Inaugural KPU event aims to introduce creatives to the university’s diverse programs
Creative Connections at the Richmond campus is a collaboration between the Faculty of Arts and Wilson School of Design
Creative Connections will highlight 15 programs in the Faculty of Arts and Wilson School of Design on Nov. 2 at KPU Richmond. (Flickr/Wilson School of Design)
The Faculty of Arts and Wilson School of Design are joining forces to host an event for prospective students, parents, and community members to learn about the creative programs offered at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
The inaugural Creative Connections, which will take place on Nov. 2 at the Richmond campus, is a collaboration between Faculty of Arts Dean Shelley Boyd and Wilson School of Design Dean Andhra Goundrey.
“Sometimes students come in and they’re not quite sure what program they’re interested in, but they have creative skills,” Goundrey says.
“They would like to put that to something, but they’re sometimes not quite sure even which faculty it would be. So we said, ‘Why not just do that together and give them an offering of all the creative programs that they could go into?’”
The event aims to raise the profile of KPU’s creative programs as well as show what students can achieve here and the career paths available to them, Boyd adds.
Creative Connections will highlight 15 arts and design programs — advanced 3D animation and modelling, advanced game development, advanced visual effects, creative writing, fashion and technology, fashion marketing, fine arts, foundation in entertainment arts, foundations in design, front-end development for interactive applications, graphic design for marketing, interior design, music, product design, and technical apparel design.
The event will feature portfolio pit stops to help “demystify” what portfolios look like by allowing interested applicants to receive feedback on theirs.
“It’s sometimes a scary word because people think a portfolio is this polished piece of work that they need to show,” Goundrey says.
“So the more that we can convey the information that it’s actually not. We want to see how applicants think, so we’d like to see the work, we’d like to find out the story behind the work that’s being presented.”
The programs that require a portfolio during the application process are fashion design and technology, graphic design for marketing, interior design, product design, advanced 3D animation and modelling, advanced visual effects, advanced game development, and foundation in entertainment arts.
For programs that don’t require portfolios, such as creative writing and fine arts, prospective students can still bring their work, like photography or writing in process, for faculty to provide input on, Boyd says.
Creative Connections will also have an alumni showcase, which will be a visual display celebrating KPU graduates and their career success at the Richmond campus atrium and at each booth tied to the different disciplines highlighted at the event. Some alumni will be there in person, too.
The event will also have a diverse range of interactive workshops related to the programs, such as design exercises and checking out the programming used in entertainment arts.
There will also be three prizes up for grabs — a creative essentials gift basket valued at about $500, Apple earbuds, and an annual membership to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Guests will receive a “passport” to collect stamps from the different areas they visit at the event, which will then be used to enter to win the prizes.
The ultimate goal of the event is to help prospective students see themselves in KPU’s creative programs and make connections.
“There’s a bit of curiosity and interest in these areas, but you may be unsure of your path forward,” Boyd says. “This event is a great one to come to meet the faculty, understand what the programs offer, and hopefully that potential journey for your life and career is going to start to take shape and new dimensions.”
As someone whose parents were originally apprehensive about her going into design, Goundrey says an event like this also allows families to see what KPU alumni are up to and that they have gone on to have viable careers.
“I am a graduate of the fashion and technology program,” she says.
“I remember at the time when I was trying to look [for] my place and what is the next step, I wish I had a place like this to come to because there [were] several different areas in the creative field that I was interested in … but I actually didn’t know if there was a place for me.”
For more information about Creative Connections and to RSVP, visit www.kpu.ca/creativeconnections.
