ECU’s 15 Most-Read Stories in 2024
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Your favourite stories in 2024 comprise a broader picture of the power of creativity to effect meaningful change.
Throughout 2024, the Emily Carr community created an extraordinary number of projects focused on meaningful engagement, deep thinking, generosity, camaraderie and agency.
The stories on this list only represent a small fraction of those, and there are many more yet to tell. Scroll down to explore the highlights of this past year that resonated with you most.
Whether their stories appear on this list or not, we salute each of the students, staff, faculty and alums who dedicated themselves in so many big and small ways to the work of building a better future.
Our sincerest thanks to each of you who took time to speak with us this year, and to the many more who spent time reading our accounts of those conversations.
Happy new year; we’ll look forward to seeing you in 2025.
“As we’ve gotten more focused with the project over the years, Liz and I have tried hard to create a space for people to talk about what are often contradictory experiences,” says artist and ECU faculty member Amory Abbott of the ongoing Fire Season project, which he co-leads with artist and educator Liz Tooey-Wiese (BFA 2011).
“I don’t think there’s an underlying message in the books other than we’re all getting through this, and it’s better when we do that together and learn from each other as we go.”
“This research project aims to illuminate the ingenuity and contributions of the women leading in the development of magnetic core memory and the textile technology they employed, which were critical to this particular technological advancement,” artist and ECU faculty member Emily Hermant says of Core memories: Retracing the Fabric of Computer Technology, a new research-creation project for which she was awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant.
No. 13 (Tie) | ECU Graduate Students Among 2024 Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s Program Scholarship Recipients
“It’s huge,” artist and ECU Master of Fine Arts student Haley Bassett (MFA 2025) says of the Canada Graduate Scholarship — Master’s (CGS M) funding she, along with four other ECU students, received.
“I think it’s going to help me do my best work. My practice is particularly labour-intensive, so this kind of financial help will go a long way for me.”
No. 13 (Tie) | Alina Danilyuk Wins UX Design Award in Berlin
“The project is based on the idea that we’re so consumed by technology, especially our cell phones, that we’re missing out on something in our lives,” UX Design Certificate grad Alina Danilyuk says of her award-winning Elsewhere with Apple project.
“But technology is here to stay. Nobody’s going to throw away their phones, and I don’t want to make the phone into a bad guy. I want to make the phone friendlier so you can still live life to the fullest but not get lost in the algorithms.”
No. 12 (Tie) | Hailey Wispinski and Kyla Zwack’s Community Project Inspires Kits House 50th Anniversary Mural
“It’s fulfilling any time you can work on a project that’s impactful to people,” says ECU student Kyla Zwack (BDes 2025), who, along with friend and classmate Hailey Wispinski (BFA 2025), worked with local nonprofit Kitsilano Neighbourhood House on a project to help combat loneliness and food insecurity among seniors.
“It does come with its challenges, but there’s nothing more rewarding.”
Titled Gathering Colour: Foraging Magic & Making Art from the World Around You, the book details a quarter century of artist Caitlin Ffrench’s (MFA 2024) hands-on research into making inks, paints and dyes from natural pigments found in plants and other organic and earth-based materials.
“Knowledge should be shared and given freely,” she says. “None of what I know is special. These are ideas that have been around for all of human history. They should be accessible to everyone.”
Artist, ECU staff member and student Chelsea O’Byrne (MFA 2026) says using colour and form as emotional and metaphorical cues is one of the most satisfying parts of her practice.
“That’s my favourite thing about illustration,” she says. “It can be a very representational art form, but there’s actually a lot of room to be abstract and introduce layers of metaphor. All of my favourite children’s books have that deeper layer of meaning that can be inferred.”
“Building up the design community in the school is the main thing,” says ECU student Neha Adinamozhi (BDes 2024), who, alongside fellow design student Cailine Keirstead (BDes 2024), founded the student-led FLUI (For the Love of User Interface) Design Hackathon at ECU.
“We want to bring everyone together and give them a way to collaborate as a team. And maybe participating could lead to future prospects for emerging designers.”
“Putting my project out here in the city for everyone to experience has been one of the biggest achievements of my life yet,” ECU design student Aradhita Virmani (BDes 2025) says of the third-year student project which showcased portable environments designed to accommodate food preparation, service and enjoyment.
No. 8 | Nevada Lynn Featured in Final Edition of Herschel Supply Company’s Artist in Residence Showcase
As the final recipient of the 2023/4 Herschel Supply Company’s residency, Nevada Lynn (BFA 2024) noted that Indigenous-specific funding can be “life-changing” for Indigenous artists.
“These artists are representing whole communities,” she says. “They don’t want to just be successful for themselves. They want to speak to issues that are really meaningful and urgent. That responsibility is driving their work. These kinds of grants are making a big difference in the lives of Indigenous artists, and Indigenous artists are affecting real change.”
Design student Linh Phan (BDes 2024), whose work at St. Paul’s included donning scrubs to join nurses in the Bronchoscopy Suite for a procedure, says the value of service design for all participants cannot be overstated.
“From a student perspective, getting to practice in the field is an experience you cannot compare to classroom learning,” she says. “Designing, to me, is learning through making. You actually have to be there. You actually have to do it.”
“Essentially, it’s a response to concerns being voiced on the fire line right now,” wildland firefighter and recent ECU grad Angus Duguid (BDes 2024) says of his Respire respirator.
“Wildland firefighters — pretty much universally — fight fire without respiratory protection. It’s become a bigger conversation recently, and I realized I had a pretty solid skillset both in firefighting and design to try developing potential solutions.”
“It was the first time that I was working from a place of love,” ECU student Sun-Nam Manuel (선남) (BFA 2025) says of his introduction to the traditional Korean calligraphy and ink painting practices that earned him a 2024 Audain Travel Award.
“I felt like I had finally been liberated from contributing to the
net sadness of the world. I was able to create what I hoped for in life
rather than be haunted by what I was running from.”
ECU students Audrey Allanson (BDes 2026), Alice (Minsuh) Kim (BDes 2026) and Sophie Ryznar (BDes 2026) described the second-year design project as “cathartic.” Working together toward a common goal, they’ve discovered a balm for what can feel like an endless refrain of bad news.
“There’s all this horrible stuff around the world and you think, what do I do?” they tell me. “But we realized, no, I can focus on this project. I can change this little thing for this one person.”
Designer and entrepreneur Andrew Bryden’s (BDes 2000) advice is to keep lifestyle and overall life goals in mind when pursuing a design career. The story of his company, Mosko Moto, proves it’s possible to marry a design career with a passion for the outdoors in a practical, meaningful way.
“Even though we have really wonderful long classes at ECU, three days of nonstop drawing where teachers and students are all struggling side-by-side under the same beast is a radically horizontal way of coming into the act of drawing,” artist and ECU faculty member Genevieve de Leon said of the three-day marathon in early spring, 2024.
“It’s not some sage on a stage telling you the way to draw. We’re all finding that together.”
Your #1 most-read story this past year celebrated the news that educator, researcher, curator and long-time faculty member Trish Kelly had been appointed President + Vice-Chancellor of ECU.
“I am deeply honoured to step into the role of president,” Trish said. “We are at an exciting and vital moment, and I relish the opportunity to be part of the institution's history as we build on shared accomplishments together.”
