Arts

Visual Arts

Art is something I’m always thinking about and always doing.
—David Holt, Head, Art Department, Upper School

Get some perspective

At UCC, we encourage boys to look at the world in their own inimitable way.

Our visual arts curriculum places a strong focus on essential studio skills such as drawing, colour, design, sculpture, photography and digital media. It explores a range of artistic traditions, practices and historical contexts from around the world. Large, well-equipped studios provide an ideal environment for students.

Many of our courses include visits by guest artists and designers, plus trips to galleries and museums. IB art students travel to New York City each year as part of the research process for their own studio projects. Student collaborations with outside art institutions have included a sculpture project with the Royal Ontario Museum’s Institute for Contemporary Culture, and participation in The Big Draw event sponsored by the U.K.’s Campaign for Drawing.

Our visual arts faculty members are dedicated teachers as well as actively engaged artists, curators and designers. They help our student artists prepare for entry into their chosen university programs, which have included all fields of art, design, architecture, and art history. In addition to admission into highly competitive Canadian programs, Old Boys have gone on to attend top art schools such as Cooper Union, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons, The School of Art Institute of Chicago, and Cornell University’s architecture program.

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Expert faculty

David Holt, Upper School Head, Art Department, has been a recipient of a painting grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation and an artist’s residency at the Ragdale Foundation. His works can be found in private collections in the United States and Canada. He exhibits his work at private galleries approximately every 18 months, recently at Toronto’s loop Gallery.

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Monika Kastelic

Co-Coordinator, Art Department, Preparatory School
Paul McGarr

Co-Coordinator, Art Department, Preparatory School
David Holt

Head, Art Department, Upper School

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“WE CALL: Upper Canada College”

A collaboration with UCC’s visual arts department and Amnesty International Club (with funding from the Lind Visiting Artist Program) resulted in a site-specific installation in the Upper School student centre by Vancouver artist Cathy Busby titled “WE CALL: Upper Canada College.” It featured large, colourful fabric panels with abridged excerpts from calls to action from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada.