The Department houses programs in Creative Writing and Visual Arts with additional specialized courses in Devised Theatre and Digital Media as well as Art History and Visual Culture. Our programs are designed to offer unique and individualized opportunities for students to develop skills in a variety of media and genre while they engage in cutting edge creative arts research.
We offer a hands-on experiential learning environment where students get to develop their own individualize artistic voice. If you are interested in being at the forefront of the next generation of cultural produces nationally or internationally we encourage you to learn more about our programs and what they might offer you.
We encourage students to cross disciplines while refining their specialized practices in art history, creative writing, performance, visual art and digital media. View our Conversations About Art video series – casual discussions about what we are up to in the department.
Explore human creativity, imagination and beauty through the arts and visual cultures of the world, past and present. (major, minor)
Draw on the imagination to convey meaning through the use of imagery, narrative, and drama in a variety of literary forms including poetry, fiction, plays, new media, screenwriting, and non-fiction. (major, minor)
Explore new media and internet technology, blending artistic, technical and critical-thinking skills.
Train with the next generation of artists and cultural producers. Learn in cutting-edge facilities designed for traditional and digital-studio arts courses.
A flexible and innovative approach to theatre education and creative and practice-based contemporary performance studies. (minor)
Immerse in a dynamic, studio-based environment alongside accomplished artists and scholars guiding your focus in Creative Writing, Visual Arts or Interdisciplinary Studies.
Masters and PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies using digital technologies to explore questions central to the arts and humanities; applying arts and humanities frameworks to digital tools and technologies.
Examine film and cinema from esthetic, historical, economical, sociological and technical perspectives. (courses)
Masters and PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, work closely with faculty across a diverse set of disciplines.
Chanda Carey | Global Contemporary Art; Performance Art in History, Theory and Practice; Eco-Art
Suzanne Gott | Global arts and visual cultures, African art and visual culture
Hussein Keshani | World Art History, Art Histories of the Islamic World & South Asia, Digital Humanities, World Literatures
Angela Andersen | Global Contemporary Art
Nathalie Hager | Canadian Art History
Kevin Chong| Creative writing, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary journalism, dramatic writing.
Anne Fleming | Fiction, poetry, children’s books, stage play and screen writing
Matt Rader | Poetry, short story, non-fiction, writing and community learning
Michael V. Smith | Concrete poetry, experimental film, Canadian literature, fiction and drama, poetry, screenwriting
Tom Leveen | Fiction
Andrea Routley | Novel Writing, Community Learning
Umar Turaki | Short Story
Aleksandra Dulic | New media, video, drawing 2D
Megan Smith | New media art, virtual reality, physical computing, critical design, geo location, visual art, interactive art.
Miles Thorogood | Digital Media
Annie Wan | Innovating Artistic and Socially Motivated Design through Creative Media by means of Gamification in Digital Heritage Preservation, Museums Archives and Digital Conservation; Employing Creative Media for the Socially Disadvantaged by means of Adopting Extended Realities and Intelligence Technologies for well- being.
Emerald Benzmer | Digital Media
Jacen Denis | Digital Media, Animation
Yujie Gao | Computational Art and Design
Denise Kenney | Devised Theatre, Art and Social Practice, Performance Art, Community Engagement, Improvisation, Spoken Word, Live Art and Digital Media, Film, Documentary Production
Virginie Magnat | Performance Studies, Qualitative Research, World Performance Traditions, Experimental and Intercultural Theatre, Physically-Based Performance Practice, Body-Voice Integration, Traditional Singing.
Tracy Ross | Performance
Myron Campbell | Digital Media, Drawing
Briar Craig | Printmaking, Drawing
Aleksandra Dulic | New media, video, drawing 2D
Renay Egami | Sculpture, installation
Samuel Roy-Bois | Sculpture, installation
Shawn Serfas | Painting, drawing, printmaking, theory
Miles Thorogood | Digital Media
Tania Willard | Visual Strategies and Research, Indigenous Land Art, Contemporary Indigenous Art
Connor Charlesworth | Drawing, 2D, Painting
Jacen Denis | Digital Media
David Doody | Drawing, Sculpture
Jorden Doody | Painting
Emerald Benzmer | Digital Media
Patrick Lundeen | Drawing, Painting, Sculpture
Ramey Newell | Video production
Katherine Pickering | Painting, drawing
Andreas Rutkauskas | Photography
Darian Stahl | Printmaking
Shawn Serfas
Department Head, Creative Studies
Associate Professor, Visual Arts
Email: shawn.serfas@ubc.ca
Office: CCS 153
Susan Cripps
Departmental Administrative Assistant
Email: susan.cripps@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.8716
Office: CCS 153
Kaila Kalinocka
Studio Technician
Email: kaila.kalinocka@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.9780
Office: CCS 128
Connor MacKinnon
Studio Technician
Email: connor.mackinnon@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.8483
Office: CCS 129
Vanessa Costa da Silveira
Head’s Assistant, Undergraduate Program and Events Support
Email: vanessa.costadasilveira@ubc.ca
Office: CCS 153
Joanne Gervais
Manager, Media Services
Email: joanne.gervais@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.8737
Office: CCS 228
Philip Wyness
Technical Director
Email: philip.wyness@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.9783
Office: CCS 121
Sam Neal
Media Technician
Email: sam.neal@ubc.ca
Office: CCS 228
The Creative Studies department is committed to ethical creative practice. Faculty and students engaged in creative practice are expected to be prepared to articulate how their work aligns with the ethical standards of the disciplines and sectors they are a part of.
If creative practices are employed as part of research projects in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, then they may be subject to REB review and approval.