HISTORY

History of the School for the Contemporary Arts

Programming in contemporary arts at Simon Fraser University began in 1965 on a non-credit basis. Fine and Performing Arts, situated in the Centre for Communications and the Arts, were considered integral to the innovative philosophy of the newly founded University. From the first, there was a collaborative atmosphere encouraging interaction between the arts and academic departments.

In 1970, the Centre was recognized with an emphasis on a vibrant public event series. Other activities included workshops conducted by invited high profile artists and in-house interdisciplinary productions such as Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas.

In 1975, Evan Alderson was appointed Director of the Centre for the Arts. The Centre became an academic unit with credit courses in dance, film, music, theatre, visual art and interdisciplinary art history. The University brought in new faculty and initiated minor programs beginning with dance in 1977.

Grant Strate became Director in 1980. At that time the Centre was in the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies. By 1981, there were minor programs for each disciplinary area of the School, a major in Dance, and a BA with a major in the Fine and Performing Arts. In 1983, the Provincial Government instituted a restraint program that resulted in significant budget cuts to the universities. Despite a vigorous national protest, the Centre sustained a cut of approximately thirty percent. The cuts did considerable damage to the program and to faculty morale. Nevertheless, the Centre showed resilience and continues to consolidate its programs and increase enrollments.

When Rudolf Komorous became Director in 1989, the department was renamed the School for the Contemporary Arts. The School redesigned the curriculum adding an interdisciplinary MFA and the current BFA model. The MFA was established in 1990. By 1994, there were BFA majors in each disciplinary area, a BA major in Critical Studies, and extended minors in all the art forms. The BFA degree is notable in that it requires students to take studio courses outside their home disciplines. The new model is extremely efficient, facilitating a high order of instruction in all the art disciplines while utilizing a single administrative structure.