By: Tracey Ho, SFU Student
While I had always enjoyed arts in high school, being a student at SFU’s School for Contemporary Arts (SCA) for the past five years made me realize just how much more there was to learn about the art world. My first few classes with the school were focused more on artistic concepts, which allowed me to develop a strong base knowledge of different techniques such as durational (time-based) media, painting, and sketching. During my third and fourth years, I got to take a lot more practical classes that involved hands-on application of such techniques. While these courses allowed me to become a well-rounded artist in watercolour and oil painting, sketching, multimedia video-making, and sculpting, my time at the SCA also showed me what a student artist can do outside of the classroom.
One of my most memorable moments was getting to take CA 306, where I got to do a practicum with SFU Galleries. Eventually, I helped select several works to be displayed as part of a piece called “The Moon Project” at the Teck Gallery (now renamed “Harbour Centre Lounge”) from March 2024 to March 2025. Through these experiences, I was welcomed into a family of artists and arts enthusiasts, and more specifically, they created a community for me at SFU outside of the lecture halls. My times with SFU Galleries and the Gibson Museum were also personally instrumental in showing me my future career path — becoming a curator. CA 306 paved a long way in rejecting the false stereotype that students who pursue arts in university go unemployed.
I also fondly remember participating in two visual arts shows that helped me become the artist that I know today. The first, The City of Many, at the end of my third year, and the final graduation show called KerPlunk!. For The City of Many, my cohort worked in collaboration with professor Sabine Bitter and Spring 2025 Audain Visual Artist in Residence Sandy Kaltenborn to explore the role of art and artists in an ever-shifting urban landscape, through looking at themes such as diversity, identity, architecture, and urban dynamism. This show was the first time I got to show my artwork to the public with my video, “Burnaby Malls Changing Before My Eyes,” that showcased the transformation of the three Burnaby malls (Lougheed, Brentwood, and Metrotown) over the years. For KerPlunk!, held just a few months ago, I got to explore the evolving responsibilities of contemporary artists to keep the integrity of galleries and media and how we, future professionals in contemporary art, adapt to these responsibilities. This art show provided me with one last chance as an undergraduate student to publicly display my arts with, “Handmade Dollhouse Mansion,” an eight-section mansion made using recyclable items I collected, representing that old items can be given new meanings in the right environment.
As I head into graduation, I will always cherish the confidence that my times at the SCA have provided me
Both in forming personal communities, and in showcasing my arts to the wider public. As I reflect on my life after graduation, I plan to keep visiting local galleries and pursuing curatorial positions. Motivated by what I saw at the SCA, in the longer term, I hope to inspire future generations of SCA students to pursue their passions in contemporary arts and reject the notion that arts deters career prospects.
