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SFU School for the Contemporary Arts

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School for the Contemporary Arts
Woodward's Building
Former names
Centre for the Arts (1977-1990), Centre for Communications and the Arts (1966-1977), Communications Centre (1965-1966)
MottoDo Real Things
TypePublic
Established1965; 61 years ago (1965)
Parent institution
Simon Fraser University
Academic affiliations
Simon Fraser University
DirectorPeter Dickinson
Associate DirectorDenise Oleksijczuk
Academic staff
32 [1]
Administrative staff
13 [2]
Postgraduates35 [3][4]
18 [5]
Location
Vancouver
,
British Columbia
,
V6B 1H4
,
Canada

49°16′57″N 123°06′31″W / 49.282469°N 123.108703°W / 49.282469; -123.108703
Campus
LanguageEnglish
Indigenous Lands Occupiedxʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen.
Colors  SFU Light Red   SFU Dark Red   SFU Dark Grey   Black
Websitewww.sfu.ca/sca.html
SFU-block-logo
Map
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts

SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts ("SCA") is the contemporary arts school at Simon Fraser University (SFU), which opened in 1965. The school is situated in the Vancouver campus (downtown Vancouver, Canada), mainly located in the historic Woodward's Building.[1][2]

The SCA offers programs with studio classes in Dance, Film, Music & Sound, Performance Production & Design, Theatre & Performance, Visual Art, as well as Art, Performance & Cinema Studies (APCS). The SCA offers an MA in Contemporary Arts, an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, and a PhD in Contemporary Arts.[3]

The school used to house the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters; a non-profit organization devoted to the professional development of Canadian screenwriters and filmmakers. The centre closed after 26 years of operation.[4]

History

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1965-1969

[edit]

In the university's first year of operation (1965), the Faculty of Education was organized into several Centres, including the Communications Centre (renamed the Centre for Communications and the Arts in 1966). The centre provided credited and non-credited courses in communications, media studies, and the fine and performing arts, as well as public programming (of theatre productions, films, art exhibits, and lectures.[4]

1970-1976

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Over 1969 and 1970 the Faculty of Education reorganized; the Centre transferred out of the Faculty and reported instead first to the Director of General Studies, then to the Director of University Services (1971). The Centre retained its functions of public-events programming and provision of non-credit, non-degree instruction in the arts, while academic credit programming was transferred to the newly formed Department of Communication Studies in the Faculty of Education. During this period, the Centre focussed its energies on organizing the cultural life of the university, with an extensive series of public programs, including a full-scale production of Henry Purcell's 17th-century opera, "Dido and Aeneas" in 1973. The Purcell String Quartet became the SFU's Quartet-in-Residence in 1972, an association that continued until 1982.[4][5]

1976-1989

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In 1976 the Centre was reorganized as the Centre for the Arts, a department within the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its mandate was to develop credit programs in the fine and performing arts, while inheriting its predecessor's public-programming functions, including management of both the university Theatre and Art Gallery. In 1984 the Centre sustained a large funding cut, approximately a third of its budget. Its home faculty, the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, was disbanded in 1985 and the Centre moved to the Faculty of Arts.[4][5]

1990-

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In 1990 the Centre changed its name to "School for the Contemporary Arts". In the same year, the School created a graduate Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree.[4][6] In 2008, the school moved to the Woodward's Building in the downtown eastside.[7] The school is now part of the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology.[8] In 2023 the university sued Kristen Tanya Schiefke, the administrative manager for the school of contemporary arts from 2012-2023.[9] The university alleged she misappropriated approximately $197,000 in funds over several years through invoicing SFU for work that was never performed and by depositing student locker fees into her personal bank account. The allegations were not proven in court.[10][11] In 2024 SFU ended the Woodward's Cultural Programs,[2] and in 2025 closed the SCA Vancity Office of Community Engagement due to budget cuts.[12] In September of 2025, SFU opened a 12,000-square-foot arts and cultural facility[13] called the 'Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum' on its Burnaby Mountain campus.[14][15] The museum works with the School for the Contemporary Arts.

Programs

[edit]

The School for the Contemporary Arts offers the following undergraduate and graduate programs:

Undergraduate Programs: Graduate Programs:

Campuses

[edit]

The School for the Contemporary Arts is located within the Vancouver campus of SFU, spread across three separate buildings.[16]

Map
SCA Locations

The Goldcorp Centre for the Arts

[edit]

The Goldcorp Centre for the Arts holds the SCA's main classrooms, studios, shops, offices, and venues. It is located in the historic Woodward's Building.[17]

The Goldcorp building houses several theatres, arts centres, cinemas, and other arts spaces, including;[18]

  • The Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre[19]
  • The Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema[20]
  • The Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre
  • The Audain Gallery[21]
  • Studio T
  • Studio D
  • Small Screening Room
  • Francis and Samuel Belzberg Atrium

611 Alexander

[edit]

611 Alexander Street holds upper level Undergraduate and MFA Visual Arts studios, as well as instructional space.[17]

Harbour Centre

[edit]

The Harbour Centre is the main building for the Vancouver campus of SFU, occasional SCA classes occur here.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ D, Denise (28 January 2025) [January 28, 2025]. "Woodward's: The Rise and Fall of Vancouver's Gentrification Symbol". Downtown Eastside. Retrieved 3 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b "SFU Woodwards". Scout Magazine. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  3. ^ "School for the Contemporary Arts". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e "SFU Archives". atom.archives.sfu.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b "History". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts". Hyperallergic. 9 February 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  7. ^ "University of Toronto Press". University of Toronto Press. doi:10.3138/ctr.164.013. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  9. ^ Lazaruk, Susan (23 September 2025). "Former SFU manager sued, university alleges she paid her company, husband and son for work not done".
  10. ^ Weichel, Andrew (25 September 2025). "B.C. university alleges ex-manager misappropriated $197K, including 'improper' payments to family". CTVNews. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  11. ^ Vanderdeen, Lauren (28 January 2026). "Former university manager charged with fraud, theft from SFU".
  12. ^ "More cuts at SFU Woodward's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts as SFU shuts down Vancity Office of Community Engagement". Stir. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  13. ^ "SFU to Establish New Arts Facility". Galleries West. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  14. ^ Gordon, Russell (16 September 2025). "A Bold New Art Museum Opens on SFU's Burnaby Mountain Campus". The Tyee. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  15. ^ "SFU's Bold New Gallery Breaks Every Museum Rule (And That's the Point)". Vancouver Magazine. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Locations". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  17. ^ a b c "SCA Facilities". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  18. ^ "SCA Facilities". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  19. ^ "Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre – Places to go in Vancouver – Georgia Straight". The Georgia Straight. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  20. ^ "SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema". VIMFF. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Elif-Saydam-Hospitality". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
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