NEWS RELEASE posted on November 18, 2010 by flux
SFU Visual Arts & Goldcorp: "Framing Cultural Capital"
Wed. Nov. 24 panel discussion on corporatization, gentrification and ethics
The SFU Visual Art Student Union would like to invite you to attend
Framing Cultural Capital: An Informative Dialogue on the Corporate
University and the Ethics of Community Engagement
Wednesday, November 24 at 7 pm
World Art Studio (Room 2555) at SFU Woodward's, 149 W Hastings Street.
In response to the recent donation of $10 million by the Canadian mining
corporation Goldcorp to SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts at the new
Woodward's complex, the Visual Arts Student Union presents a panel
discussion centered on the corporatization of universities, the ongoing
gentrification pressures in the Downtown Eastside, and the ethics of
artistic practices involving community engagement.
According to the university's press release, half of the donation will go
towards the capital costs of the facilities, while the other half will be
placed in an endowment to support programs aimed at community engagement
in the Downtown Eastside. Furthermore, in acknowledgment of the gift, the
university's new arts complex at Woodward's has been named the Goldcorp
Centre for the Arts. Given Goldcorp's controversial mining operations in
several Latin American countries, this donation has triggered significant
concern among students as well as the Downtown Eastside community.
As visual art students of the School for the Contemporary Arts, we
acknowledge our responsibilities as cultural producers, and our
dialectical relationship with the physical and social contexts in which we
work and study. By organizing this event, we are voicing our demand for a
more active role in shaping our position in the university and our
relationship with the community.
The discussion will be moderated by Jeff Derksen (Department of English,
SFU), and the panel speakers include Ian Angus (Department of Humanities,
SFU), Alexandra Henao (SFU Against Goldcorp and Gentrification), Cecily
Nicholson (Downtown Eastside Women's Centre), Irwin Oostindie (W2
Community Media Arts) and Jayce Salloum (Vancouver-based visual artist).
We look forward to seeing you.
Yours truly,
Jacquelyn Ross
SFU Visual Arts Student Union
vasu.sfu@gmail.com
www.611forum.com
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