- NSCAD University
-
Coordinates: 44°38′58.02″N 63°34′26.23″W / 44.64945°N 63.5739528°W
NSCAD University Motto Head, Heart, and Hand Established 1887 Victoria School of Art and Design (1887-1925). Subsequent names, Nova Scotia College of Art (1925-1969), Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1969-2003), and now, NSCAD University. Type Public President David B. Smith Academic staff 85 (regular staff) Students 1025 Location Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Campus Urban Colours Purple and Green Affiliations UACC, CBIE Website http://nscad.ca/ NSCAD University (formerly the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) is a post-secondary art school located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
During the 1970s NSCAD was hailed as a cutting edge art school, which emphasized artistic innovation, and political art. Currently the university is forging relationships with galleries, museums and other cultural institutions in Canada and around the world.
Contents
Academics
NSCAD offers Bachelor's degrees in Fine Art (BFA), Design (BDes), and Art History (BA). It also offers Master of Fine Art and Master of Design degrees at the graduate level.
History
Granville Street mall showing NSCAD University on the left. The university occupies the upper floors of virtually the entire block.
NSCAD was founded in 1887 by Anna Leonowens of Anna and the King of Siam fame. It was originally called the Victoria School of Art and Design to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.
One the notable artists to be associated with the school in its early years was Arthur Lismer, who was a member of the Group of Seven and spent several years as the school president.
NSCAD and conceptual art
Main article: NSCAD conceptual artIn 1967, the artist Garry Kennedy was appointed President, and he immediately moved to remake the College from a provincial art school into an international centre for artistic activity. He invited notable artists to come to NSCAD as visiting artists, particularly those involved in conceptual art. Artists who made significant contributions during this period include Vito Acconci, Sol LeWitt, Dan Graham, Eric Fischl, Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Beuys and Claes Oldenburg.
In September 2006, alumnus David B. Smith (an arts administrator, educator, and artist) was appointed President of the university, following the resignation of President Paul Greenhalgh.
NSCAD University Press
Under the direction of Kennedy, The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design was established as a vehicle to publish books by and about leading contemporary artists. The Press was important in establishing the university's international reputation. Between 1972 and 1987, 26 titles by such artists as Michael Snow, Steve Reich, Gerhard Richter and Yvonne Rainer were published. Re-launched in 2002, The Press has once again become a source for the publishing of primary documents and scholarly works in the fields of contemporary art, craft and design.
NSCAD School of Extended Studies
NSCAD U's new Port Campus, designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects of HalifaxFounded in 1887, NSCAD has established a long and distinguished history of offering the public the opportunity to study in a visual arts environment. The School of Extended Studies continues this tradition by offering the public a wide variety of non-credit studio and audit lecture courses in fine arts, media arts, craft and design. The School also manages the 30-credit Visual Arts Certificate for Teachers program, the 30-credit Visual Arts Certificate in Studio and the pre-university summer study credit program. Credit programs have admission requirements. Noncredit programs have no admission requirements although prerequisites must be met for some courses.
Adult Programs The adult studio-based and audit lecture courses are available to individuals who are 16 years or older. These courses are designed to meet personal and professional development interests and to prepare for studies in an undergraduate visual arts degree program. Curricula incorporate skills, processes, and health and safety issues. New approaches and ways of seeing, analyzing, experimenting and problem solving through observation are promoted. To ensure program quality, planning is ongoing with other areas of NSCAD University. New courses are added regularly to introduce different subject matter and in response to public demand.
Children and Teen Programs Saturday Children’s Art Classes began in 1887 and are one of the earliest known examples of such programs in North America. Children in grades 1 – 6 participate in a variety of fun age-appropriate activities that introduce basic visual arts skills.
Teen Art Studio courses for students in Grades 7 -12 introduce fundamental visual art skills and processes, introduce NSCAD facilities and provide older teens an opportunity to build a portfolio for admission to an undergraduate visual arts degree program. Saturday teen courses are offered during the fall and winter and week-long courses are offered during summer. One-day March Break workshops are offered during the Provincial school break.
Night Shift Exhibit An annual Night Shift Exhibition to display student work completed in Extended Studies course is held in the Anna Leonowens Gallery located on the NSCAD Granville campus. Family and friends are encouraged to attend this popular exhibit and enjoy a variety of different works of art created by all ages.
Timeline
NSCAD has existed under various names and locations.
- 1887 the Victoria School of Art and Design opens in the Union Building
- 1890 the school moves to Halifax Academy
- 1903 the school moves to the old National School
- 1925 the school is renamed the Nova Scotia College of Art
- 1957 the school moves to a four storey church hall on Coburg Road
- 1969 the school is renamed the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
- 1969 the school begins granting university degrees
- 1978 NSCAD moves to its current location in the Historic Properties buildings on Granville Street
- 2003 the school is renamed NSCAD University
- 2004 NSCAD expands into its second campus – the Academy Building for film studies
- 2007 NSCAD expands into its third campus, the Port Campus, on the Halifax Waterfront at Pier 21
Notable alumni
- Vikky Alexander - artist
- Thomas Bezanson - pottery
- Alexander Birchler - artist
- Ian Clifford - ZENN Motor Company chief executive officer
- Luc Courchesne - interactive artist
- Thierry Delva - sculptor
- Tanya Tagaq - singer/songwriter
- Lonnie Graham - photographer
- Jenn Grant - singer/songwriter
- Hedwig Gorski - performance poet and artist
- April Gornik - painter
- James Goss - painter
- Steven Holmes - curator
- Teresa Hubbard - artist
- Bruce Johnson - curator
- Laura Kipnis - media critic
- Cal Lane - sculptor
- Micah Lexier - artist
- Christopher Manson - children's book author/illustrator
- Kelly Mark - sculptor, conceptualist
- Sarah McLachlan - singer/songwriter
- Lisa Moore - writer
- Chris Murphy - musician
- Graeme Patterson - sculptor
- Jimmy Rankin - singer/songwriter
- Julia Rivard - athlete, designer, CEO of SheepDogInc.ca
- William James Roué - designed the Bluenose schooner
- Peter Soucy - comedian
- Andrew Scott - musician
- Cliff Eyland - artist
Faculties
- Craft
- Design
- Fine Arts
- Foundation
- Historical and Critical Studies
- Media Arts
- NSCAD University Press
- Libraries
University history
- Barber, Bruce. "Conceptual Art: the NSCAD connection 1967-1973" (Halifax: Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1998.) ISBN 0-920149-14-6
- Soucy, Donald and Harold Pearse. The First Hundred Years: A History of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, 1993.) ISBN 0-920114-27-x
- Stacey, R. H.(Robert H.). "Eightytwenty: 100 years of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design" (Halifax : Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1988.) ISBN 0-888711-06-9
- Kennedy, Garry N., Kenneth Baker, Eric Cameron, Benjamin H.D. Buchloh "NSCAD, The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. (Halifax: Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 1982.) ISBN 0-919616-23-2
See also
External links
Nova Scotia universities 
Universities in Canada Alberta Athabasca University · University of Alberta · University of Calgary · University of Lethbridge · Grant MacEwan University · Mount Royal University
British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland and Labrador New Brunswick Mount Allison · St. Thomas · New Brunswick · Moncton · Crandall · St. Stephen's · Fredericton · YorkvilleNova Scotia Acadia · Cape Breton · Dalhousie · Mount Saint Vincent · NSCAD · Saint Francis Xavier · Saint Mary's · Sainte-AnneOntario Prince Edward Island Quebec Bishop's · Concordia · Laval · McGill · Montréal · Sherbrooke · Abitibi-Témiscamingue · Chicoutimi · UQ-Montréal · Outaouais · Rimouski · Trois-Rivières · ENAPSaskatchewan See also: Akitsiraq Law SchoolCategories:- NSCAD University
- Universities and colleges in the Halifax Regional Municipality
- Art schools in Canada
- Educational institutions established in 1887
- Universities and colleges in Nova Scotia
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
