SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs
The SFU Woodward’s campus.
The Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre.
The Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema.
SFU Woodward's Cultural Programs (SFUW) engages with leading edge artists in dance, theatre, cinema, music and digital arts, provoking new practices and approaches reflecting the ever-changing landscape of contemporary arts. Since its inception in 2010 and the opening of the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts building, SFUW has continued to commission, produce, and present more than 200 works per year.
In each new endeavour, SFUW is guided by the mandate to Create. Engage. Inspire.
Create: This looks like creating opportunities and fertile environments for new work to develop. Residencies, developmental workshops, and artistic incubations are critical aspects of the process. Through access to its venues, artists are permitted the artistic tools necessary to further their creations. SFUW is a catalyst for the creation of new work, having commissioned and supported the creation of new work over a multi-year process.
Engage: SFUW engages with over 25 professional cultural community partners, reflecting the diversity and inclusivity of the Lower Mainland. From long-lasting partnerships to brand new relationships, SFUW’s dynamic portfolio of community relationships connects audiences near and far who may not otherwise access SFUW spaces and programming. Through these partnerships, we extend our reach into the community and authentically support a diversity of communities across genre and form. From a decade-long partnership with Indian Summer Festival, Turning Point Ensemble, and Vancouver Moving Theatre, to growing partnerships with film festivals that include Vancouver International Film Festival, F-O-R-M, and fests in Lebanese, Polish, Turkish, and South African communities. Brand new partnerships kicking off this year range from the Chutzpah Festival to Music on Main, strengthening the community together.
Inspire: SFUW works with exceptional creatives, engaging with leading local and international artists who are pushing the boundaries of their form. SFUW aspires to find new artistic expressions capturing contemporary voices in our society. Through SFUW’s physical and cultural position, we directly connect emerging artists from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts to the cutting-edge artists coming through SFUW’s doors. Professional artists often offer workshops, masterclasses, open rehearsals, and behind-the-scenes access to productions.
Small but mighty, SFUW is often remarked as “punching above their weight” in the exceptional local, national, and international artists they bring to town. The 2022-23 season marks SFUW’s 10th anniversary season, and will be a celebration of exceptional presentations from artists across Canada, alongside dynamic in-person and virtual workshops, conversations, presentations, screenings, concerts, shows, and much more. SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs look ahead to the next 10 years of growth, community connection, and inspiring engagement with passion and excitement.
A dance studio inside SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.
Find SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts-SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs at:
149 West Hastings Street
Vancouver