Our new home on Granville Island will transform the scale of our Art & Design programs.

10 new studios, including a ceramics station, a photography darkroom, and a state-of-the-art media arts hub will allow students reach new heights on a daily basis.

Just as importantly, the new building gives us a space to recognize and celebrate our students’ creative achievements. The installation of a new dedicated exhibition gallery—in building’s bright, sun-drenched lobby—offers students a space in which to share the work they’ve created in a professional setting.

“We can involve kids, youth, and teens in curating their own shows and mounting their own exhibitions open to the public,” says Andre Seow, visual artist and instructor.

“It will really launch Arts Umbrella. It’s amazing to see, for instance, what has happened with the Dance program—this amazing program with an international reputation. I’d love to see Visual Arts do a similar thing.”

With our move to 1400 Johnston Street—the former South Building of Emily Carr Art + Design—we more than triple the space available in our current Granville Island premises. These studios are also breathtaking; enormous floor-to-ceiling windows bring in massive amounts of light so students can experiment and create in ideal surroundings. Many of the spaces have access to patios and terraces for en plein air activities.

We are also revolutionizing the equipment and facilities available to our students. The ceramics studio has 10 new pottery wheels and a powerful new kiln. The darkroom will be the only one of its kind in an arts education facility for young people, while the new Moffat Media Arts Hub will allow us to expand our media and applied arts programs.

Our Art & Design faculty also see the potential for more collaboration with the Dance and Theatre, Music & Film departments.

“It will create a more natural interplay amongst the different disciplines [of visual art, dance and theatre],” says artist and instructor Suzy Birstein. “There will be more opportunity for instructors, children, and families to see the breadth of what’s really going on at Arts Umbrella.”

Starting Saturday, April 10, we will run our first classes at the new facility. Children and young people have the opportunity to be part of this incredible new space and take part in Animation, Architecture, Clay Sculpture, Drawing & Painting, Media Arts or Photography—among many others classes and programs, including advanced level and scholarship opportunities.

We look forward to welcoming more and more young people to seek wonder through the arts with us.

Classes at our new building are now open for registration—browse and enroll here.