Alumni news

Alumnus Tim Barber's ('03) photography has been selected as the cover for Elton John's upcoming album, The Diving Board, by none other than the man himself.

Barber's work was introduced by a mutual photographer friend; John is an avid art collector, and is believed to have one of the largest private photography collections in the world.

Says Barber, "Elton John phoned me himself, which was really a surreal moment. He introduced himself and asked me about the image and talked about the idea of using it for the cover."

Douglas Coupland: everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything is the first major museum exhibition of the artist’s work and will be presented at the Vancouver Art Gallery from May 31 – September 1, 2014. Deftly capturing the spirit of the age—or, as the artist refers to it, “the 21^st century condition”—Douglas Coupland’s ideas are often encountered on the written page. But the themes he explores in his writing have appeared in his artwork as early as the 1980s when he was a student at the Emily Carr College of Art & Design, (Class of '84).

Douglas Coupland is made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to our examination of the contemporary human condition as a novelist, cultural commentator and artist

Emily Carr Alumnus Douglas Coupland's fiction and recognized works in design and visual art include the international best seller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, which popularized terms such as McJob and Generation X.

Emily Carr is thrilled to announce that alumnus and sessional instructor Scott Conarroe ('01) is among this year's Guggenheim Fellows.

In its 89th annual competition for the United States and Canada, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded Fellowships to a diverse group of scholars, artists, and scientists. Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants. 

An overview of Scott's recent work in China can be found in the Spring issue of Canadian Art.

The University is delighted to announce that alumnus Geoffrey Farmer ('92) is the recipient of this year's Gershon Iskowitz Prize.

The $50,000 prize is awarded annually to an artist who has made an outstanding contribution to the visual arts in Canada. In addition to the cash prize, Farmer wins a solo exhibition at the AGO in February 2014.

Watch for Farmer's forthcoming retrospective at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2015. His newly commissioned sculpture play, Let’s Make the Water Turn Black, is currently on display at the Migros Museum in Zurich.

'13 MAA grad Katherine Soucie and her thesis project are featured in the latest edition of Beatroute Magazine.

Along with her studies, (she also completed her undergraduate degree here after attending the two-year Capilano U textiles program), she's managed to grow a successful, sustainable business, Sans Soucie, over the past ten years.

Congratulations to alumnus Stan Douglas ('82), who was named the recipient of the Scotiabank Photography Award, which is given annually to Canadian contemporary photographer. In addition to a cash prize of $50,000, Douglas will have a solo exhibition at the CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto next year, and a collection of Douglas’ work will be published internationally.

Read more at CBC.ca.

A limited-edition illy cup collection will go on sale this week in the US and its purpose goes beyond sipping beautiful espressos and cappuccinos to relaying a message about coffee-growing communities and sustainable coffee production around the world, while also supporting creative artists in coffee producing countries with an opportunity to have their work seen by millions of people.

Sassamatt presents the European premier of new work by Phyllis Schwartz ('10)  and Edward Peck. These Canadian experimental visual artists work in photographic medium.

Schwartz is one of the few contemporary artists making artwork using the lumen print process. These hybrid prints are made by a contact and printing process photosensitive surfaces that are digitized. Peck, with his multi-disciplinary background, is using a multiple exposure photographic hybrid digital development process to create abstract works from concrete objects.

The Museum of Vancouver invites Vancouverites to explore and celebrate innovation in action. 30+ designers, live, in concert and stationed throughout the museum’s galleries, discuss their work during Why I Design, a Vancouver Design Week feature event and party Friday, September 19.