read, “Send Your Child to Art School” – an appropriate piece of advice for this time and place and extraordinary event. The Emily Carr community wishes to acknowledge and thank the participating artists, Master of Ceremonies Gloria Macarenko, auctioneer Barry Scott, event sponsors and the artists’ galleries for their generous support. For a full listing please turn to page 14.

“I think Emily Carr has been an integral part of the artistic community. For me, it has been great to count on the University as a resource – a lot of events, discussions, and people move through the school... I’m glad to be able to benefit from this.” - Mark Soo (01) Contributing Artist.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: DEREK TRETHEWEY AND LEONARDO LARA EACH BIDDING ON ATTILA R. LUKACS’ PIECE; ATTILA R. LUKACS AND OTHER ATTENDEES; RON BURNETT, BOB RENNIE AND PETER BROWN. LAST TWO IMAGES: GUESTS LOOKING AT WORK BEFORE THE AUCTION. FRONT PAGE: EXHIBIT E HONORARY CHAIR, BOB RENNIE.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

PHOTO CREDIT

ALEXANDRE GARCIA OF THE FRENCH CONSUL AND DR. RON BURNETT, EMILY CARR PRESIDENT + VICE-CHANCELLOR.

A Knight of the Order of Arts + Letters FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS FROM THE S3D CENTRE

Emily Carr’s Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) Centre of Excellence Dr. Maria Lantin

The Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) Centre of Excellence is brimming with activity emerging from a talented group of S3D aficionados excited to share their expertise. The Centre, announced at the Interactive Futures 09:Stereo conference in November 2009, coalesces the stereoscopic activity that had been growing since the acquisition of a stereoscopic projection system in 2008. Following the November announcement, Western Economic Diversification (WED), and the Social and Interactive Media (SIM) Centre at Emily Carr supported the purchase of stereoscopic 3D capture equipment to complement our display capabilities. In addition to supporting research in S3D, the Centre is now poised to offer courses and equipment leasing to a broad community that includes filmmakers, students, animators, and artists. Courses will be offered through Continuing Studies beginning in the Spring of 2011. Dr. Maria Lantin, Director of the S3D Centre, is also pleased to welcome UK artist-in-residence Michael Verity who specializes in stereoscopic 3D image making

with an emphasis on portraiture. Since his arrival in July, he has been actively involved with curriculum development, graduate student support, equipment testing, and of course the development of his own projects. In November, Verity opened Zspace, a gallery and resource centre for S3D, which showcases both his own work and that of the S3D community at Emily Carr. Zspace is housed in the Intersections Digital Studios (IDS) foyer on the first floor and hosted its inaugural show during the International Digital Media Arts (IDMAA) conference that took place in November. The show featured GROWTH: a six day narrative, a hybrid S3D film blending stereoscopic time-lapse photography and animation, by sessional faculty member Ruben Moller. Research in the S3D Centre is supported by the SIM Centre (NSERC), the Graphics, Animation & New Media (GRAND) NCE, and SSHRC. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Western Economic Diversification in making the Centre a reality.

At a ceremony held June 3, 2010, at the Residence of France, Vancouver, Dr. Ron Burnett quietly joined the ranks of distinguished Canadians, such as Carol Shields and Margaret Atwood, when he received France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, in recognition of his contributions to world culture. In his powerful and poignant acceptance speech Dr. Burnett expressed his profound thanks to the French government, the former Minister of Culture and Communication, Christine Albanel; the current Minister of Culture and Communication, M. Frederic Mitterand; the French Ambassador in Ottawa, M. Francois Delattre; and the French Consul in Vancouver, M. Alexandre Garcia and his Cultural Attaché, M. Hadrien Laroche. He also expressed his deepest thanks to his wife Martha and their two daughters, Maija and Katie for their support and love. Dr. Burnett went on to explain that, “One of the central purposes of French government cultural policy in the international arena is the promotion of cultural diversity among all nations. This policy is also at the heart of UNESCO’s cultural platform. Ninety-three nations signed an agreement to promote cultural diversity, including Canada. France led this effort, and among the policy’s key statements are the following; Affirming that cultural diversity is a defining characteristic of humanity; Conscious that cultural diversity forms a common heritage of humanity and should be cherished and preserved for the benefit of all;

Evaleen Jaager Roy EMILY CARR’S NEW BOARD CHAIR

“EA was a big fan of Emily Carr graduates,” says Jaager Roy, a Vancouver native. “The University enjoys a strong reputation internationally, and it definitely punches above its weight when it comes to producing talented graduates.” She is most proud of the University’s outstanding track record in teaching, training and nurturing graduates who become leaders in the fields of design, media and visual arts.

Milton Kiang

HR veteran Evaleen Jaager Roy knows a thing or two about nurturing talent. Over the last decade, the newly elected University Board Chair helped manage the meteoric rise in employee growth at Electronics Arts, as it grew from a fledgling Vancouver-based company to a world leader in interactive digital entertainment, now with 19 offices and 9,000 employees world wide. The former EA human resources vice president first started collaborating with University President + Vice-Chancellor Dr. Ron Burnett in the late ‘90s, when EA began recruiting Emily Carr graduates.

Jaager Roy has experience when it comes to leading university boards; she became the first Simon Fraser University alumna to serve as SFU board chair, for three years from 1999 to 2002. “It helps to have experience chairing a university board, knowing how boards work, understanding the cohesiveness that’s formed among board members,” says Jaager Roy, who now runs Jaager Roy Advisory Inc., a firm that works with business clients on strategy, leadership and organization structure. As a former HR executive, she knows what it takes to produce talented people who can compete in the job market. Her input and leadership to the Board will definitely help in furthering the success of Emily Carr and its graduates. And of course, it helps that Jaager Roy appreciates video games, something that puts her on common ground with many of the University’s design and animation students.

Awareness that cultural diversity creates a rich and varied world, which increases the range of choices and nurtures human capacities and values, and therefore is a mainspring for sustainable development for communities, peoples and nations; and finally Recalling that cultural diversity, flourishing within a framework of democracy, tolerance, social justice and mutual respect between peoples and cultures, is indispensable for peace and security at the local, national and international levels. These statements and the values they put forward are in many respects, at the heart of my career and articulate far better than I ever could what has motivated me to spend a lifetime creating, promoting and defending culture in all its manifestations and forms.”

The evening’s proudest moment came when Dr. Burnett, surrounded by dignitaries, family and friends received the medal signifying his entrance into an order reserved for those who have dedicated their lives to the promotion of all things cultural. Emily Carr and the world’s cultural community owes much to Dr. Burnett and we as a University are delighted that the French government has recognized his significant contributions to the world of culture by making him a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

Emily Carr Welcomes its Inaugural Low Residency MAA Class Milton Kiang

Introducing Dr. Cameron Cartiere DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES

This year, Emily Carr welcomed the inaugural class of the University’s Low Residency Master of Applied Arts program. The 28-month graduate program, the first Low Residency Masters-level degree in Canada, prepares students to engage in the expanding fields of art, design, and media in diverse sectors of culture and the creative industries.

Germaine Koh, Althea Thauberger, Thomas Riedelsheimer, Associate Professor Randy Lee Cutler, John Cussans, Folke Koebberling and Martin Kaltwasser. The first class of 11 students, from places ranging from the Northwest Territories to Chicago, will present a midterm exhibition of their work in summer 2011.

Milton Kiang

At the time of this writing, San Diego-native Dr. Cameron Cartiere has been in her job for a month now. Newly arrived in Vancouver, she’s brimming with excitement in her role as Emily Carr’s new full-time Dean of Graduate Studies. For the former graduate director at the media and culture department at Birkbeck, University of London, taking on this role was a natural progression for the work she was already doing in the UK. But with one major difference – at the University of London, Cartiere was supervising 98 students; at Emily Carr, she’ll be directly supervising 19 first-year Masters’ students. “It’s a great role for me and with a ratio of only 19 to 1, it feels like a gift compared to what I’ve done in the past,” says Cartiere. For Cartiere, joining Emily Carr was an opportunity to return to an all art and design institution. Cartiere, who’s lived in the UK for the past 11 years, previously worked at Dartington College of Arts in Totnes Devon, UK, and the Chelsea College of Art & Design in London. Being at an all arts and design institution, Cartiere says: “You don’t have to continually have the discussion about the value of the arts in society with the colleagues in chemistry or the business school. “It’s a discussion we are always having outside of the university and that is fine, but it can be a bit draining when you have to do it within your own institution.” The graduate program, now in its fifth year, was originally designed by Dr. Monique Fouquet, Vice-President Academic + Provost, who continued to develop it with Associate Professor Renée Van Halm. Van Halm, who retired this year, served as the interim dean until Cartiere recently took over as program head. While Cartiere, in some ways, doesn’t have a predecessor to follow, she vows to follow Fouquet’s and Van Halm’s hard work and dedication towards the program. Her goal for this year is to embed the graduate program into every aspect of the university. “There are amazing opportunities for crosscollaboration, teaching, and mentoring across all the programs including Continuing Studies,” says Cartiere. “My hope for the graduate program is that we can bring together all different types of interests across the University and create opportunities for creativity that might not have been possible before.” The graduate program, which offers a Masters degree in applied arts, currently has 44 students: 19 first-year students, 14 second-year students, and 11 low residency students still in their first year. The University’s 2011 graduates will be the program’s fourth graduating class.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

“The Low Residency model suits established professionals whose living arrangements make relocation to a place of study difficult,” says program coordinator Dr. Chris Jones. “We work for most of the year with the advantages of online pedagogies and blend them with a four-week intensive residency period each summer.” The Vancouver-native, who previously lived and worked in the UK, was drawn to the program’s innovative approach towards research in applied arts. “The inception of a graduate program at Emily Carr was my main reason for returning to Canada from the UK,” says Jones. Jones who received his undergraduate degree from Emily Carr, holds a PhD from the University of Westminster, UK. The program is designed to facilitate interaction between students and faculty in a supportive atmosphere of collaboration that encourages critical thinking in traditional approaches and hybrid forms of production. Vancouver artists Ken Lum and the team of Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber were the first summer residency’s visiting studio faculty. The residency also included a speaker series with presentations and critiques by artists

JAN BERINGER, LOW RES MAA, 2010.

Container Art at the PNE For the second year in a row, the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) held an exciting urban, adaptive art exhibit that provided fair-goers with the opportunity to see 13 BC artists transform metal containers into colourful, dynamic and thought-provoking works of art. Container Art was a unique, multi-disciplinary venue/ gallery housed in 12 to 20 foot shipping containers, which were on site for the 17-day Exhibition. This year the fair celebrated its 100th anniversary with crowds of over 1 million attending. Current fourth year student Chun Hua Catherine Dong featured her installation, Everywhere & All at Once, a loop video projected on a 3’x 4’ table. The video revealed four people, two males and two females, all wearing red nail polish and playing mahjong. Viewers were encouraged to sit on chairs to participate and experience new roles both in virtual and reality in a playful way. Jonny Østrem (10) featured “O.”, a four-minute animation exploring the emergence of biological and perceptual complexity within a chaotic universe. The accompanying four large-scale images continued to explore the aesthetic developed in “O.” and extend the experience of grasping at complexity. Karen Garrett de Luna (MAA Candidate) featured her installation Ning Ning, an interactive swarm of LEDs that reacts to both stillness and motion. Installed in a corridor or along a path, Ning Ning invited viewers to sit and stay awhile, encouraging quietude by piquing the interest of passersby with dynamically choreographed LEDs masquerading as flirtatious lightning bugs.

TOP + BOTTOM: KAREN GARRETT DE LUNA, NING NING (INSTALLATION).

BC’s Creative Achievers Robin Laurence

It’s become something of a tradition, almost a recurring headline. “Emily Carr Alumni Claim Great Success at the Carter Wosk British Columbia Creative Achievement Awards for Applied Art and Design.” Recipients of this year’s honours, bestowed at a presentation ceremony at the Shaw Tower on September 27, include clothing designer Natalie Purschswitz (01) and Propellor Design partners Toby Barratt (96), Pamela Goddard (98), and Nik Rust (96), who specialize in creating environmentally responsible lighting and furniture. If you tracked the widely various classes each of these grads took at Emily Carr through the 1990s, you might not have predicted where exactly they would later make their creative mark. You would see, though, that their education gave them a terrific grounding in both ideas and materials. Purschwitz studied archaeology at the University of Calgary before enrolling in the Intermedia program at Emily Carr in 1996. Now identified with Hunt & Gather, her distinctive line of handmade clothing which pulls together all kinds of natural fabrics – new, used, and re-purposed – in unexpected ways, she cites a distinguished sculptor at Emily Carr as one of her lasting influences. “I feel extremely privileged to have studied with Liz Magor,” Purschwitz says. “Her artistic rigor is something I truly aspire to.” Purschwitz’s clothing, which is worn by dancers, musicians, performance artists and a discerning public, walks an asymmetrical path between the points of conceptualism, fashion and functionality. “I have a few projects on the go at once and some are more art than clothing, but others are more clothing than art,” she explains. The line between them, she adds, “gets blurry”. Between September 2009 and September 2010, the artist gained international attention for her concept-driven MakeShift project, in which she challenged herself to spend the entire year wearing only what she could make herself – including shoes, socks and underwear. When asked what prompted such an ambitious undertaking, which she documented on her blogspot and in a slide-show in the window of her Downtown Eastside studio during the 2010 Winter Games, she says simply, “I wanted to see how it would affect or change my life and the way I think about things.” Propellor Design’s Barratt recalls meeting his partners, Goddard and Rust, as students at Emily Carr. “We all concentrated on sculpture but we were very eclectic in our studies,” he says. “We took classes in industrial design, ceramics, painting, printmaking and film.” As for influences, he adds, “Nik and I had the good fortune to work closely with Sam Carter on a number of exhibition design and public art projects.” He goes on to name Rick Williams and Liz Magor (again, for her “rigour”) as important instructors, then adds, “All three of us owe a debt of thanks to Rick Robinson who was the woodshop technician during our time at Emily Carr... Rick was a natural teacher and a very skilled craftsman – and he passed his knowledge along freely.” After graduation, Barratt, Goddard and Rust pursued separate careers, then reunited in 2000, renting a small gallery/ showroom on Granville Island. “We just started making things and putting them in front of people,” Barratt says. These “things” included simple furniture and household items, and segued into their primary collaborative work in “designing, prototyping and crafting” lighting pieces. “We feel, as do many of our contemporaries in the art and design community, that the work of the designer is not limited to the creation of objects,” Barratt says. “It is our responsibility and pleasure to participate in the important conversations around sustainability, community and globalization that affect the production and consumption of our shared material culture.” To that end, the trio began to create local exhibitions that explored sustainable design, as well as contributing Propellor designs to green-theme exhibitions in Toronto and New York. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PROPELLOR DESIGN’S DRAM - A LIGHT FIXTURE CREATED FROM A

“We’re only passingly interested in trends and fashion,” Barratt observes. “Resilience, longevity and lasting appeal are qualities that we strive for in our work.”

COLLECTION OF VINTAGE TUMBLERS AND DRINKING GLASSES; SHOULDER BAG FROM THE MAKESHIFT PROJECT; NIK RUST, PAMELA GODDARD AND TOBY BARRATT AT THE CARTER WOSK BC CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS; NATALIE PURSCHWITZ MODELING ONE OF HER CREATIONS FROM MAKESHIFT.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

During her time at Emily Carr (she received her BFA in 2003), Erin knew she would one day run an arts-related space of her own; she just wasn’t sure what that space would become. In her previous roles, she took great pleasure watching children act as art ambassadors for their parents and would witness families who may not have otherwise entered a gallery space or come to a show, enjoy and understand their experience through their children’s participation. And, she wondered if she could create this type of space; one that could be both affordable and open to anyone. If she built it, would they come? These questions have been met with a resounding “yes”. Collage Collage celebrated its first anniversary in September.

Collage Collage SUPPORTING THE CREATIVE ABILITIES OF CHILDREN Sun streams through the windows, casting playful shadows on children sitting on a cozy rug on the floor. Shelf-upon-shelf of pom-poms, colourful feathers, plastic horses, handmade toys, children’s books and artwork hug the walls, while freshly created drawings and cut-out birds cover a large table in the centre of the room. Welcome to the world of Erin Boniferro’s Collage Collage. A strong believer that time spent with children is the most effective form of activism, Erin also feels it is

Can Design Lead to Social Change?

imperative in creating change within the world. So, it is no surprise that she has more than ten years experience working with children. Erin has worked largely in arts-based education, where she conducted outreach programming with Arts Umbrella, the Richmond Art Gallery and the Vancouver Art Gallery; she’s also spent time as a nanny. “It was a wonderful experience to work for these organizations that hired artists as educators as opposed to people who are educated in education,” she says.

According to Emily Carr alumna and design instructor, Kara Pecknold (MAA ’09), the answer to that question is “Yes.” “Social change isn’t about holding up a placard demanding change,” says Pecknold. “It’s about thinking of creative ways to connect to people and the environment; it’s about how we respond creatively and constructively to a social or economic issue.”

When asked what advice she might offer other artists thinking of starting a business, Erin stated, “It is really there to do as soon as you start to treat it like a profession. Emily Carr provided me with a wonderful community and that very community I received my education from, are the same people that participate in this part of my life. So community can be a huge source of inspiration and support if you choose to do these sort of things.” Establishing Collage Collage earlier sometimes crosses her mind, but Erin realizes that all the things that came before have led her to where she is today. She envisions a second or third store in Vancouver or even another city one day, and knows it will take more love and favours to make it a reality. For more information on Collage Collage, please visit http://collagecollage.ca/.

The course came about through discussions with design professionals and faculty who began to see an increasing need to relate the field of design with social change. Designers were adapting strategies and engaging the public while developing projects to improve communities and organizations. But there was no place at Emily Carr where methodologies, strategies and best practices could be shared so that these projects stood the best chances for success.

Milton Kiang Since last June, Pecknold has been instructing a new Continuing Studies course, Designing Social Change, where students, for a period of eight weeks, undertake a design project that creates a positive impact for the community. As an example of how design can lead to social change, Pecknold points to the creation of the Zipcar pay-as-you-drive system. The environmentallyconscious want to reduce their carbon footprint, especially when it comes to driving, but have a hard time modifying their car-driving habits. The implementation of the Zipcar system addresses this concern by reducing car ownership (therefore reducing the number of vehicles on the road and cutting back carbon emissions), while providing drivers access to private transportation when they need it.

WORKING THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

Pecknold cites her graduate research in Rwanda as a source of the course’s core values and approach. “At the start of my research, I was invited to develop a website to promote sales of local handicrafts for a cooperative of weavers in a rural community. While not inherently wrong, the timing was less than ideal. The reason? None of these women had access to a computer or the Internet,” says Pecknold. “This experience challenged me to understand the context of design before pursuing the deliverable. To do so, I developed a toolkit that would help me navigate these complexities when attempting to provide an appropriate solution. By understanding people’s desires and limitations, a designer is better equipped to create something that will offer lasting impact.”

The class challenges students to use design thinking and process to consider complex social and economic problems. Students learn about design as it relates to the social, cultural, environmental and economic systems we live in. The outcome of the course is a design concept and prototype that could be presented to a potential client or community leader for implementation. Feedback for the class has been positive. “Students have told me that they wished the course was an undergrad course. Others have said they wished it was taught at their workplace,” says Pecknold. Students have ranged from landscape architects to interior designers to PR consultants. “It’s satisfying to see how students are meeting after class to continue discussing their ideas,” says Pecknold. “They work hard and really want to see their ideas come to fruition.” “Designing Social Change is a course and an area of study that Continuing Studies is deeply committed to” says Sadira Rodrigues, Director. In addition to offering the course each semester, Pecknold and Rodrigues are also looking to expand the curriculum to target specific groups of individuals – from a Design Camp for highschool teens, to custom programs for industry decision-makers. Designing Social Change will be offered in the spring Tuesday evenings, from 6:30-9:30 pm, March 1 - April 19. Visit www.ecuad.ca/cs to register.

KRISTI MALAKOFF, AGRESIVE.

Extreme Malakoff Robin Laurence

Tyler Wilman Serves Up Fine Fare Mary Frances Hill

If art were sport, Kristi Malakoff would be one of its extreme practitioners. Not extreme as in over-the-topoutrageous, but extreme as in pushing herself and her oddly ordinary materials – paper, plastic, breakfast cereal – beyond every expectation of accomplishment. Her delicate, small-scale works are created with surgical precision, and her large-scale installations are made up of multiple, often-tiny components. Each component, intricately and flawlessly fashioned by hand, is individually mounted on the floor, wall, or ceiling. A work like Resting Swarm, for instance, comprises 21,000 photocopied, life-size, paper bees, each cut by hand and then massed in a corner of the exhibition space. Malakoff recalls that she has been driven to excel since she was a child. Whether studying piano, solving mathematical problems, or competing in the Iron Man Triathlon, she has always been goal-oriented. “If you’re going to do something, go big and do it the best that you can,” she says. Given her personal philosophy, it’s not surprising that she’s been exhibiting non-stop since before she graduated from Emily Carr in 2005, and has participated in dozens of solo and group shows in Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America. She has also won four residencies in the past five years, the most recent being at Proekt Fabrika in Moscow, where she stayed from April to June.

“It was a paper-making factory during the Soviet era,” she explains, “and, like many of these old factories, has been reclaimed and transformed into a multi-use space.” Presently, it houses artists’ studios, galleries, and performance halls for theatre, dance and music. While there, Malakoff produced a huge, wall-mounted graffiti work with the intentionally misspelled title of Agresive. “Originally, the piece was going to be temporary, but everybody liked it so much, they are trying hard to keep it for as long as possible,” she says. Returning to her home base in the British Columbia Interior, Malakoff hit the ground running, installing in quick succession an ambitious solo show at Touchstones Nelson, a giant light work for Nuit Blanche in Toronto, and another solo show for Latitude 53 in Edmonton. It’s a work schedule that would flatten most artists – never mind that every time Malakoff has an exhibition, she is essentially remaking her installations, reinvesting them with the energy that animates them. Invited back to Proekt Fabrika for an extended residency, starting in late November, Malakoff has uncharacteristically postponed or cancelled all the shows she’d planned for 2011. “I decided to stay for a full year because Russia and Moscow are just so amazing and inspiring,” she says. “Russia has such a complex, intriguing, layered history. I will be producing a new body of work based on my experiences and research there.” Based on her extreme approach to art-making, too.

Collaborations with the Rennie Collection Kyla Mallett

The Faculty of Culture + Community has been working closely with the Director and staff of the Rennie Collection, since they opened the doors of the Wing Sang gallery space in October 2009. What has emerged are a series of partnerships that are providing unique opportunities for Emily Carr students and the University. Wing Sang Internship Program: Internships provide real-world work experience for students. Over the last year, in partnership with Emily Carr’s Career + Co-op Office, the Rennie Collection has worked with close to a dozen co-op/intern students in the new Wing Sang Gallery. One of last year’s interns, Anne Cottingham, has recently been hired on as a permanent gallery administrator. This program is only beginning, and is already a resounding success! Rennie Collection Speaker Series: The Rennie Collection will bring between 2-4 world-renowned artists from their collection each year for exhibitions at the Wing Sang

Gallery. Beginning with Mona Hatoum in October 2009, Richard Jackson in April 2010, and Thomas Housago and Amy Bessone in November 2010, Emily Carr and the Rennie Collection have committed to bring each of these artists to the University to present a community lecture. Workshops at the Wing Sang: This program creates mentorship opportunities for outstanding students. The pilot program began with a small group of students who were provided with the opportunity to work with Richard Jackson as he turned the Wing Sang into his studio for the month of April. Upcoming workshops include a series of events with Martin Creed in May 2011.

If you’d have asked Tyler Wilman (05) five years ago what he’d be doing today, he’d have said architecture was in his future. Today he’s an experienced web graphic designer – and no one is more surprised at his career path than Wilman himself. “The interesting thing is I’m in a field I didn’t think I’d go into. I’d never imagined myself as a web designer,” says Wilman, a senior designer at Creative B’stro in Vancouver. Since earning his Bachelor of Design degree, Wilman has designed for clients such as the Vancouver International Digital Video Festival, United Jewish Communities, Canada-Wide Media, BC Business Magazine.com, CBC and Mod7, and learned from mentors like Rod Roodenburg (88) the principal behind Ion Branding and Design and Wil Ardt (00), Mod7 creative director, both Emily Carr sessional faculty. Wilman attributes much of his success to the instructors’ willingness to be open about their professional challenges, and the processes they used in their work outside of the classroom. He says he benefited most from hearing about those professional experiences. As a student, he says, “you tend to idealize the projects you want to do, but there’s no real client interaction. The instructors shared their real life stories, problems and challenges with the students. Because of that, I was able to jump into the workplace with an awareness from actual working professionals. “Emily Carr is strong in teaching working processes, and those are some of the best lessons I’ve learned – how to develop your own process and finding one that works best for you and your clients.” You can find out more about Creative B’stro at www.bstro.com.

For further information about projects and collaborations with the Rennie Collection, contact Kyla Mallett, Assistant Dean of Research and Collaborations, Faculty of Culture + Community (kmallett@ecuad.ca).

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

Student + Alumni Achievements

Brian Jungen (92) is the recipient of the 2010 Gershon Iskowitz Prize. Awarded annually to an active established Canadian artist, the prize is worth $25,000. Holger Kalberg (01) exhibited Painting/Collage, a solo exhibition of new works at Clark & Faria and was also featured in a duo show, New Paintings, at the Monte Clark Gallery. Third year design student, Sanghyun Samuel Kim, exhibited his work, Newly Born, in Green Revolution: Impact of Greening and Sustainability. Newly Born is Kim’s lastest interpretation of the natural beauty of a tree by piling multiple layers of colourful scrubbing pads. Tracey Lebedovich’s (99) local, independent documentary Victoria Park – A generation of bocce screened in Vancouver at the Rio Theatre. It is an endearing story about a group of aging Italian-Canadian bocce ball players from East Vancouver. Presentation House Gallery presented Flakey: The Early Works of Glenn Lewis (58) marking the first in-depth investigation of the early works of this artist, whose socially engaged spirit helped incite the cross disciplinary and interactive practices informing west coast art in the late 1960s and 1970s. Tricia Middleton (95) is the winner of this year’s Victor Martyn Lynch Staunton Award (Visual Arts category) administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. The annual awards, worth $15,000 each, recognize outstanding mid-career artists in the seven disciplines funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Tegan Moore (08) and former Emily Carr instructor Elspeth Pratt exhibited Haptic at the Helen Pitt Gallery (221A Gallery). Haptic explored touch in differing ways by exploring the edges, surfaces and traces of materials touching materials; abrading, eroding, fusing, at rest or in. Damian Moppett (92) was named to the prestigious Glenfiddich 2010 Artist-in-residence program in Dufftown, Scotland.

TOP LEFT: DOUGLAS COUPLAND, PLAYER ONE: WHAT IS TO BECOME OF US; TOP RIGHT: BRIAN JUNGEN, SOUND SPACE II; BOTTOM: NICOLE DEXRAS, CONSUME.

Steven Shearer (93) has been selected to represent Canada at the 54th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venzia 2011 (Venice Biennale). The only international visual arts exhibition to which Canada sends official representation, the Biennale is among the most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions in the world.

2010 MAA graduate Darinka Aguirre presented her thesis, Design for Repurposing, at the Learning Network on Sustainability (LenS) Conference in Bangalore, India, in October.

Congratulations to Emily Carr Industrial Design students for winning the top two prizes in Canada’s national undergraduate ergonomics competition at the Annual Association for Canadian Ergonomics conference. Current fourth year students Ashley Nawrot, David Westwood and Adrien Guenette (with Amanda Bremner, SFU Kinesiology) took home the top prize for their undergraduate paper - Watersport Gloves: A User Trial. • The project was completed in Human Fit: Testing and Evaluating Products and Interfaces, where students conducted user-trials on a working prototype. The group trialed Westwood’s 3rd Year project - cold water sport gloves designed to improve hand dexterity and grip strength while maintaining the insulating properties of a glove. • Diane Espiritu (10) took home second prize for her paper on her grad piece O2 Moba, The Oxygen Mobility Backpack: A Case Study on Ergonomic Design.

Douglas Coupland (84) has been selected to deliver the prestigious annual Massey Lecture for 2010 where he broke with tradition by writing the lectures in the form of a novel, Player One: What is to Become of Us. Coupland teamed up with Roots Canada to design RootsxDouglasCoupland, a limited edition collection of graphic apparel and leather goods. He was also recently selected by the Fox family to redesign the new Terry Fox monument as part of the newly revamped Terry Fox Plaza, Vancouver.

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Sonny Assu (02) exhibited New Works at the Equinox Gallery. A member of the Weka’yl First Nation (Cape Mudge), Sonny merges traditional Northwest Coast iconography with contemporary motifs addressing issues of personal lineage within the realm of contemporary culture.

Nicole Dextras (86) was one of 20 international artists stationed in a Ger (yurt) camp in the Northern Gobi desert creating work and attending a symposium for the first Land Art Biennial in Mongolia this past August. A photo exhibit of finished works as displayed at the National Modern Art Gallery in Ulaanbataar. Adrienne Drozdowski’s (10) film Terranaughts was screened at the prestigious Chicago International Children’s Film Festival in October. Liza Eurich (10) was a British Columbia Regional Winner in the Bank of Montreal’s BMO 1st Art! Invitational Student Competition with her piece, Bad Rainbows.

As part of the opening night festivities for Satellite Gallery, Peter Morin (01) debuted a new performance work, Petroglyphs. Utilizing a six-square metre button blanket and new petroglyphs, Morin explored connections between indigenous knowledge, community, and urban spaces. Ann Nelson (83) exhibited a solo show at Petley Jones Gallery. The exhibit, Earth Laughs at Flowers, was an exuberant celebration of gardens, both wild and cultivated. Su-An Ng (09) was awarded 2nd Prize with her graduation film, Nature on Its Course at the 5th Annual Women in Film Festival. Jonathan Nodrick’s (03) custom wallpaper company, Rollout, has earned him the title of 2010 Industrial Designer of the Year by Western Living Magazine. “O.”, an experimental animation by Jonny Østrem (10) was selected to screen at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and at the GIRAF Animation Festival. “O.” won the President’s Media Award in May 2010 at the Emily Carr Film/Animation External Grad Show. Sean Raggett (04) was invited to submit a feature in the June 2010 Aesthetica magazine, one of Britain’s leading art publications. Sean’s image graced the cover of the magazine along with the four-page feature, entitled A New Identity: Decoding Portraiture. Jasmine Reimer (09) exhibited an installation of new sculpture at 304 Days, Artist Run Project Space, which examined the relationship between the public and private sectors of life. Derek Root (85) exhibited new paintings composed of oil and wax in Where the Day Begins at the Monte Clark Gallery. Nick Santillan, (10) made the Canadian shortlist for the Dyson Award for his senior project, Red Blue CNC, a modular automated tool that can be easily and quickly arranged to suit specific tasks. Nick was also featured in an article in Switched - Design Concepts: New Explorations in 3-D an article showcasing artists and designers using new 3D technology.

Gabriella Solti (10) won third prize in the Alcuin Society’s 28th Annual Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada in the Limited Edition Category with her book, The Sensory Delights of Text. Katherine Soucie (09 + MAA Candidate) of Sans Soucie was featured in the 2010 international Quayside publication, 1000 Artisan Textiles released in May 2010. Six images from Katherine’s award winning Lace Series have been included in the book written by Sandra Salamony and Gina M. Brown. The Art Gallery at the University of Quebec at Montreal featured Stratachrome, a solo exhibition by David Spriggs (01) at the end of summer. In his Spectral Cities series, Ben Worth (07) explored the connection between a range of emotional motivations and different environments in an exhibit held at Lut Boutique. Chin Yuen (89) exhibited Wavelength at both the Waterfront Theatre in Vancouver and Collective Works Gallery in Victoria. Wavelength was a series of acrylic paintings that visualize the emission of energy in conversations, ideas, dreams and physical contacts. Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (83) exhibited Neo-Native Drawings and Other Works at the Contemporary Art Gallery. This was the first exhibition to focus on his works on paper and a 40-page softcover book was published including thirty-nine drawings, and includes text by Lawrence, and MFA candidate Peter Morin (01). Edge of Town, a group exhibition of photographs at Equinox Gallery included: Roy Arden (82), Honorary Degree recipient, Fred Herzog, and Associate Professor Liz Magor (71), among others.

Screening films at this year’s Vancouver Short Film Festival were Kara Miranda Lawrence (10), Eron Carruth (07) and Jose Pablo Gonzalez (07). Associate Professor Martin Rose participated in a panel moderated by Jeff Chiba Stearns (01), whose film, Ode to a Post-it Note, screened at the festival. The five-minute film was commissioned to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Post-it Note and features inventor, Arthur Fry. The Canada Council Art Bank announced the acquisition of works by Sonny Assu (02), Sadashi Inuzuka (85), Nadia Myre (97), Marianne Nicolson (96), Ron Terada (91), Associate Professor, Henry Tsang, and former student and Emily Carr Honorary Degree recipient, Robert Davidson. Blanket Gallery presented the inaugural exhibition of its new gallery location in downtown Vancouver with a group show that featured work by Jeremy Hof (07), Mark Soo (02), and instructor Neil Campbell. In a juried exhibition for ARTS 2010 at the Surrey Art Gallery, Wendi Copeland’s (10) painting Strips + Blobs #3 received first place recognition. Helma Sawatzky (09) placed second in the Photography and New Media Category and current fourth year student, Debbie Tuepah, received third place recognition for her sculpture, Warning Device IV. The Games are Open, a project by Berlin-based artists Folke Köebberling and Martin Kaltwasser, was a massive project in both scale and ambition. Using recycled materials from the 2010 Olympic’s Athletes Village, the artists constructed a larger than life bulldozer that will decompose to provide fodder for new growth. The following Emily Carr students have been involved with the project: Karen Garrett de Luna, Neudis Abreu, Desmond Wong, Lance Cardinal, Tony Charlie, Tom Hsu,

Samuel Kim, Bahador Saray, Sarah Storteboom, Chelsea Trousdell, and Shuai Szhao. Sessional faculty member, Holly Schmidt (MAA 08) conducted research for the project. Vanessa Kwan (04) and Erica Stocking (04) were selected to create a concept for a new permanent public artwork at the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre at Hillcrest Park. Noise not Noise was a series of panels and performances that also included an online exhibition exploring the changing role of noise in culture. Both Isabelle Pauwels (01) and Eli Bornowsky (05) participated in panels presented by Western Front New Music, Performance Art and Exhibitions in March. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and The Sobey Art Foundation announced the nominations for the 2010 Sobey Art Award. The West Coast and Yukon region nominees included: Mark Soo (02), Kevin Schmidt (97), Isabelle Pauwels (01) and Jeremy Shaw (99). Adad Hannah (98) received a nomination within the province of Québec. Selected work by the shortlisted artists will be featured in an exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal from October 8, 2010, to January 3, 2011. The winner was announced at a gala event on November 18, 2010 (after publication). Congratulations to 2010 graduates Eva Caspar and Naghmeh Abbasi, who were included in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Student Showcase. Each year, the showcase chooses the finest ten student films and animations from across Canada. Communication Design graduates Anna Bohn and Jennifer Griffiths (10) were each awarded 2010 Salazar Awards, recognizing up-and-coming design students across BC. 2010 Communication Design graduates Jennifer Griffiths, Se Eun Kim, Pinar Undeger and Iris Wu were each awarded 2010 Applied Arts Awards in the student category. 2010 Industrial Design graduates Jared Rhind and David Westwood were awarded Industrial Designers of Society of America Merit Awards. Giant Ant Media’s partners, Jay Grandin (04) and Leah Nelson (06) were featured in an Editorial Profile in Applied Arts Magazine.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: STEVEN SHEARER, HASH STUDY; JOHNNY OSTREM, HEX; WENDI COPELAND, STRIPES + BLOBS #3; GABRIELLA SOLIT, THE SENSORY DELIGHTS OF TEXT; FOLKE KÖEBBERLING + MARTIN KALTWASSER, THE GAMES ARE OPEN; TRICIA MIDDLETON, DARK SOULS; (L-R) AMANDA BREMNER, DAVID WESTWOOD, ASHLEY NAWROT + ADRIEN GUENETTE, WATERSPORT GLOVES; A USER TRIAL.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

Faculty + Staff Achievements Associate Professor Julie Andreyev (88) took on dogs and the Mississauga cityscape in her exhibition julie andreyev: passages, featured at the Art Gallery of Mississauga this fall. Associate Professor, Ruth Beer exhibited new sculptures, multi-channel video and an interactive immersive projection in Disrupting Currents: Catch + Release in collaboration with Jim Budd and Kit Grauer at the VIVO Media Arts Centre for the month of April. Flow, an artwork by Assistant Professor Fiona Bowie and collaborator Sidney Fels, was selected as one of the best public artworks at the Americans for the Arts (AFTA) conference in June. Associate Professor, Peg Campbell, was awarded a BC Arts Council Project Assistance for Media Artists grant for post production on an experimental dance film, Orlando. The grant, will allow Peg to continue to work with Jennifer Mascall of Mascall Dance, creating new choreography out of images shot on location in Scotland with dancers from The Brutal Telling, a performance about the life of Emily Carr. Associate Professor, Arni Haraldsson, exhibited in Yesterday’s Tomorrows this summer at the Musée d’Art contemporain de Montréal. The exhibition brought together works by ten Canadian and international artists, and examined Modernism by establishing a discursive dialogue with a particular Modernist designer or monument. Assistant Professor Merritt Johnson exhibited Sky Dome (Props, Patches, Rips and Tears) at Grunt Gallery this summer. Sky Dome investigated perceptions of division and confluence where land and sky meet. Sessional faculty member, Celia King, and Joel Snowden’s project A440 Hz was an artistic collaboration investigating our musical universe, spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum and extended to include human hearing, consciousness and the periodic table of elements. Collaborators included Erica Stocking (04), Michael Black (01), Emma Lehto (04), Char Hoyt (97) and Robert Mearns (06). Associate Professor Liz Magor (71) has been named Fellow of The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada, Royal Society of Canada (RSC). The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists. She was also featured in Artists & Writers in Conversation / Part 2: Super Natural Manufactured at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

Kyla Mallet (97), Assistant Dean of Research + Collaborations was featured in a group exhibition, Following A Line at the Contemporary Art Gallery this fall.

Sessional faculty member Alan Storey completed Compass, a historically-based interactive work integrated into the architecture of Bellevue, Washington’s new City Hall.

Sessional Faculty Member Heidi May’s most recent project, Selfpost | Postself, examines the networked and self of contemporary digital culture and explored questions about the make-up of the self/selves after Facebook.

Associate Professor, Rita Wong, was part of the team organizing the talks, workshops and mapmaking sessions for The Water Beneath Our Feet: Mapping the Spirit of False Creek Watershed. The project was organized by the False Creek Watershed Society with the support of the Roundhouse Community Centre and the Downstream Research Project at Emily Carr.

A feature article on Associate Professor, Elizabeth McIntosh, entitled Done. Not Done. Might Be Done... appeared in the Summer 2010 edition of Canadian Art magazine. Elizabeth also exhibited new paintings at Diaz Contemporary in an exhibit entitled A Good Play. Sessional faculty member, Shinsuke Minegishi, exhibited Transfer and Transformation | a print exhibition of works at Art Beatus this fall. Earlier this year, Charles H. Scott Gallery’s, Cate Rimmer, curated After the Gold Rush. Following Vancouver’s Olympic moment, the exhibit asked the question: what happens next? After the Gold Rush took a closer look at the uncertainties and ambiguitites of this state of “afterness” in a gathering of works by A-list international artists. Kevin Schmidt (97), sessional faculty, was featured in a solo exhibition at the Catriona Jeffries Gallery. Kevin presented an installation of four distinct bodies of work that continue his exploration into the production and critique of spectacle.

Assistant Professor Julie York (96) showcased her sculptures in an exhibit entitled Reflectionnoitcelfer at Pentimenti Gallery In Philadelphia, PA. Sessional faculty members Geoffrey Farmer (92), Ron Terrada (91) and Althea Thauberger are included in a new book, Creamier: Contemporary Art in Culture, on 100 emerging contemporary artists from around the world. Lecturer, Sheila Hall, and professor, Sam Carter, co-curated an exhibit at the Vancouver City Archive entitled Chinatown Past, Present and Future, where Emily Carr Foundation Sstudents participated in creative processes and drawing assignments to create works inspired by sixteen specific Chinatown historic sites.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CLAIRE ROBINSON, DEFIANCE; LIZ MAGOR, LIGHTSHED; SHINSUKE MINEGISHI, MONK ; DIRK STASCHKE, MY BEAUTIFUL NOTHING; RUTH BEER,

READ Books/ECU Press’s Kathy Slade exhibited a textbased work, Is Everything Going to Be Alright? at the Audain Gallery this summer. This seemingly direct question tests public sentiment at a moment of general global uncertainty and at a moment when Vancouver is coming out of its Olympic daze and is rebranding and refiguring its relationship to nature as a green city based on sustainable urbanism. Associate Professor, Louise St. Pierre, represented Emily Carr at the Pratt Academic Leadership Summit on Sustainability, with 35 independent colleges, institutes and universities of art and design from across North America. The event aims to help institutions work collectively to build a strategic plan for integrating environmental sustainability education into art and design programs. Sessional faculty member, Dirk Staschke, was awarded the 2010 John & Joyce Award of Excellence as part of the Bellevue Arts Museum Biennial. The work is currently on view at the Bellevue Arts Museum through January 16, 2011.

DISRUPTING CURRENTS: CATCH + RELEASE; HEIDI MAY, HARD SEARCH.

LEFT: JAMES HALLAM ASSESSING THE HAND-HELD COMPONENT OF AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGER AT POWERTECH.

Em(powering) Industry Partnerships EMILY CARR STUDENTS AND POWERTECH Design can be a powerful driver of business innovation and growth, but design language can take years to learn fluently. So how do you engage companies in the design conversations that can help them make their next leap forward? That’s the challenge that a number of Emily Carr students have tackled through their real-world immersion at Powertech, a division of BC Hydro that specializes in clean energy consulting, testing, and power solutions. Powertech made Canadian history by creating Canada’s first and only Level III Electric Vehicle Charging Station, the fastest way to charge electric cars. But it takes continuous innovation to stay on the forefront of alternative fuel-source technologies and initiatives. Emily Carr’s Social + Interactive Media Centre, funded by a 5-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, supports innovation through applied research. The student design team, led by Associate Professor Louise St. Pierre, an industrial designer with a focus on sustainability, gave Powertech insight into how design can help them grow and enhance their competitive advantage. Students Sarah Bailey and James Hallam spent the summer working on site at the company; their co-op placements laid the groundwork for a semesterlong project in which 16 third-year design students are now working with Powertech on projects that research real-world solutions to enable the transition from petroleum to electric or hydrogen fueled transportation. Samantha Lefort is a student in the design class that is working with PowerTech through December 2010. She spoke with Sarah and James about their co-op placement that kicked off the Powertech collaboration: What was your role at Powertech? James: Our title was “Design Ambassador”, but we actually got to do stuff. Our role was to make Powertech aware of the potential of design, as a business tool, research tool, a competitive advantage, and a new way of thinking. Since we were the first people who’ve ever played that role in Powertech’s clean transportation business, there were no set measures of success. So we had to be embedded in the company; if it had been an outside position, it would never have worked. Sarah: What we were really doing was creating a new understanding of the space that they were in. It was our job to look for new opportunities, and help them come up with a new framework for clean tech research as an engineering firm.

How did this project come about? James: It all came from Mari Nurminen, Powertech’s Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning. She was educated as a business person, but because of her previous exposure to design, she saw the opportunity for design to advance the company’s long-term growth. How did this experience affect your own design work? Sarah: It was an amazing, completely engrossing experience. I have a lot more confidence now, knowing how I contribute as a designer. What was a typical day like? Sarah: We spent a lot of time talking to people in different design labs, just finding out what everyone was working on, and trying to understand their language, their way of seeing things. Then we translated that into visuals, diagrams, and ideas that helped them to have conversations among themselves about what their priorities were and how they saw themselves as a company. James: Our work was always better when we talked to people – to anybody and everybody. We got all these contributions from different people, put them on drawings and notes, and then created mind maps by arranging and rearranging these into categories and patterns. That was how we found where there were opportunities for design...like working on the charging station, or helping them to develop their visibility and company profile. What advice would give to future students based on your experience at Power Tech? Sarah: Get that first job out of the way, and test what you’ve learned in the classroom in the outside world. James: Find your own opportunity to get involved in a real-world project. No one knows what you can do until you let them know. And the best place to meet them is by hanging out at the water cooler. Co-op placements enable students to apply their knowledge and skills and gain valuable work experience in real-world businesses. A wide range of employers, including large and small businesses, non-profit organizations and the public sector, hire co-op students. For more information about hiring a co-op student, please contact the Career + Co-op Education Office, coop@ecuad.ca or by phone at 604 844 3843.

A Legacy of Good Design Milton Kiang

What do the first BlackBerry, iPod and Sony Walkman all have in common (besides being iconic objects for their time period)? If you were to ask industrial design Associate Professor Roman Izdebski, the answer would be simple: innovative design. A product’s design is what makes it stand apart from others: its shape, structure, functionality. In a three-meter-high glass case, located on the third floor of the South Building, sits about 50 uniquely designed products dating from the 1950s to present date. They consist of objects such as old film and digital cameras, European and American domestic kitchen appliances, a group of Apple Computers, an Apple CD/DVD player, as well as the first transparent Apple computer monitor. There are also a few Braun objects designed in Germany and a Bang & Olufsen stereo system from the ‘80s. Most of these objects have been donated by Izdebski and by industrial design graduates, many of whom have gone off to take design positions at prestigious companies such as Apple, Adidas, Microsoft, Puma and Nokia. Upon retirement, the 34-year design veteran will be donating more objects to bolster the University’s industrial design collection. The Polish-born educator feels that it’s important for students to view up-close, objects that, in recent history, define the best in innovative design: “The collection complements the student’s history of art design courses and informs them on what kind of criteria well designed objects should meet; this includes firmness, commodity and delight. By ‘firmness,’ we mean structural integrity, by ‘commodity’ we mean functionality, and by ‘delight,’ visual, symbolic and emotive qualities.” “The last statement,” Izdebski adds, “is quoted from Vitruvius, a Roman Architect who lived 2,000 years ago.”

Emily Carr University of Art + Design is grateful to Professor Izdebski for his generous donation - certain to inspire generations to come.

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Kevan Funk A FINE YOUNG MAN They’ve been looking for someone like Pete. Someone honest, upstanding and true. Someone they can put their faith in... It’s 1962 and the Red Threat looms large over America. As the heart of the Free World measures its strength against the U.S.S.R., a new fear emerges; one with far greater implications then either the space race or the bomb.

A PRODUCTION STILL FROM A FINE YOUNG MAN, WITH KEVAN

A Fine Young Man, a short film written and directed by 4th year student Kevan Funk, recently made its world premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. The film screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival in October, and received the Alberta Spirit Award for Best Short at the Calgary International Film Festival. “The buzz on the circuit festival has been fantastic,” says Funk. “Getting the audience reaction, and participating in Q+A’s is rewarding in itself.” The film is, to a large extent, about belief; something that was instilled in Funk at an early age. The cold-war era story focuses on two CIA agents seeking their latest recruit to join in the fight against communism. Though the film has been lauded as political by some critics, he claims his story was not intended to be issue-based. “It just sort of happened,” says Funk. Treatment is now complete for a feature length film. Funk explains that after discussions with both actors and viewers, the question of ‘what happens next?’ kept coming up. And, how could they take the film to the next level? “The feature is more about many different stories,” says Funk. “It’s more of a personal journey based on the characters and dynamics of power/belief.”

PROVIDING DIRECTION TO HIS CAST.

Kevin firmly believes that writing roles for actors is just as important as writing the story. Funk’s short film Weight, screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2009. When asked if audience response has influenced his succeeding films, he says, “You have to look at the role of the viewer in all art. Is it easy to consume? Is it entertainment or is it art? You want to tell your story, but you are also looking for something that the audience can digest. There is always ambiguity.” For a young filmmaker (Funk recently turned 24), his list of credentials is lengthy. He credits his parents, who ran a grassroots theatre company, for his early introduction to the arts. A love for acting and photography eventually led him to filmmaking. Funk’s cousin (incidentally, also a filmmaker), introduced him to business partner Wes Salter, one of the films leads, nearly 15 years ago. Together, the pair tell stories through their company A Bulldog Named Gorilla - www.abulldognamedgorilla.com. When asked to impart advice to up-and-coming films students, Funk says “make as much work as possible. Take advantage of the school as a resource. Collaborate. Be more ambitious than you had planned to be. And, experiment - short films give you the independence to do what you want.” “What makes Emily Carr stand out,” says Funk, “is that you are constantly being empowered to create content. And that is key.”

The crew for A Fine Young Man was comprised of the following Emily Carr students: 4th year’s Benjamin Loeb (Director of Photography, Producer), Ken Tsui (Assistant Director), Dustin Wadsworth (Gaffer), Jennifer Somerstein (Script Supervisor), Alex Viau (Dolly Grip), Riel McGuire (Sound), Hanna Tveite (Production Stills), 3rd year, Kelsey Brill-Funk, Onno Blasé (Exchange student), and recent graduates Mitch Stookey, Darren Bachynski, Raphel Choi, and Christina Ladwig.

Learning Karachi DESIGN FOR DISASTER RELIEF IN PAKISTAN Tobias Ottahal and Hamza Vora are 2009 graduates of Emily Carr’s Bachelor of Design program. Currently residing in Karachi, Pakistan, the pair are team-teaching an interdisciplinary design course, Design for Disaster Relief, to 3rd year students at the University of Karachi in response to the massive Pakistani floods of 2010. The project evolved out of two things: Ottahal wanting to see if he could put his newly acquired design degree to use, and Vora wanting to re-connect with his hometown of Karachi. Ottahal was originally planning to go to Tanzania to teach screen-printing, when Vora mentioned that he had been speaking to the university about teaching. Originally, they planned to teach a project-based design course aimed at connecting the stagnated rural crafts areas of Karachi with design students for mutual benefit. The hope was that the crafts-people would benefit from design process and ideas, and the design students would be able to reconnect to their heritage, its philosophies and production methods. Then the devastating floods occurred, displacing millions, and they felt that the only right thing to do was to address the current situation. Under the supervision of Durriya Kazi – head of the Visual Studies department at the University of Karachi, Ottahal, Vora, and their students have been working directly with the inhabitants of the displacement camps set up around Karachi, researching needs and developing ways to better the current situation. HAMZA VORA AND TOBIAS OTTAHAL WITH THEIR STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI, PAKISTAN.

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In addition, the pair has been assisting a displacement camp outside of the city, handing out necessities, such as food and toiletries. Most recently, they held a fundraising campaign to purchase charpais (cots) for camp members who have been sleeping on the ground... quite literally, with snakes and scorpions. In just 10 days, they raised enough funds through family and in large part, their Vancouver friends and colleagues, to provide beds for the entire camp of 200 people. They are now trying to find a company to match funds in order to purchase blankets and pillows as the camp prepares for the cooler season. You can find out more about their fundraising efforts at - www.upwardsonwards.com/charpai/.

When asked what they have taken away from their studies at Emily Carr, Vora responds “For me, it was learning to work together with other people and integrating their desires and your own, as well as using one’s own practice for the betterment of your community.” Says Ottahal,“I think I have become more aware of the holistic perspective of things. Everything is connected, and as soon as you effect or affect one part, you have an impact on an unknown number of other parts. I think that knowledge has informed my choices, not only personally but also professionally.” You can learn more about the course, and Ottahal and Vora’s experiences in Karachi at - learningkarachi.wordpress.com.

Building Locally, Exploring Globally Mary Frances Hill

It’s not every day that a university has the opportunity to build a local destination that reflects the values of indigenous communities across the world. Emily Carr’s Aboriginal Program Manager, Brenda Crabtree, has managed to do just that with the opening of the new Aboriginal Gathering Place The building’s architecture reflects a traditional Coast Salish longhouse and encompasses a research assistant office, student computer lab, studio/workshop space and a student lounge. Crabtree is quick to note that none of this would have been possible without funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development Gathering Places Capital Fund. As a space that embraces Aboriginal ancestry, appealing to prospective indigenous students, Crabtree says that the Gathering Place is designed “to enhance and nurture the educational, cultural and artistic needs of our Aboriginal students”.

Borneo, where she attended the World Eco Fibre and Textile Forum; an opportunity for artists and educators to exchange ideas on artistic practices in indigenous communities. Crabtree and her colleagues focused on ways that Aboriginal artists could use sustainable practices in their work. “While we’re all very different, we have similar stories. It’s interesting to see how other cultures have dealt with some of the challenges in regard to access to resources and sustainability,” she says. For example, many Aboriginal weavers use chemicalbased dyes; they’re inexpensive and effective, but often very toxic. Weavers of the Iban community of Kuching, in Malaysia’s Sarawak region, invited Crabtree to a traditional women-only “mordant” ceremony, during

which they prepared local indigenous plants to make natural mordant and dyes. Crabtree says she was inspired by the ingenuity of the textile artists’ commitment to adopting more traditional, sustainable practices in their work. The trip to Borneo allowed her to exchange ideas on new initiatives in indigenous art—to glean material that will inspire contemporary artists for years to come. “It’s vital to my creative energy to see from a global perspective what other indigenous artists are not only working with, but what they’re working toward,” she says.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: WOVEN IBAN BASKETS; IBAN WOMAN AT THE RUMAH GARIE LONGHOUSE PREPARING LOCAL PLANT MATERIALS FOR MORDANT CEREMONY; WEAVING A HAT; PREPARING NATURAL INDIGO DYE FROM LOCAL INDIGO PLANTS.

While students and the community utilize the Gathering Place, the local intentions are shared worldwide. Revitalization and perpetuation of indigenous art forms is a global initiative; Emily Carr’s Aboriginal Office has indigenous collaborations that include Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Borneo and Tuvalu. Crabtree oversees the Gathering Place activities but also writes grants, teaches and continues to develop curriculum for Aboriginal studio and art history courses. She returned mid-October from a trip to Kuching,

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

TD Guest Speaker/Designer In Residence Program

With Thanks Exhibit E alumni, supporters, friends, sponsors + volunteers

Robin Laurence Ms. Evaleen Jaager Roy, Chair, Emily Carr University of Art + Design Board of Governors and Dr. Ron Burnett, President + ViceChancellor, wish to acknowledge the following individuals and organizations without whom Exhibit E would not have been possible:

Expect Emily Carr University of Art + Design to host a roster of internationally renowned designers, thanks to generous funding from TD Bank Financial Group. “The TD Guest Speaker/Designer in Residence Program will provide opportunities for Emily Carr to invite worldrenowned experts in their field to the University for a specified period of time,” says Sylvia Iredale, Executive Director, University Advancement. The purpose, she adds, is to expose graduate and undergraduate students to an extraordinary range of knowledge across the spectrum of design. Whether they visit briefly in order to deliver a talk or at length to participate in an extended residency, the guest designers will share their experience and expertise. “Their specialized knowledge will facilitate the breadth and depth of design research programs and projects undertaken by Emily Carr students,” Iredale continues.

RENNIE COLLECTION Bob Rennie and Carey Fouks, Honorary Chairs; Wendy Chang, Director, Rennie Collection

EMILY CARR STAFF Cari Bird, Senior Graphic Designer; Ghislaine Crawford, Fundraising and Special Events, University Advancement; Sylvia Iredale, Executive Director, University Advancement; Cate Rimmer, Curator, Charles H. Scott Gallery

LIMITED EDITION ARTWORK

“TD is proud to support Emily Carr in its development of world-class designers,” says TD spokesperson Jeff Meerman. “We are continually striving to make a

Rodney Graham

ARTISTS Sonny Assu, Andrew Dadson, Stan Douglas, Geoffrey Farmer, Graham Gillmore, Dan Graham, Cai Guo-Qiang, Brian Jungen, Tim Lee, Mark Lewis, Attila R. Lukacs, Ken Lum, Landon Mackenzie, Myfanwy MacLeod, Liz Magor, Elizabeth McIntosh, Damian Moppett, Gordon Smith, Mark Soo, Mina Totino, Ian Wallace, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Etienne Zack

The Emily Carr community wishes to express our gratitude to the following donors who have recently established funds in support of students:

Gloria Macarenko, Rhino Print Solutions, Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver, Denbigh Fine Art Services, Site Photography, Nk’Mip Cellars, Opus Framing & Art Supplies, Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie

The Bellringer Family Foundation established a $1,000 award to be disbursed annually to a graduate student in the Visual Arts stream, for a period of five years.

Maynards Fine Arts + Antiques, Chernoff Fine Art, John Lee Images, Graham Hamilton Design, Whistler Water

The Simon Chang (71) and Phyllis Levine Foundation provide $3,000 awarded annually to three outstanding undergraduate students (one each from visual arts, media arts and design). These scholarships are in addition to a scholarship endowment that was initially established by Mr. Chang in 1985.

VOLUNTEERS Patrik Andersson, Justine Crawford, Bruce Furlonger, Eva Bouchard, Alisha Walsh, Kim Neal, Richard Iredale, Anne Stobart, Brenda Crabtree, Alan McMillan

The Cottrell Family First Nations Award will provide a $1,000 annual award to an Aboriginal student through the Aboriginal Awards process.

PHOTO: ANDREW CAMPBELL

We would also like to acknowledge the following galleries for their support: Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Equinox Gallery, Diaz Contemporary, Monte Clark Gallery, Bushchlen Mowatt Gallery

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

TD is donating $50,000 to the University over the next three years. “We want to help Emily Carr with its goals and objectives and we know the school wants to continue to attract distinguished guest speakers and retain some very good design professionals and really enhance the educational program for students,” Meerman continues. “When we saw Emily Carr’s submission, we thought that it would be a perfect fit, for both the university and the objectives we have for our community investment.”

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