University of Victoria, Visual Arts

05/05/2026

It's always sad to lose a student from a pre-existing serious illness before they're able to graduate, but we're glad to be able to support the family of our late Visual Arts student Keith Baxter in hosting this May 4-8 memorial exhibit in his honour.

Keith sadly passed away in Jan 2026 from complications of hemophilia, leaving behind a vast body of work at his Ministry of Casual Living studio.

Please come out to UVic's Visual Arts building this week to honour the life & art of this talented artist, friend & student. There'll be a guest book for you to share your thoughts & memories for the family.

04/15/2026

Exciting news: we've got a rare off-campus MFA exhibition opening 2-8pm Sat April 18 at downtown's The Lot Gallery in the Hourglass Studio, 1101 Yates (at Cook), housed in the old Volvo dealership. Exhibit then runs to May 26.

"Passage" features work by 11 current & graduating MFA artists in this bold new studio space — a partnership between the University of Victoria + Rockslide Gallery + the City of Victoria's Storefront Activation Program.

04/15/2026

Don't miss your one chance to see a free screening of the IMAX short film "Embers and the Giants" by professor Kelly Richardson as part of the Outer Worlds series — witness an endangered old-growth forest during last light, articulated by thousands of floating embers of light. Filmed on location in the endangered forests near Port Renfrew in 2018, this is the first time "Embers and the Giants" has ever screened locally!

3-5pm Sunday April 19 at IMAX VICTORIA at the Royal BC Museum. Reserve your FREE ticket now:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/outer-worlds-imax-preceded-by-north-of-superior-tickets-1982594096312

Outer Worlds explores forests, lichens, snails, water, and sky through visionary experimental cinema, reflecting on how we connect across cultures and species in the age of climate change.

This screening is a unique opportunity to watch an extraordinary program of five experimental IMAX films by Canada’s leading artists: * Michael Snow * Lisa Jackson* Oliver Husain
* Kelly Richardson * Leila Sujir

Included will be a rare screening of "North of Superior" (1971), one of the very first IMAX films ever shown in Canada.

01/16/2026

All are welcome to join us for the opening of Visual Arts professor Paul Walde's new exhibit "Weather Conditions" — 2-5pm Sat Jan 17 at downtown's Legacy Gallery — featuring 2 new installations by noted University of Victoria, Visual Arts professor & sound/visual artist Paul Walde: "Of Weather" and "The Tom Thomson Centennial Swim".

“This is an opportunity to give the community a taste of the work I’ve been doing in relation to environment, landscape, performance and the human body,” says Walde. “I really wanted to share these works, particularly because they haven’t been seen a lot: they’re both made for audiences, they’re not meant to be scrolled away somewhere.”

Watch for two live performances coming up in Feb & March too!

Read more here: https://finearts.uvic.ca/research/blog/2026/01/12/walde/

12/04/2025

Artist-researcher & Visual Arts professor Joel Ong imagines creative approaches to the environment . A Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Emergent Digital Art Practices, his practice explores emerging technologies on artistic practices — including data storytelling, virtual archiving and community-engaged research.

"Emergent technologies hold enormous potential," says Ong. "Even within the arts, there is immense variety in the definition and use of technologies . . . [but] these fluidities and openness to emergent media is what makes our department exciting.”

Read more:
https://news.uvic.ca/2025/artist-researcher-imagines-creative-approaches-to-the-environment/

08/25/2025

Life drawing sessions at UVic Visual Arts will be starting soon!

04/10/2025

Our students are busy preparing for the gala opening for If Traces Remain, our 2025 BFA grad exhibit! Don't miss your chance to see our building transformed into Vancouver Island’s largest pop-up gallery of emerging artists.

This exhibit features exciting contemporary art by 35 graduating UVic BFA students — expect a fantastic mix of work in painting, sculpture, photography, digital, installations and more.

Please join us for the opening night reception, starting at 7pm Friday, April 11—show then runs 10-6 daily to April 20.
https://events.uvic.ca/event/96632-visual-arts-bfa-exhibition-if-traces-remain

03/07/2025

Fine Arts is excited to be presenting this public talk with Canada Council for the Arts director & CEO Michelle Chawla — hosted by Visual Arts chair Megan Dickie. Bring your questions for this open discussion!
While at UVic, Michelle will also be engaging with our faculty & students plus local arts leaders, as well as attending some of our on-campus cultural offerings. We look forward to hosting her!

11/07/2024

Congratulations go out to Visual Arts students Rebecca F*x and Claire Jorgensen on being named recipients of the 2024 Fine Arts Student Community Impact Awards! Each wins $1,000 for their community work beyond their regular studies.
https://finearts.uvic.ca/research/blog/2024/11/07/2024-student-impact-award-winners/

09/05/2024

Congratulations to our professor Carey Newman — also UVic's Impact Chair in Indigenous Art Practices — on being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada!

Congratulations to artist, scholar & University of Victoria, Visual Arts professor Carey Newman on being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada! “When something becomes personal it becomes important, and once it is important we are more willing to change our ways," he says. "Art has this power.”

Read more here:
https://finearts.uvic.ca/research/blog/2024/09/05/carey-newman-named-royal-society-fellow/