KIAC School of Visual Arts
Encyclopedia
The Yukon School of Visual Arts (commonly referred to by its acronym, YSOVA) is Canada's most northern accredited art school. It is located in Dawson City, Yukon
, Canada
at the fork of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. SOVA offers the foundational year for a Bachelor of Fine Arts
(BFA) and a Bachelor of Design
(BDes). The school combines an experiential, integrated curriculum that is studio-based with liberal studies courses. Successful students continue their degrees at their choice of four partnering art schools across Canada, including the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto
, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
in Vancouver
, the Alberta College of Art and Design
in Calgary
and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University
in Halifax
.
YSOVA is a partnership between the Dawson City Arts Society, Yukon College
and Tr’ondek Hwech’in. Each founding organisation has equal representation on the governing council. Yukon School of Visual Arts changed its name from KIAC School of Visual Arts in the Fall of 2010 to avoid confusion between the school and the community arts organisation KIAC.
YSOVA is located in Dawson City, an extremely remote location with a rich history. Home to the Han people for millennia, at the turn of the 20th Century Dawson City became the centre of the Klondike Goldrush and was suddenly the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Winnipeg at the time. Today, the town is home to many national historic sites, a self-governing First Nation, an active mining industry, and a diverse international community. During the summer months, tourism reaches a peak of 60,000 annual visitors, providing a major source of revenue for the town. The border of Alaska
is only a few kilometres away to the west, and the Tombstone Mountains are only 45 minutes north along the Dempster Highway enroute to the Beaufort Sea.
The curriculum includes studio classes in 2D, 3D, and 4D (new media), as well as liberal arts classes in English and Visual Culture Studies. The design of the curriculum and the intimacy of the school creates an integrated curriculum with themes and issues crossing over from course to course.
Closely associated, but different organisations, YSOVA and KIAC mutually support resident artists, special events, and facilities.
KIAC is located on 2nd and Princess in the ODD Fellows Hall. YSOVA is located on 3rd and Queen.
Over the Wire artists:
Over the Wire is a pedagogical art project created by SOVA faculty member Charles Stankievech
.
Dawson City--for its extreme geographical location--has a vibrant and international art scene.
constructed the second METRO-Net subway entrance in Dawson City in 1995, connecting an island in Greece, Documenta in Kassel, Germany, and the German Pavilon in Venice, Italy. The Dawson station was dismantled and sold to an American institution in the fall of 2008. A Wake for the death of the artwork which included the Mayor "beatifying" Martin Kippenberger as the Patron Saint of the Arts for Dawson City was held in January 2009
The KIAC Artist in Residence program hosts two artists in the historic Macaulay house year-round with a constantly changing roster from around the world.
The ODD Gallery is a not-for-profit gallery exhibiting Canadian and international artists, including the long running series The Natural and the Manufactured.
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at the fork of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. SOVA offers the foundational year for a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
(BFA) and a Bachelor of Design
Bachelor of Design
A Bachelor of Design degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. It is an arts-centered degree that is a counterpart to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree...
(BDes). The school combines an experiential, integrated curriculum that is studio-based with liberal studies courses. Successful students continue their degrees at their choice of four partnering art schools across Canada, including the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
Emily Carr University of Art and Design is a public post-secondary University located on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC, Canada...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, the Alberta College of Art and Design
Alberta College of Art and Design
-History:The Alberta College of Art & Design is a Canadian degree-granting, publicly-funded art and design college located in Calgary . It was known as the Provincial Institute of Technology and Arts, which was part of SAIT until 1985...
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University
NSCAD University also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, is a post-secondary art school located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada....
in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
.
YSOVA is a partnership between the Dawson City Arts Society, Yukon College
Yukon College
Yukon College is a community college in the Canadian territory of Yukon. Its main campus is in Whitehorse, Yukon. The college was founded in 1983, replacing the Yukon Vocational and Technical Training Centre, which had been in operation since the 1960s...
and Tr’ondek Hwech’in. Each founding organisation has equal representation on the governing council. Yukon School of Visual Arts changed its name from KIAC School of Visual Arts in the Fall of 2010 to avoid confusion between the school and the community arts organisation KIAC.
Location
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
is only a few kilometres away to the west, and the Tombstone Mountains are only 45 minutes north along the Dempster Highway enroute to the Beaufort Sea.
Curriculum
Facilities
The school is located in a 7800 square feet (724.6 m²) historic building in downtown Dawson City. This two-story structure was custom designed specifically for the needs of the foundation year program with studio facilities, a lecture room, a media lab, indoor/outdoor common areas, woodshop, a library and digital resource centre, a student gallery and an art supplies store. Laptop computers and a digital still camera are assigned to each student for use in both their academic and studio coursework, and wireless internet is available throughout the facility.KIAC & YSOVA
The Klondike Institute for Arts and Culture (KIAC) is a community-based arts centre offering a rotating schedule of workshops, screenings, festivals, exhibitions, and non-accredited courses. YSOVA is a post-secondary institution offering accredited courses and articulation agreements with colleges and universities across Canada.Closely associated, but different organisations, YSOVA and KIAC mutually support resident artists, special events, and facilities.
KIAC is located on 2nd and Princess in the ODD Fellows Hall. YSOVA is located on 3rd and Queen.
Over The Wire
Over the Wire is a project series that creates an exchange between an established artist and the Yukon School of Visual Arts. Celebrating the extreme remoteness of the school, the project mediates the geographical distance by fostering a correspondence—both literally and aesthetically—between the artist and the students. Each semester, a set of instructions created by a distant Artist is delivered to the students in order to produce a new work. The students in turn interpret the instructions and create the work locally for exhibition. In addition to the exhibition of the work, each project is archived by a publication or multiple that is distributed in return across the country.Over the Wire artists:
- Tim HeckerTim HeckerTim Hecker is an electronic musician and sound artist based in Montreal, Canada. Hecker previously recorded under the moniker Jetone, but has become better known internationally for his ambient recordings released through Kranky, Mille Plateaux, Alien8, Force Inc, Staalplaat, and Fat Cat under his...
: Sonic Palimpsests. (multiple: Audio CD). - Shary BoyleShary BoyleShary Boyle is a Canadian artist who works with sculpture, painting, drawing and performance. She lives in Toronto.- Early life and education :...
: Anthropomorphic Mother. (multiple: Book). - Gary HillGary HillGary Hill is an American artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington.One of the pioneers of video art, Gary Hill has exhibited his video and video installations worldwide . He is represented by Donald Young Gallery of Chicago.An anthology on the work of Gary Hill by Robert C...
: The Highcoo of Synaesthesia. (multiple: DVD). - Iain Baxter&: Sense of Place Guide.
- Lawrence WeinerLawrence WeinerLawrence Weiner was a central figure in the formation of conceptual art in the 1960s His work often takes the form of typographic texts.- Life and career :...
: A Translation from One Language to Another. - SimparchSimparchSIMPARCH is an American artist collective that was founded in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1996. Presently this group is organized and maintained by Matthew Lynch and Steve Badgett...
+ Deborah Stratman: Habitual Suspects. - The Center for Land Use Interpretation: Dawson City: Mining the Intepretive Realm of the Klondike.
Over the Wire is a pedagogical art project created by SOVA faculty member Charles Stankievech
Charles Stankievech
-Biography:As a result of the wide spectrum of strategies and the conceptual drive behind the production, his work has been located in the Conceptual Art tradition -Biography:As a result of the wide spectrum of strategies and the conceptual drive behind the production, his work has been located in...
.
Art in Dawson City
Art and artists
The German artist Martin KippenbergerMartin Kippenberger
Martin Kippenberger was a German artist known for his extremely prolific output in a wide range of styles and media as well as his provocative, jocular and hard-drinking public persona....
constructed the second METRO-Net subway entrance in Dawson City in 1995, connecting an island in Greece, Documenta in Kassel, Germany, and the German Pavilon in Venice, Italy. The Dawson station was dismantled and sold to an American institution in the fall of 2008. A Wake for the death of the artwork which included the Mayor "beatifying" Martin Kippenberger as the Patron Saint of the Arts for Dawson City was held in January 2009
The KIAC Artist in Residence program hosts two artists in the historic Macaulay house year-round with a constantly changing roster from around the world.
The ODD Gallery is a not-for-profit gallery exhibiting Canadian and international artists, including the long running series The Natural and the Manufactured.