Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts) is a private post-secondary school located in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

which was founded in 1995. VanArts offers one-year diploma programs for the visual, media and performing arts plus degree pathways with university partners. VanArts is designated through the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB).

History

VanArts was founded in 1995 with Lee Mishkin as its founding program director. The first campus for VanArts was on West Broadway in Vancouver, and by January 1997 it had moved downtown to 837 Beatty Street. Originally offering programs for Classical Animation, then

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

in 1998, the school expanded to offer Game Art &

Design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

in 2003 and

Visual Effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

in 2004. Upon adding the first

Digital Photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is sto ...

program in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in 2006, VanArts needed to expand and moved to a new campus at 626 West Pender Street. In 2008, the William Davis Centre for Actors Study joined up with VanArts and became its Acting department. Another move happened in July 2010 to its current location at 570 Dunsmuir Street. 2011 brought new departments for

Web Development Web development is the work involved in developing a website for the Internet (World Wide Web) or an intranet (a private network). Web development can range from developing a simple single static page of plain text to complex web applications ...

& Interactive Design, and the addition of

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

and Online Media. In 2021 the school moved to a custom made floor at 333 Terminal Avenue.

The William Davis Centre for Actors Study

The William Davis Centre for Actors Study was opened in 1989 by

William B. Davis William Bruce Davis (born January 13, 1938) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on ''The X-Files''. Besides appearing in many TV programs and movies, he founded his own acting school, the William Davis Ce ...

. In 2008 the William Davis Centre for Actors Study became the acting department of VanArts.

Notable faculty

* Chilton Crane, Head of Acting department – credits include ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', ''Once Upon a Time''.

Notable alumni

*Jordan Armstrong (News Anchor/Reporter, Global BC) *Braeden Clarke (Actor, ''Outlander'') *Georgie Daburas (Actor, ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'') * Aaron Douglas (Actor, '' Battlestar Galactica'') *

Galen Fott Galen Sander Fott (born September 9, 1963) is an American director, animator, writer, and actor. His animated short films have won awards and have screened at film festivals in London, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Houston (twelve-time Remi Awa ...

(Director/Animator, '' I Want My Hat Back'') *

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', as D'Anna Biers on the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' seri ...

(Actor, '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''Ash vs. Evil Dead'') * Steven Cree Molison (Actor, ''Blackstone'') *Eden Muñoz (VFX Supervisor/Studio Owner, Pixel Perfect) *Porus Vimadal (Elle India Graduates 2016 - Photography of the Year) *Paul Zeke (Visual Effects, Winner VES Award 2019 for Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project,

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

)

Programs

VanArts offers 7 full-time 12 month programs: *ACTING FOR FILM & TELEVISION *ANIMATION (2D & 3D tracks) *GAME ART & DESIGN *PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY *VISUAL EFFECTS FOR FILM & TV *WEB DEVELOPMENT & INTERACTIVE DESIGN

Partnerships

2011 marked VanArts’ first degree pathway agreement with

Woodbury University Woodbury University is a private university in Burbank, California, with a satellite campus in San Diego. History The school was founded in 1884 as Woodbury's Business College by its namesake, F. C. Woodbury, formerly a partner in Heald's Busi ...

Burbank, CA Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

, soon to be followed by further pathways with

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...

and

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, Media Design School in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In 2013, VanArts signed an agreement for its first local degree pathway with the Vancouver campus of

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

Local partners

* British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) *

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co-e ...

University of the Fraser Valley The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), formerly known as University College of the Fraser Valley and Fraser Valley College, is a Canadian public university with campuses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and Hope, British Columbia. Founded ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Art schools in Canada Universities and colleges in Vancouver Drama schools in Canada Educational institutions established in 1995 Education in Vancouver 1995 establishments in British Columbia