MA Students

Kai Yee Chan

MA Graduate Student

Kai Yee Chan is a passionate arts administrator, with hands on experience in organizing exhibitions, art programs and projects, and marketing and video production. She is keen to develop innovative initiatives to promote creativity and social diversity and has over ten years of experience in cultural management and museum marketing. Here research interests include the correlation between art and religion, the confluence of Christianity and contemporary arts (especially in visual arts, digital arts, and moving images), the sublime in art, cross-cultural interaction, cultural identities, social diversity, and the manifestation of faith in postmodern times.

Michelle (Ziqi) Fu

MA Graduate Student

Michelle (Ziqi) Fu is originally from Beijing, China. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UW (Seattle) and is dedicated to interdisciplinary research in Literature, concentrating on theatre and drama. In her academic pursuits, Michelle focuses on contemporary experimental theatre. In her research, she explores the boundaries and transformations of theatre in 21st- century China. Michelle engages the public and street theatre in the creative process. By transcending the confines of space and time within the theatrical realm, she creates a series of immersive and transformative theatre experiences.

Beyond the stage, Michelle finds solace in poetry, cartoons, literature, and philosophy. She is also a part-time comedian, delighting in improvisational comedy and other experimental arts to form deeper connections with audiences. Michelle has transformed her passion for interdisciplinary art forms into several art projects/exhibitions, essays, and literature chapbooks. She embraces a world where passion and curiosity unite, boundless in its artistic possibilities.

Juliet Li

MA Graduate Student

Juliet Li hails from the south part of China, and is a theater fanatic and a movie lover. She was bonded with performance since her first ballet lesson at 4. She began her academic inquiry into theater during her undergraduate degree at Queen’s University, Kingston. Most recently, her research interests include film and performance aesthetics, performance theory, film theory, Chinese opera, and literature on performance and film. She is always drawn to the liveness and humanness in performance and films. To her, liveness is being present and humanness means humanity.

Rachel Maddock

MA Graduate Student

Rachel Maddock (she/her) is an independent dance artist, choreographer and arts writer guided by artistic curiosity. She has a BA in Visual Culture & Performance Studies from SFU and a Diploma of Dance Studies from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, London, UK. Rachel has written for local publications including The Dance Current, Dance International, Dance Central, SADMag and BAF. She has presented choreography at Mascall Dance’s Bloom, Chalk it Up, Small Stages, 12 Minutes Max, Open Stage and Co.ERASGA’s Salon Series, and has performed with artists and companies locally and in the UK since 2013.

Rachel’s movement practise has recently been nourished by somatic and improvisational techniques, including the influence and work of local artists Peter Bingham, Helen Walkley, Natalie and James Gnam, Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject and Olivia Shaffer. In her work, she is currently interested in the relationship between oneself, the land and each other.

www.rachelmaddock.com

Parastoo Pirasteh Fard

MA Graduate Student

I hold a BA in Theatre from Art University of Tehran. My main area of research interest lies in the field of Performance Studies, including performance of resistance, performance of identity, protests and performativity, and the connection between sonic experience and body. I am also interested in exploring ideas and questions in practice.

Joshua Segun-Lean

MA Graduate Student

Joshua Segun-Lean is a writer and critic based in Nigeria. His work has appeared in The Republic Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, and others.

Dan Watt

MA Graduate Student

Dan Watt is an enthusiast of film, photography, art and new technologies. He was raised on a farm on the prairies. They hold a BA in Political Science with a minor in Applied Ethics. They view the world through an interdisciplinary lens, seeking to understand the intricate connections between diverse fields of study. This unique perspective became a driving force in their academic pursuits, looking for new approaches in examining the intersection of art, culture, and society. As a life-long learner, Dan is drawn to art history, film and contemporary arts. He is also a board member Vancouver Tap Dance Society.