Results 1 to 15 of 15
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Wasatch Back: 7000'
    Posts
    12,964

    Paging Young Canadian Artists College related

    My niece is thinking of attending The Alberta University Of The Arts. Any skinny on this fine institution of higher learning? She is a citizen of two countries, and neither in Canukistan. Most likely, if she goes, the school wants her to take pre-college prep semester.
    All thoughts appreciated.
    “How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Big Sky/Moonlight Basin
    Posts
    14,412
    1) legal weed
    2) good skiing
    If my parents had sent me there they never would have seen me again.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    "Zee damn fat skis are ruining zee piste !" -Oscar Schevlin

    "Hike up your skirt and grow a dick you fucking crybaby" -what Bunion said to Harry at the top of The Headwaters

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    11,145
    I’m sure she/you have investigated options - but there is also Emily Carr which is 1.5 hours from Whistler.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Shuswap Highlands
    Posts
    4,345
    Quote Originally Posted by Harry View Post
    1) legal weed
    2) good skiing
    If my parents had sent me there they never would have seen me again.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    And don't forget the legal age is 18 in AB.
    Don't know anyone who's attended AUA though. All my post secondary contact are from Edmonton institutions.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Wasatch Back: 7000'
    Posts
    12,964
    Quote Originally Posted by bennymac View Post
    I’m sure she/you have investigated options - but there is also Emily Carr which is 1.5 hours from Whistler.
    I have not. I'm sure that she has. I do know that she is bi-lingual (English/Spanish with Spanish as her primary language, but fluent in both) and not interested in studying in the USA or Yurp.
    To me, Parsons or The Cali. Institute of the Arts are what she should be considering.
    “How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Geopolis
    Posts
    16,082
    my better half who is artsy and albertan has never heard of it. she suggests nova scotia school of art and design or emily carr as the best up here.

    from my long history in the field i am not sure where id put calarts or parsons exactly.

    it mostly matters what she wants to do whether fine art or design really but in nyc i prefer sva, pratt or cooper union over parsons (unless she is more interested in fashion). elsewhere in the states vcu, ringling, or risd. calarts is good too.

    but as much as liberal arts has taken a beating i think that’s the best route. learn a language or other skill, history, arts, be well rounded and then pursue your passion if the talent is there (happens) or learn a trade if you’re not good enough (happens) or grad school.

    her mileage may vary. good luck.
    j'ai des grands instants de lucididididididididi

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Wasatch Back: 7000'
    Posts
    12,964
    Thanks! That is helpful. I'll pass the info along.
    “How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    207
    Quote Originally Posted by ml242 View Post
    my better half who is artsy and albertan has never heard of it. she suggests nova scotia school of art and design or emily carr as the best up here..
    Alberta University of the Arts was formerly known as Alberta College of Art & Design (ACAD). They changed their name in 2019.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    11,145
    Emily Carr lets you do your first year of study at the Yukon School of Visual Arts in Dawson City, Yukon - where the Klondike gold rush happened in 1896. Cool little mountain town of 2,000 people close to the Arctic Circle and the Alaskan border. Not many tiny towns in the middle of nowhere like this have an arts school. If anyone has done an Alaskan cruise you likely passed through this town (as part of the land based loop you do along with Denali park and Fairbanks)

    The Alberta school may also accept this first year - but I'd only recommend doing the year in Dawson City if your kid is tolerant of tiny remote towns with cold and dark winters. It's a really cool town with lots of character and characters.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    At the North end of the Parkway
    Posts
    1,787
    I have had a number of friends attend that fine institution and my school was across the road. Two recent examples are both working in art still, one who took photography and one who does jewelry design/build. The photo one works in technical historical preservation work. For the jeweler she went on to a master in Sweden and makes cool stuff. I think ACAD/ACA/Alberta University of the Arts is a well respected school and Calgary can be a decent town.
    Move along nothing to see here.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Geopolis
    Posts
    16,082
    Quote Originally Posted by tintin5 View Post
    Alberta University of the Arts was formerly known as Alberta College of Art & Design (ACAD). They changed their name in 2019.
    that's good to know, thanks.
    j'ai des grands instants de lucididididididididi

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Pyongyang
    Posts
    685
    Dear Schindlerpiste,
    I applaud your niece's decision not to study in the US. Has your niece considered applying to the University of Pyongyang? Our university has one of the finest fine arts programs in Asia. If deemed talented enough, she would go on to design wall murals, posters and statues honoring my family and other Korean patriots. I would like to extend an offer to her to apply to U of P, where not only could she pursue her passion in arts but also immerse herself in an enlightened Korean culture. An enlightened populace is a happy populace, and the DPRK welcomes you to embrace the philosophy of Juche, where man is the ruler of his domain.

    Sincerely,
    Kim Jong-Un
    Supreme Leader DPRK

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    shadow of HS butte
    Posts
    6,397
    Quote Originally Posted by Kim Jong-un View Post
    Dear Schindlerpiste,
    I applaud your niece's decision not to study in the US. Has your niece considered applying to the University of Pyongyang? Our university has one of the finest fine arts programs in Asia. If deemed talented enough, she would go on to design wall murals, posters and statues honoring my family and other Korean patriots. I would like to extend an offer to her to apply to U of P, where not only could she pursue her passion in arts but also immerse herself in an enlightened Korean culture. An enlightened populace is a happy populace, and the DPRK welcomes you to embrace the philosophy of Juche, where man is the ruler of his domain.

    Sincerely,
    Kim Jong-Un
    Supreme Leader DPRK
    PPS!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Whistler
    Posts
    65
    Quote Originally Posted by tintin5 View Post
    Alberta University of the Arts was formerly known as Alberta College of Art & Design (ACAD). They changed their name in 2019.
    Oh ACAD makes sense. I don't get why all of the Canadian colleges have been gradually renaming themselves as universities. As for my knowledge of the education, I can't say much as my only friend who attended ACAD dropped out to become a ski bum. I'm sure it's decent if you're Canadian, but I can't imagine paying four times as much as an international student and getting the same degree as the domestic students. I guess it's still cheap when you're used to America's obscene prices?

    ACAD throws great parties. I went to a memorable Halloween one with a spaceship/alien abduction theme. Great decorations, lots of costumed actors walking around, the story gradually developed through the night so it felt like you were in a play. I should have realized what I was getting into when I showed up and there was a guy dressed up as a Nazi at the door who told me I had to wait at the back of the line because I had dark brown hair/eyes. The night just got weirder from there and ended with getting invited to an afterparty by a dude dressed up as Katy Perry.

    I can also speak a bit to moving to Calgary for university. The schools tend to be commuter heavy, so it takes longer to find good group of friends since most people continue to hang out with their high school group (or live on the other side of the city). I had my dorm mates in first year, but most of them were from small prairie towns and there was a definite culture clash. They mostly wanted to listen to country music, get blackout drunk and go clubbing which I got bored of by Thanksgiving. Once I started to befriend actual Calgary kids things got a lot better. I could see this being less of an issue in an art school, where presumably students have more in common from the start. ACAD shares residences with SAIT (the technical school) so they do have some dorm life and a student bar nearby, although as technical schools tend to draw older students I believe most students live off campus. Calgary as a city is fun enough for artsy college kids - drinking age is 18, you have Folkfest and Sled Island Music Fest in the summer, lots of small concerts at local bars, students can get really cheap tickets to the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Globe and Plaza theatres can be good for indie films, and there are a handful of small stage theatres. Even Stampede can be entertaining, if only for seeing how many free pancake breakfasts you can eat. I found the community pretty friendly - it was small enough that you'd regularly run into the same people at different events.

    Getting around with no car is doable - the school has a CTrain station which takes you most of the places you want to go in town (Kensington, Downtown, Chinook Mall). Getting out skiing without a car was more tough. Unlike Vancouver where everyone buys the same $500 Whistler student pass, there are tons of hills nearby and everyone had a favourite. Getting to check out all the different mountains was great, but as a broke college student buying expensive day tickets at Lake Louise/Sunshine/Fernie/Revelstoke/Kicking Horse/Panorama/etc was brutal. I went when I could afford to tag along with friends, but it was often only a couple of weekends a semester. Getting out hiking in the summer was better, but I never saw the stereotypical Rockies sights like Banff, Morraine Lake, Johnstone Canyon, etc because people who lived in Calgary their whole lives had no interest in dealing with tourist crowds to see touristy things.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,879
    According to my community radio buds there is a pretty good music scene in the Cow town like Sled island and i know a garbage man who blows a pretty good horn
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •