The Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory
Elegant Disorder: Perspectives on Porcelain: curated by CCST candidate Louis-Alexandre Douesnard-Malo
Opening reception: Friday, May 11, 7 to 9pm. Curator’s Tour with Louis-Alexandre Douesnard-Malo on Saturday, June 2 at 2pm. To June 23, 2012.
Artist talk with Paul Mathieu: Friday, May 11, 6 to 7pm
Curator’s Tour with Louis-Alexandre Douesnard-Malo on Saturday, June 2 at 2pm at Satellite Gallery. Space is limited. Please RSVP to reserve your place: debbie@satellitegallery.ca or 604-681-8425.
Elegant Disorder: Perspectives on Porcelain is a group exhibition featuring contemporary artists Paul Mathieu, Sin-Ying Ho, Shelley Miller, Elizabeth Zvonar and Brendan Tang. Presented at Satellite Gallery, this exhibition engages with the history of porcelain—in particular, contemporary expressions of the blue-and-white motifs reminiscent of Chinese Ming Dynasty wares. With more than a dozen works on display touching on pottery, sculpture and photography, this exhibition joins new perspectives to familiar porcelain motifs.
The works in this exhibition make a compelling statement: porcelain is an active and
... (more) »
Facing the Animal: curated by CCST candidate Tarah Hogue
Opening Reception: May 25th, 8 to 11 pm. Artist Talk and Book Signing with Bill Burns: June 7th, 7 pm. Show runs to June 29, 2012.
The Or Gallery is pleased to present Facing the Animal, a group exhibition curated by CCST candidate Tarah Hogue featuring works by Julie Andreyev, Mary Anne Barkhouse and Bill Burns.
The works in this exhibition ask what facing the animal might mean in contemporary art. Using wolves and their domesticated descendents as subjects, the artists challenge dualities of human/animal and culture/nature in favour of more complex interactions. Through narratives of conservation, industry, wilderness and urban life using the media of sculpture, photography, video and installation, we are asked to question the categories we use to shape our sense of the world in works that are both irreverent and intimate.
Vancouver-based artist Julie Andreyev's Animal Lover series is an “interspecies collaboration” with her two dogs, Tom and Sugi, that includes video works and an online blog ((more) »
Graduate Programs
The Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory is proud to offer the following four graduate programs:
The MFA in Visual Art program equips artists with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge to make critical and engaging artwork within the context of an ever-changing art world. The emphasis in the Visual Art program is to develop the creative potential of the individual student in his/her milieu, enhanced by research into critical art discourse on advanced contemporary art through direct access to the university’s extensive facilities and diverse disciplines. Students in the program may work in any area of contemporary art production including painting, drawing, printmaking, three-dimensional and installation work, photography, digital art, intermedia, video, performance, sound, or in any interdisciplinary form.
The Critical and Curatorial Studies Program leads to an MA in Art History. The program in includes an individually realized practicum exhibition or curatorial project. Recognized as one of the best in the world, the graduate curatorial studies program benefits from being embedded in the Department of Art History and Visual Arts and by having a relationship with the Museum of Anthropology.
Enriched by access to the full complement of university offerings, students in the MA in Art History Program and the PhD in Art History Program are encouraged to situate art in its historical context, to analyze its impact on the world around us, and to develop theoretical frameworks that contribute to critical thinking and engage with debates in the field. The programs encourage high scholastic achievement, original research, and a firm methodological grounding. The two-year MA program provides excellent preparation for a wide range of art-related careers, in addition to further study at the PhD level. The PhD program fosters art historical research and scholarship at the highest level and promises exacting study and deepening experience of the field.
Learn more about all AHVA Graduate Programs »
Undergraduate Programs
Art History
The history of art will appeal to students who are fascinated with the complex roles of art, architecture, visual and material culture in a range of societies from past eras through to the present. At UBC courses in Art History consider the 'visual object' from a wide variety of perspectives - for example, the artistic and cultural significance of particular aesthetic and material forms; the functional or ritual roles given to particular art objects or social spaces; the political and social significance of patrons and different categories of viewers; and the importance of evolving constructions of gender, sexuality, and community.
Learn more about AHVA Undergraduate Art History Programs »
Visual Art
The Undergraduate programs in Visual Art (BFA, BA/visual art) offer students a rigorous program of visual art practice within a stimulating and challenging academic environment, which includes the study of contemporary and historical art, cultural theory related to art production, and elective courses chosen from a broad range of subject areas. Created to develop technical and conceptual skills, our students are required to sample a wide range of mediums and artistic approaches made available through our course offerings, among which are painting, drawing, print media, sculpture, photography, digital and new media arts. Held in studio environments, our classes foster individual creative production and visual literacy in a lively atmosphere of instructor-lead debate, discussion and critique.
Learn more about AHVA Undergraduate Visual Art Programs »
Our Galleries
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery has an international reputation for its exhibitions, publications and projects in the area of contemporary art. Its collections and archives are an invaluable resource for scholars.
Visit the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery »
The AHVA Library Gallery
The mission of the AHVA Library Gallery is to promote research and discourse in the field of visual art by facilitating collaboration and experimentation within the department, the university, and the community. The gallery is dedicated to providing resources and opportunities to students, faculty and the community through exhibitions, public programs, and providing a venue to engage in dialogue.
Learn more about the AHVA Library Gallery »
AHVA Events
Exhibition/Opening
May 11, 2012
Elegant Disorder: Perspectives on Porcelain: curated by CCST candidate Louis-Alexandre Douesnard-Malo
Opening reception: Friday, May 11, 7 to 9pm. Curator’s Tour with Louis-Alexandre Douesnard-Malo on Saturday, June 2 at 2pm. To June 23, 2012. (more) »
Exhibition/Opening
May 25, 2012
Facing the Animal: curated by CCST candidate Tarah Hogue
Opening Reception: May 25th, 8 to 11 pm. Artist Talk and Book Signing with Bill Burns: June 7th, 7 pm. Show runs to June 29, 2012. (more) »
Exhibition/Opening
April 27, 2012
Sans Song: curated by CCST candidate Jenny Walton
Opening reception: 26th April 2012 at 7pm. Exhibition runs to June 2, 2012. (more) »
Exhibition/Opening
April 27, 2012
Black Maria - Scott Billings
Opening April 27th 7-12pm. Exhibition Runs April 27th – May 18th, 2012 (more) »
Exhibition/Opening
February 25, 2012
Beat Nation
Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture - February 25 to June 3, 2012 (more) »
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