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A new exhibition at the at ȫ���Ʊ (ȫ���Ʊ) celebrates the university’s centennial year with an exploration of ȫ���Ʊ’s role in supporting creative education throughout local communities and beyond.

Opening Sept. 11, 2025, at 6 PM, En Route: mobile forms of art and education brings together historical and contemporary source materials, media and artworks.

“As we embark on ȫ���Ʊ’s centennial anniversary as a public university for art and design, En Route acknowledges the incredible role ȫ���Ʊ has had in fostering art and design education in Canada and abroad,” says Vanessa Kwan, Director + Curator, Gallery + Exhibitions at ȫ���Ʊ.

“This exhibition is above all a celebration of the possibilities of a porous classroom and the many ways artists have experimented with the form through practices of mutual support, space creation, and radical dissemination.”

Beginning in the ȫ���Ʊ Archives, En Route takes inspiration from a now-legendary Outreach Program aimed at bringing creative education to communities across the province. Programs including the travelling Printmobile, distance-learning Telecourses distributed on VHS tape, and a touring BC Young Artists biennial are among the initiatives on view.

“These histories and practices explore the significance of artist-led classrooms and informal learning environments, and trace their impacts and legacies across communities,” Vanessa says.

En Route also features items by ȫ���Ʊ alums, faculty and community members whose work embodies themes of expanded learning beyond the classroom. Such initiatives include Ian Wallace’s International Visiting Artist Program, ’s launch of , artist ’s inaugural , and the establishment of arts organizations Avenue, and .

Additional public programming connected to the exhibition will include:

• Oct. 16 - a feature conversation between ȫ���Ʊ President + Vice Chancellor Dr. Trish Kelly and celebrated artist Ian Wallace, OOC;

• Oct. 23 – a tour with ȫ���Ʊ archivist Kristy Waller;

• Oct. 29 – a panel discussion with Kara Ditte Hansen, Scott Kemp, Jordan Milner (Avenue/Duplex) and Patrick Cruz (Kamias Triennial); and

• Nov. 1 – an offsite talk with Erica Wilk of Moniker Press at Moniker’s home in the Sun Wah Centre.

En Route’s opening reception begins at 6 PM on Sept. 11 at the , with the exhibition on view during regular gallery hours through Nov. 16, 2025.

Attendance at all events is free and open to the public.

Visit ȫ���Ʊ’s centennial hub and for more information on all of our upcoming events.