Visual Art

Students enrolled in the SCA Visual Art program are immersed in a dynamic and progressive education in contemporary art. The program balances studio-based production with a strong theoretical component. Our method of continuous enquiry connects hands-on production with critical reflection and is recognized for fostering an informed, experimental approach.

Contemporary art is a form of material knowledge that produces thought and experience. We are committed to investigating the ways in which art connects to a broad range of social questions and functions. Through exposure to the most challenging and innovative examples of contemporary art, our program encourages students to envision their own artistic practice while exploring a wide variety of media.

Students have opportunities to present work in the Audain Gallery, in our visual art studio at 611 Alexander Street, and site-specific projects throughout our downtown campus. As well as attending our ongoing series of talks by local and visiting artists, our students benefit from working with international artists participating in the Audain Visual Artists in Residence program. In addition to our multidisciplinary approach to studio practice, our students study side-by-side with students from other disciplinary backgrounds. The presence of students from the Master of Fine Arts program further contributes to our close-knit intellectual community that fosters critical thinking and creative growth.

Many of our students are admitted to prestigious national and international graduate programs while significant numbers of graduate students go on to successful careers in the arts or related fields. All students acquire knowledge that forms the basis for life-long learning connected to community networks.

For information about applying to the program, please follow the links at the Future Students section of our site.

Program Information

The goal of the SCA Visual Art program is to provide students with the integrated practical and theoretical skills necessary to become self-sufficient and productive artists. The program includes open studio courses in which students produce work in a variety of media. There are also practical skills courses, which focus on specific techniques. Students receive regular feedback on their work through faculty-led group critiques. Cultural study classes, art history courses, and critical seminars provide an historical and philosophical framework for understanding how meaning is conveyed through the images around us.

Not only do our students contribute to and participate in the vital art communities of our contemporary world, but also their learning experience in our program supports active life-long learning for them as locally and globally minded engaged citizens.

To see detailed descriptions of the program options in the Visual Art area, please visit the Academic Calendar.

611 Alexander Studios

Since 1993, the SCA Visual Art program's facilities have included a large open-plan studio at the Alexander building in downtown Vancouver. The space provides classrooms, a workshop, a presentation space, and second to forth-year undergraduate and MFA student studios; it is also the venue for the 611 Talks series of talks and presentations by visiting artists.

Alexander Studios
611 Alexander Street, Suite #330
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6A 1E1

Audain Gallery

As the location for yearly student exhibitions, SFU Galleries' Audain Gallery at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts extends the pedagogy of the SCA. Through exhibitions, seminars, panels, artist talks, studio visits, and working directly with visiting artists, the programing and activities of the Audain Gallery offer our undergraduate and graduate students a unique opportunity to participate in high-profile, internationally focused and engaged artistic practices.

Audain Gallery
Simon Fraser University
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 5K3

Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, 12–5pm & Thursday, Friday, 12–8pm
E: audaingallery@sfu.ca
P: 778.782.9102

For an archive of past SCA exhibitions at the Audain Gallery, please click here.

Yong Soon Min with second and third year SCA visual art students, SCA BFA Project 2016: Dear Leader, What I Love . . .. Installation view, Audain Gallery, 2016.

Audain Visual Artist in Residence program

The SCA's Audain Visual Artist in Residence program brings artists and practitioners to Vancouver who have contributed significantly to the field of contemporary art and whose work resonates with local and international visual art discourses.

E: avair@sfu.ca

For an archive of past Audain Visual Artist in Residence guests, exhibitions, and projects, please click HERE.

The program is generously funded by the Audain Foundation Endowment Fund.

2018 Audain Visual Artist in Residence Tadasu Takamine with SCA visual art students.

611 Talks

With approximately four talks per term, the free and public 611 Talks series at the Alexander Studios, which is organized by the SCA Visual Art area, features curators, international and local artists, both distinguished and emerging, and other cultural producers presenting on their practices, projects, and ideas. The series is a productive occasion for working artists and students to discuss their methods and concepts and to explore the contexts and theories of contemporary art while also engaging with visual culture in a broader way.

For an archive of past 611 Talks guests, please click HERE.