Checking out The Show at Emily Carr? Don’t forget to visit the Library + Learning Commons, which is celebrating our 90th graduating class with a special exhibition.

A lot has changed since Emily Carr first opened in 1925. It was then called the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, and located on the top floor of the Vancouver School Board building at 590 Hamilton Street. This was the first of many homes (and many names) for what is now Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

The first graduating class received their diplomas in 1929. The class consisted of just eleven students in three different departments: Drawing and Painting, Design and Decorative Arts, and Modelling.

Today, the graduating class of 2019 is over 300 students with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the areas of visual arts, media and design. Our annual graduate exhibition, The Show, has long been the highlight of the year, featuring work from students in every department.

Items on display include a history and timeline of all the locations, from the Vancouver School of Art days to the present. View posters from previous Grad Show exhibitions dating back 47 years to 1972, and see photos of the first graduating class.

The exhibition was curated by Lindsey Curtis, a fourth year student who has been working as a research assistant with librarian Danuta Zwierciadlowski, and extends across Levels 1 and 2.

Visitors to The Show can also check out the Reading Room while they’re at the Library + Learning Commons. The Reading Room features printed material created by the Class of 2019, including (but not limited to) artists’ books, zines, illustrated children’s books, photo books, essays, magazines, pamphlets, prints, manifestos, grocery lists, and credit card statements.