Hosted by ECU alums and faculty members Jefferson Alade and Robin Mitchell Cranfield, ECU 100: Open Studios takes you into the spaces and practices that form the centre of Vancouver’s cultural life.
A new podcast celebrating Emily Carr University of Art + Design’s (ECU) centennial year explores the past and potential futures of regional culture through the lens of the people and organizations at its heart.
Hosted by ECU faculty members Jefferson Alade (MDes 2023) and Robin Mitchell Cranfield (BDes 2002), ECU 100: Open Studios brings listeners into the organizations, studios and working spaces that animate the art and design world connecting ECU to Vancouver and beyond.
“One of our big questions has been, ‘What makes a community? Is it a physical place? Is it the people that make it up? Is it something in between?’ That’s a lot of what we’ve been investigating,” says Jefferson, a designer, researcher, curator and sound artist. “We’ve intentionally tried to feature guests at all different stages of their practices and careers, and from across different types of communities. I think of this podcast as a way of capturing something resembling a sonic portrait of these places and people.”
“One of our goals is to help listeners understand the cultural life of their city and foster potential future dialogue,” adds Robin, a graphic designer, illustrator and writer. “And audio is an intimate medium. You’re truly with people, you’re with their voices, and you glean information from mannerisms and rhythms the same way you might from a conversation. To me, that feels like a wonderful way to connect listeners with people who may be living or working just around the corner.”
ECU 100: Open Studios launches Oct. 6, and will feature monthly episodes through fall 2026. Each episode will be themed around a different location or facet of the local cultural community.
The first episode, titled Paintbox, features artists and ECU community members including Professors Emeritae Renée Van Halm (Alum 1975) and Landon Mackenzie, Vice-President Academic + Provost Diyan Achjadi, faculty member Emily Hermant and recent graduate David Macgillivray (BFA 2025), all of whom maintain studios within a historic building near ECU campus. A follow-up episode will feature an in-depth interview with Professor Emeritus and Honorary Degree recipient Ian Wallace, whose studio is in the same building.
Other episodes will focus on artist-run-centres and nonprofits including 221A and UNIT/PITT, or more commercial operations including SORT by Studio Faculty — all of which are staffed and cofounded by ECU alums.
Robin says the pressures that drive a rapidly changing city often have outsized impacts on cultural organizations and practitioners, which tend to be transient or precarious. For that reason, those people and places can be difficult to pin down. She notes the podcast brings listeners inside those spaces, providing a form of access that might lead to greater connectivity within the city.
“One of the decisions we made early on was to work with lapel mics, meaning we can physically walk with our guests around their spaces. This helped us capture a sense of place that transports listeners from wherever they are into these different locations,” she says. “We’ve also been talking about how you can’t see your moment in history clearly. You’re in it. You won’t truly understand its significance until you look back. So, with Vancouver developing so quickly, there’s something nice about the idea of creating a time capsule in audio form which we’ll be able to reconnect with in coming years.”
“We spoke with Ian Wallace about how his practice as an educator made the world bigger and smaller for his students,” Jefferson adds. “I hope this podcast does the same, but within the context of Vancouver. These people’s stories reveal the remarkable depth and breadth of our cultural context but remind you that all of it begins in our neighbourhoods. And hopefully the intimacy of our approach makes a welcoming space for you to enter that conversation.”
Visit ecuad.ca/podcast to listen now, or find ECU 100: Open Studios wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
100 Years of Creativity: The Stories that Shaped Us
As part of Emily Carr University’s centennial celebrations and our ‘100 Years of Creativity’ campaign, we are sharing stories that spotlight the creativity, resilience and impact of our community over the past 100 years. These stories feature the people, projects, places and ideas that have shaped ECU, reminding us of our shared legacy while inspiring the future. By revisiting past milestones and sharing new ones, we honour the many voices that built our institution and continue to guide its path forward.
For more information about ECU 100 centennial celebrations, upcoming events and stories, visit our webpage.
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