As of Friday, September 27, 2019, UFV College of Arts’ new School of Creative Arts (SoCA) has successfully launched.
The new cultural hub was featured in Academica Top Ten and The Abbotsford News. The school combines departments in theatre, visual arts, art history and media arts with the end goal of creating a centre for creative innovation in the Fraser Valley. Dr. Heather Davis-Fisch is the school’s new director. She was previously the department head for the theatre program from 2016-2019.
“Combining theatre and visual arts into a new school gives us a chance to think consciously about what our vision and values will be and what we as an interdisciplinary school can do for our students and the Fraser Valley community,” Davis-Fisch said.
“Having all the disciplines together in one school will give us some exciting potential to grow our Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Media Arts in some very innovative directions. And there will be some very creative collaboration between the different areas.”
Students at the new school will benefit from an interdisciplinary and collaborative learning environment, one that combines new digital technologies and media with traditional art practice. As well, the school heavily promotes experiential learning opportunities and community engagements for students.
In conjunction with the SoCA launch party and to highlight the importance of art education, an exhibition titled: “Gallery Exhibition, I Went to Art School” is currently on display in the S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery at UFV’s Abbotsford campus in Room B136, B Building. The exhibition showcases UFV faculty and staff artworks alongside SoCA students and alumni to demonstrate the importance of art education and mentorship. The exhibition was curated by Melanie Jones (Visual Arts, Assistant Professor).