SFU's School for Contemporary Arts moves downtown

Photo credit: Dale Northey/SFU

>> by Naomi Brand
On August 9th the entire School for Contemporary Arts (SCA) at Simon Fraser University (SFU) moved from Burnaby Mountain to its new home at the historic Woodward's site in downtown Vancouver. The 125,000 sq. ft. facility on West Hastings St. will house the programs of music film, theatre, visual arts and dance with teaching studios, performance venues and a lab for new media. The dance program has acquired three spacious studios, an experimental performance theatre and two studio theatres all with sprung floors and high ceilings. "Between the quality of the building and its location, this move is huge for the dance area of the SCA," says Rob Kitsos, a professor in the dance program. "I think the big effect of being at Woodward's will be our visibility. We will be in the heart of downtown Vancouver – a very different kind of environment than the far away hills of Burnaby. I'm really excited for more people to see and get involved with what we do." By combining public events with interdisciplinary training, SFU Woodward's hopes to attract art scholars, students and enthusiasts from around the world and to be a new artistic hub for the City of Vancouver.
www.sfuwoodwards.ca