Art by Emily Carr Faculty Critical of Employer
Untenable working conditions are the focus of The Work of The Work, the first faculty show at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design since the campus relocated two years ago.
Work in the show, on view until Feb. 14, calls out the university for heavy workloads and relying on low-paid non-regular faculty to teach about half the institution's classes.
Visual artist Jay White, for instance, considers himself lucky to have secured a tenure-track position, although he commutes from Bowen Island and sleeps in his van a couple of nights a week to save time and money.
“To be able to work the number of hours I work and still have time with my family, I work here quite late,” White told The Tyee, an independent online magazine based in Vancouver. “And then at least I have my weekends to myself with my family.”
The university said in a statement that it supports academic freedom and freedom of expression everywhere, including on-campus exhibitions.
“Institutional critique has a strong and important history within contemporary art and design practice, and the university wholly supports the right of faculty to participate in that tradition.”
Bargaining is underway for a new collective agreement with faculty.
Source: The Tyee
