The Vancouver Art Gallery and Emily Carr University of Art + Design say about 5,000 historic artist files will be loaned to ECU’s Library + Archives under a five-year partnership.
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The Vancouver Art Gallery and Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) announced a five-year partnership aimed at expanding public access to a historic research collection.
Under the agreement, the Gallery will loan approximately 5,000 historic artist files to the ECU Library + Archives. The files span nearly a century, covering records from the Gallery’s founding in 1931 to the present day, and documenting the history of art and artists in British Columbia.
The material includes rare photographs, personal and artistic correspondence, artist statements, exhibition catalogues, and newspaper and journal clippings, along with other ephemera. The partnership description also says many of the artists represented have historical ties to ECU through roles as faculty, alumni or artistic collaborators.
The loan is intended to complement ECU’s own artist files, which primarily include university materials such as prospectuses, student publications, newsletters, memos and exhibition files, by uniting them with the Gallery’s broader records into a single primary-source collection.
Eva Respini, Co-CEO & Chief Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery, said: “Archival materials offer an extraordinary window into the ideas, relationships and creative practices that shape our cultural history,” adding that the Gallery is “thrilled to partner with Emily Carr University of Art + Design to expand access to these rare and remarkable materials.”
Dr. Trish Kelly, President + Vice-Chancellor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, said the materials “represent an invaluable research tool for our faculty and students,” and that their presence on campus “creates new pathways for community members and the public to discover our province’s cultural histories and envision exciting new futures.”
ECU’s archivist, Kristy Waller, will oversee the ongoing care, cataloguing and public reference requests for the artist files. Access to the materials is available by appointment through the ECU Library + Archives.
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