About Yukon SOVA
What is the Yukon School of Visual Arts?
What is the Student Experience of SOVA?
Where is SOVA Located Geographically and Culturally?
What is the Yukon School of Visual Arts?
The Yukon School of Visual Arts (SOVA) is an accredited art college where students complete their foundational year, which is the first year of study in a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or Bachelor of Design degrees (BDes). Students can then transfer into a second year of study at our partnering institutions to complete their degrees:
- Emily Carr University (Vancouver)
- Alberta College of Art and Design (Calgary)
- OCAD University (Toronto)
- NSCAD University (Halifax)
What makes SOVA unique is that it is a joint venture between:
- Dawson City Arts Society (DCAS)
- Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation
- Yukon College
SOVA is governed by DCAS's passion for the arts-as displayed in its operation of the nationally acclaimed Klondike Institute of Arts & Culture (KIAC)-combined with the insight of First Nations traditional culture and backed by the academic accreditation of Yukon College.
Together, SOVA has the following Mission and Vision Statements:
MISSION STATEMENT
We will deliver a unique, integrated, and culturally inclusive visual arts program.
VISION STATEMENT
- Our students will increase their skills and knowledge as artists, gain transferable course credits, and contribute to the culture of their communities.
- Our school will develop local and visiting artists; connect our northern community with the world; and contribute to the social and economic well-being of Dawson City.
What is the SOVA Student Experience?
SOVA consists of a diverse student population with students coming from the northern territories, major urban centres across Canada and internationally. In addition to working with students from all walks of life, SOVA has incredible facilities: vaulted ceiling painting studios, professional audio-visual equipment and its own art gallery, just to name a few of the highlights above and beyond what is normally accessible to art students in their first year of study. A low instructor/student ratio provided by professional faculty who exhibit their own work internationally on a regular basis creates a high-caliber learning environment second to none.
Just listen to our alumni who have gone on to finish their degrees at our partnering art colleges, they didn't know how lucky they were at SOVA until they could compare their experiences first hand. Read two alumni profiles from students who went on to study at EMILY CARR and NSCAD here.
At SOVA, the contemporary course design and professional experience gained immediately in the first year is distinct, because it challenges the division between the traditional bubble of art school and the experience of a practicing artist. Public student exhibitions occur at least three times a year: one at the college, one at the professional ODD Gallery, and one at the Territory's public art gallery in Whitehorse, the Yukon Arts Centre. The OVER THE WIRE exhibition series, which SOVA students participate in each semester, pairs students with the world's top artists to create a new body of work archived with a publication.
In the heart of Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in traditional territory, SOVA is located in one of the richest historical sites in Canada - the site of the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike region is full of official Parks Canada sites as well as many heritage buildings and remnants beckoning the curious student, including a ghost town, shipwrecks, and old Gold Rush mining sites.
The playground of the Yukon wilderness surrounds the town of Dawson City, including the cinematic Tombstone Mountains and the Yukon River. Whether you are hiking though the fiery landscape of the tundra in the fall, or watching a dog sled race on the frozen river in mid-winter, Dawson offers experiences you will never forget.
Most important to the art student is the vibrant arts community of Dawson City, which warmly welcomes new SOVA students each year. An eclectic community with local crafts people, migrated filmmakers and adventurous European artists, the core of the arts community revolves around extensive cultural programming, including exhibitions, workshops, theatre performances, concerts, and artist talks. Dawson City might be small in population, but due to its dense artistic ethos and the fact it's a must experience location on the Canadian art scene, there are always more events than one can catch. The internationally respected KIAC Artist-in-Residence program hosts a year-round rotating roster of professional artists in Dawson City who are purposefully in town to make new work. SOVA instructors regularly organise studio visits with visiting artists, who often end up having students participate in their production, such as David Hoffos' Vancouver Cultural Olympiad exhibition. In addition, Dawson City is home to the well-respected Dawson City Musical Festival and the International Short Film Festival drawing talent and attention from across the country. Every year a few works by SOVA students find their way into local community events such as these, helping launch their careers.
The main challenge for students after studying at SOVA and living in Dawson City is whether they can actually bear to leave town in order to finish their degrees-a dilemma we at SOVA are happy to help create!
To learn more about our individual courses and facilities look here.
To learn how to apply look here.