Dr. Trish Kelly Named President of Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Dr. Trish Kelly was appointed VP Academic + Provost at ECU in 2019. Prior to that, she held a series of administrative roles, including Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the university. Kelly holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia, an MA from Tufts University, and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Before coming to ECU, she was an Associate Professor at DePaul University in Chicago.

As an art historian and educator, Kelly’s writings on contemporary art have been published in various peer-reviewed venues, including Art Journal, American Art, the Journal of Curatorial Studies, and The Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics, and Culture. Her research involves a range of subjects, including minimal art and abstraction, art and politics, alternative art networks, and time and duration in new media production. Throughout, an interest in viewership and art-making as a form of knowledge production is central. Currently, she is working on a book project titled On-Site: Art, Politics, and Viewers (New York, circa 1970), exploring modes of critical and embodied viewership explored in artist-run centres and alternative art networks of the early 1970s.

Kelly is committed to collaborative and inclusive leadership models and has served on various Boards and advisory committees, including the Food Stash Foundation, which champions food security, zero waste, and sustainable agriculture; and the Academic Committee of GNW Trust, committed to inclusive and participatory partnerships between post-secondary institutions.

Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) is a world leader in education and research. Encouraging experimentation at the intersections of art, design, media and technology, ECU merges studio practice, research and critical theory in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. Founded in Vancouver in 1925, the university has over 2000 students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs, and thousands more taking workshops, certificate programs and individual courses. Their faculty and alumni are internationally recognized as award-winning creators and thought leaders who have significant impact on both the cultural sector and the economy.