Alberta University of the Arts

ABOUT UNIVERSITY

The Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts) is a public art university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a co-educational institution comprising four academic schools. AUArts has a long history rooted in the development of art education in Alberta. Its origins can be traced back to 1916 with the establishment of the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA), which initially offered evening and Saturday art classes. In 1926, daytime classes were introduced, and Lars Haukaness was appointed as the first head of the art department. When PITA became the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in 1960, the art department was renamed the Alberta College of Art (ACA). After years of planning and construction, the Alberta College of Art moved into a newly designed building in 1973, located on Calgary's North Hill, next to the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Designed by the architectural firm Cohos, Delesalle and Evamy, this purpose-built facility became the institution’s long-term home. In 1985, the college became independent from SAIT and, in 1995, it changed its name to the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) after gaining authority to grant Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. In 2018, the institution was officially designated a university by the government of Alberta and was renamed Alberta University of the Arts in 2019 to reflect its new status. The university’s Luke Lindoe Library, named after a notable alumnus and founder of the Ceramics Department, holds over 25,000 art and design-related titles. AUArts also features two professional galleries, the Illingworth Kerr Gallery and the Marion Nicoll Gallery, as well as nine student-run and pop-up gallery spaces. The Illingworth Kerr Gallery was named in honor of the artist and instructor when the university moved into its current building in 1973, expanding the space into a 9,500 square-foot gallery.