In conjunction with ECU 100, a trio of collaborative events brings together artists, venues and institutions to support diverse connections throughout the local arts and culture ecosystem.
A series of events in collaboration with businesses, arts organizations and venues around Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood spotlights Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) as an integrated and embedded contributor to the cultural life of the city.
ECU x Mount Pleasant (ECU x MP) brings students, alums and members of the ECU community into Mount Pleasant venues to celebrate kinships, fortify relations and support arts work in the neighbourhood. The series was created in conjunction with ECU100, ECU’s centennial celebration campaign.
“As we were contemplating ECU’s hundredth anniversary, we wanted to find ways to extend ECU more actively into the neighbourhood,” says Vanessa Kwan, Director + Curator, Galleries and Exhibitions at ECU.
“Mount Pleasant is full of incredible businesses, superb live venues and deeply embedded arts organizations. We wanted to support artists operating in those spaces and interpreting them in new ways.”
Vanessa adds that ECU x MP is a way of supporting Mount Pleasant’s legacy as a mainstay area for artists and their work.
“Just as the arts community is layered with emerging and established practitioners working across disciplines, Mount Pleasant has many layers to it, each offering different opportunities for Vancouver’s interdisciplinary community of artists,” they say.
“ECU is fully integrated throughout all these layers. We wanted to acknowledge those connections and build on the work we do at the university by activating local spaces and strengthening bonds with artists and supporters in our community.”
ECU x MP: Craftsmanship took place at keystone artist-run centre, Western Front, in November 2025. Organized by ECU faculty member Peter Bussigel and Western Front executive director Susan Gibb, the event brought ECU students into collaboration with visiting artist Itziar Okariz for performance workshops and a public presentation.
“These workshops provide space to experiment, take creative risks and connect with artists working in diverse environments. We were especially pleased to see students connecting not only with visiting artists but also with peers, alumni, faculty and our own team, forming networks that extend beyond the workshop itself,” says Susan.
“Importantly, these programs place students in a professional context where they are treated as artists, giving them firsthand experience of professional artistic practice and collaborative work. The positive response highlights the value of immersive, interdisciplinary experiences that encourage experimentation and playful creativity.”
In January 2026, ECU x MP: Boots ‘n’ Cats merged performance, sound/music and celebration to bridge the vibrant local communities of Ballroom and Hip Hop/Street Dance at live arts venue The Birdhouse. Curated by artist Katria Phothong-McKinnon (BMA 2025), the event gathered hundreds of people from around Vancouver to explore Ballroom and Street Dance as vital, living art forms that challenge and reimagine how performance enters and transforms institutional spaces.
In April 2026, ECU x MP: End of Greatness will take place at Eugene Choo clothing store, owned by one-time ECU student Kildare Curtis, and Collage Collage art studio, run by artist Erin Boniferro (BFA 2002). Curated by award-winning artist and Theatre Replacement cofounder + artistic director Maiko Yamamoto (MAA 2014), this final installment of ECU x MP will include a studio showing of the new multidisciplinary performance work ‘End of Greatness.’ Conceived by Maiko along with friend, artistic collaborator and former ECU student Veda Hille, the show will also include alum Geoffrey Farmer (BFA 1992) and ECU Master of Fine Arts student Hitoko Okada (MFA 2026).
Maiko notes these events create space to both nourish existing connections between artists and the broader community and to establish new ones.
“An event like this is hugely valuable. This type of support for integration is what allows an ecosystem to flourish,” Maiko says.
“This is an opportunity for artists and neighbours to feel more invested in and connected to our city. And that feeling is contagious. It feeds the things that are already happening in so many parts of the city, including in Theatre Replacement. It generates more relationships and connections and fights back against estrangement. It is about building a healthier, more robust social fabric. And it feels truly exciting.”
ECU x MP: End of Greatness takes place at Eugene Choo and Collage Collage on Apr. 9, 2026, at 7 pm. Attendance is free + open to the public, but capacity will be limited. Registration info will be available online in early March via the Libby Leshgold Gallery’s website.
More About the Libby Leshgold Gallery
Libby Leshgold Gallery is a public art gallery dedicated to the presentation of contemporary art. Located within Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Canada, the gallery serves a broad and varied community that includes the students, faculty and staff of the university, the arts community, the public of Greater Vancouver and visitors from around the world.
Visit their website to learn more.
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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