The Visual Arts program has made the move from B building to C building. High ceilings, custom studios, and lots of big, new exhibition walls make this a promising space to learn and create. Come on over and take a look! If you are a prospective student, call Paula Funk, our program advisor, to arrange a tour: 604-504-7441, local 4406.
New Media
New Media houses digital video, sound and image editing suites and a computer lab with a variety of production and programming software and stocks a variety of audio-visual equipment that can support high quality media diffusion of audio and video. The Live Media Lab provides access to technical resources supporting projects in physical interaction and audiovisual installation. Students can also access audio and visual resources and equipment from the Instructional Media Services department. Along with regularly scheduled New Media exhibitions and screenings that take place in the gallery and on campus, a permanently embedded flat-screen display and headphone set offers students the opportunity to exhibit their work in the hallway of the department.
Painting and Drawing
The UFV Painting/Drawing studio is a large well-ventilated open space that encourages experimentation within a safe environment. The Visual Arts Department supplies easels, painting boards, drawing horses, drawing boards, work-tables, as well as several options for the storage of works, lockers for studio supplies, and ample space for still life study and/or live model figurative study. For upper level Painting/Drawing courses, students are allowed access to designated group studios, where private work-spaces in the form of studio cubicles are provided in order to promote deepened studio investigations.
Photography
The Photography area consists of a main studio, an adjoining darkroom, mural room, and a separate film processing room. The darkroom is equipped with twelve Saunders LPL670 enlargers for black and white printing, while the senior lab is outfitted with an additional three enlargers capable of printing up to 4x5 negatives. Safety procedures will be discussed at the beginning of each term including information about hazardous materials and location of eye-wash units in the darkroom and film developing room.The digital photography instructional lab is located in D building, with support for up to 17 students on PC workstations, while a shared Mac lab is located in C building, just outside the studios, and open to second year and independent students.
Printmaking
The Printmaking Studio is roomy, well-lit and well-ventilated with a large adjoining acid room. Nitric Acid and Ferric Chloride are used for etching zinc and copper plates. There is a separate rosin room with compressed air and a large hotplate just outside the room, for etching and relief. The studio contains two large and one small table-top hand-driven presses and rollers of various sizes to accommodate a wide range of print activity. A Print Media darkroom features an exposure unit for the production of photo-etching. As the media specific boundaries of print, photographic and digital practices are increasingly blurring, senior photography and print media students share a Mac Lab, which consists of 12 computers, an HP 24” wide colour printer, and flat bed scanning for film up to 4x5 format.
Sculpture
The Sculpture area consists of a general purpose studio, a woodshop, welding area, and a plaster/casting workroom. A Tool Crib which houses hand tools and small power equipment is also contained within this area. As well there is a large outdoor space for both work on larger pieces as well as storage of materials..Sculpture students must follow a strict body of safety procedures as part of working in the studio. A Visual Arts studio technician oversees the area and maintains both equipment and safety standards on an ongoing basis. Safety demonstrations and training on the proper use of equipment begins early in the first year of Sculpture studies.
