exhibition

past

Sep 20, 2025–Feb 15, 2026

Inaugural Exhibition

Edge Effects

A blue-toned portrait of a young man with dark, wavy hair. He has a serious expression, is wearing a tank top, and is adorned with multiple necklaces. The image has a soft, ethereal quality with indistinct edges and varying shades of blue.

Liz Magor, from Blue Students/Alumnos en azul (artifact), 1997. Cyanotypes on paper, each 24 x 36 inches. Originally commissioned for InSite 97, organized through a joint venture of Installation Gallery in San Diego and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico, and curated by Jessica Bradley, Olivier Debroise, Ivo Mesquita, and Sally Yard. With thanks to Centro Educativo Agua Caliente, Preparatoria Lázaro Cárdenas, Henri Robideau, Al Rodriguez, School of Creative and Performing Arts in San Diego. Courtesy Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver.

Rachel Topham Photography

Ecologists use the term “edge effect” to describe the conditions created when two adjacent ecological communities meet. Edge conditions might be narrow and severe, like those of a forest meeting farmed land, or porous and deep, like the brackish water of a river estuary. The edge effects in such zones captivate scientists because they can support a uniquely abundant array of animal and plant life, allowing for rich and complex co-existence between species that would otherwise never interact.

We imagine the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum to be a place that encourages edge effects. Situated at the threshold of the university’s academic community and energized by its context, the Gibson’s team is committed to creating conditions for artists to thrive, and for a diverse ecology of audience communities to feel at home.

The fifteen artists whose works are drawn together to celebrate the Gibson’s inauguration consider edges in compelling ways. Some projects query SFU’s own histories and repositories: Justine A. Chambers meditates on thresholds of legibility in bodily gesture across time and space; Patrick Cruz conjures alternate paradigms for researching the SFU Art Collection; Sameer Farooq and Jared Stanley re-imagine the museum as a loom that catches and holds belongings; Elisa Ferrari questions sonic sediment found in the university’s archives. Others consider the implications of borders and inheritance: Liz Magor probes the vicissitudes of place and circumstance on student life across nation-states; Debra Sparrow weaves together entangled settler and Indigenous histories; Lorna Brown maps civic residents’ right to movement. Still others imagine how edges might be activated to inhabit futures differently: Lucien Durey attends to domestic labour in comedic and deeply personal aural and sculptural forms; Germaine Koh proposes new structures for community sustenance and conviviality; fourth and fifth grade students at University Highlands Elementary—with guidance from Pietro Sammarco, Helena Krobath and Liz Toohey-Wiese—listen to what rainwater’s path might teach us; and Jin-me Yoon affectively alters the tense conditions at a militarized border zone. In a special semi-permanent commission, Cindy Mochizuki brings the edge of Burnaby Mountain’s forests inside the museum, with a ceramic installation of kodama or Japanese tree spirits on the Gibson’s fireplace wall. Each artist develops new work specifically for this exhibition or presents projects never before seen by audiences in Canada.

We believe that Dr. Edward Gibson was excited by edges. He was known to teach classes outdoors, and pressed his students to challenge existing systems. He called for an art museum on SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus because he believed in art’s capacity to catalyze conversations across disciplines, generations, and cultures. We are humbled to carry this vision forward, infuse it with SFU’s strong practice of creative and cross-disciplinary experimentation, and our own gallery team’s commitment to inclusivity.

The Gibson’s inauguration and opening of Edge Effects will be accompanied by the launch of a companion publication (with contributions by curator Richard William Hill; architect Siamak Hariri; artist and accessibility consultant Kay Slater; artist Francisco-Fernando Granados; the Gibson’s visual identity designers, Information Form and Content; artist/poet Susanna Browne; writer/curator Joshua Segun-Lean; and the Gibson’s Director Kimberly Phillips. A dynamic suite of multi-generational programming, including artist performances and talks, curator-led exhibition tours, weekend art studio sessions for children and their families, and an informal series of academic forums, will punctuate the exhibition throughout Fall 2025 and into Spring 2026.

Curated by Kimberly Phillips with assistance from Susanna Browne, Rachel Maddock, and Joshua Segun-Lean

Exhibition preparation and installation by Mackenzy Albright, with Hannah Rickards and Ysabel Gana. SFU Art Collection Management by Sydney Laiss. Communications & Accessibility by Russell Gordon

With gratitude to our colleagues at SFU Archives, SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, SFU School of Communication, and SFU Faculty of Education for their collaboration and support

Support Material

Exhibition Guide - Edge Effects

Related Programs

Artists

Lorna Brown

Justine A. Chambers

Patrick Cruz

Lucien Durey

Sameer Farooq

Jared Stanley

Elisa Ferrari

Germaine Koh

Helena Krobath

Liz Magor

Cindy Mochizuki

Pietro Sammarco

Liz Toohey-Wiese

Debra Sparrow

Jin-me Yoon

Contributors

Kimberly Phillips

Exhibition Sponsor

Event Partners

Community Partners

Supporters

Generously supported by Bruce Munro Wright and Coleen and Howard Nemtin

Images (42)

A spacious gallery interior features a light wooden floor and large windows, allowing natural light to illuminate the space. On the white wall, a series of framed artworks are displayed in a grid pattern, showcasing various tones and textures. To the left, a brick pillar provides architectural contrast.

A modern gallery space featuring a wall adorned with a grid of photographs in various tones and textures. Below the wall, a long wooden table is paired with matching chairs, arranged in a linear formation on a light wood floor. Large glass windows allow natural light to illuminate the room. The ceiling is made of wooden beams.

A spacious gallery interior features a long, wooden table with several matching chairs. On the wall behind the table, there is a collage of various framed photographs, predominantly showcasing blurred or monochromatic portraits. The images vary in size and are arranged in a grid pattern, creating a visually striking contrast against the plain white wall and wooden ceiling.

A wall displays a grid of eight images, featuring portraits with varying degrees of detail and opacity. The top row contains four images, while the bottom row consists of four more, arranged similarly. The images have a soft, muted color palette, with some showing recognizable facial features and others appearing more abstract or blurred. The background is a plain white wall, and the floor is light wood.

A series of transparent portraits in varying shades of blue, gray, and brown are displayed on a white wall. The artworks reflect stylized images of individuals, some more defined than others, with a mix of soft and dark tones. The portraits are arranged in a loose grid, creating a striking visual contrast against the wall. The floor is light-colored wood.

A series of semi-transparent, dark-toned photographic prints displayed on a white wall. The prints vary in size and feature abstract portraits, some with discernible facial features while others are more indistinct. The arrangement is asymmetrical. The floor is light-coloured wood.

A spacious gallery interior featuring a white wall with several framed portraits in varying tones and colours. In the background, a dark blue wall showcases organic tree-like sculptures. A row of modern, gray seating is visible in the background, and the floor is composed of light wooden planks. The ceiling features exposed wooden beams with spotlights.

An art gallery interior featuring colorful hanging fabric sculptures and vibrant artwork displayed on the walls. In the foreground, a wall with the title "Edge Effects" and descriptive text is visible. The gallery has a bright, spacious feel with wooden beams and light-colored flooring.

A brightly lit art gallery featuring vibrant, abstract artworks displayed on the walls. Various colorful pieces are arranged in a collage style, with several fabric banners hanging from the ceiling, each displaying bold patterns and colors. The flooring is a light wooden surface.

An art gallery displays colorful, abstract paintings hanging from chains or cloth, with a bright array of patterns and designs. The walls are adorned with various framed artworks, featuring vibrant colors and dynamic compositions. The floor is light wood, creating a spacious, inviting atmosphere.

A vibrant gallery space filled with colorful abstract paintings. The artworks feature a variety of shapes and patterns, displayed on the walls and hanging from chains. Bright colors like pink, orange, green, and blue dominate the scene, creating a lively and dynamic atmosphere. Some pieces have scribbles and bold lines, while others showcase intricate designs and textures.

A colorful art installation featuring multiple fabric banners hung from chains, displaying vibrant abstract designs and patterns. The foreground shows close-up details of the banners, which include bold colors like pink, yellow, and green, along with playful shapes and sketches. The background reveals a gallery space with additional artwork visible on the walls. The lighting is bright, highlighting the textures and colors of the fabrics.

An art installation features a wooden frame structure in the center, surrounded by hanging fabric pieces adorned with vibrant, abstract designs. The space has white walls and wooden flooring, with various colorful artworks visible in the background. Light fixtures illuminate the scene, creating a bright and engaging atmosphere.

A view of an art gallery interior featuring a wooden frame structure that supports various artworks on display. Several framed pieces are hanging on the wooden partition, including colorful abstract art and a fish illustration with indigenous designs. The gallery has a light wood floor and soft, ambient lighting, providing a modern and inviting atmosphere.

A wooden gallery structure is featured prominently in the foreground, displaying various framed artworks. In front of the structure, there is a pile of rolled-up, colorful art pieces stacked on the floor. The background showcases more vibrant art pieces hanging on walls, illuminated by overhead lighting in a spacious gallery setting.

In an art gallery, a gray display table holds a gold dish rack with several oversized pink plates, a small brush, and beige plates. On the wall, two framed photographs depict a plate of colorful cake set against a green grass background. To the left, there are two small framed artworks, one featuring a child and the other displaying a text with colorful drawings. The overall atmosphere is minimalistic and contemporary.

A modern interior scene featuring two large framed photographs of a colorful cake displayed on grass. In the foreground, there is a light gray table with a yellow oversized dish rack holding several patterned plates, a beige cloth, and a dish brush with a teal brush head. The wall is white, enhancing the bright aesthetic of the space.

A contemporary art installation features a large television displaying a video of a young boy with headphones, set against a light-colored wall. Below the screen, a wooden bench provides seating. Two pairs of headphones are mounted on either side of the screen. To the right, an abstract artwork composed of colorful squares is mounted on the wall. The floor is light wood.

A spacious gallery interior with light wood flooring and exposed wooden beams. On the right wall, the text "Edge Effects" is displayed in a bold font. In the background, large, colorful artworks can be seen alongside a wooden installation with shelves. Two benches are positioned in the center of the space. Bright lighting enhances the vibrant colors of the art.

A modern seating area features a circular arrangement of plush, gray armchairs facing a low wooden table. Behind them is a striking dark blue wall adorned with an artistic installation of wooden trees and various figures. To the left, there's a colourful woven textile hanging on the wall, and a stone-lined fireplace is situated in the lower portion of the wall. The space is brightly lit and has a clean, contemporary aesthetic.

A decorative wall piece resembling a tree stump with a face carved into it. The piece features textured brown wood and is adorned with green and yellow accents resembling leaves. It is mounted on a dark blue wall, with a vertical wooden beam beside it.

A ceramic figure of a child-like character is mounted on a wooden plaque. The figure has large, round eyes and features a greenish face with a marbled texture. It is dressed in a colorful wrap, with its hands and legs stylized and exaggerated. The background is a dark blue wall, enhancing the earthy tones of the wooden plaque and the vibrant colors of the figure.

Wooden wall art pieces are displayed on a dark blue wall. The artworks depict abstract forms resembling animals and natural elements, each mounted on wooden bases. A vertical wooden strip runs down the centre. The pieces feature various textures and colours, including metallic tones and earthy hues.

A wooden wall sculpture features stylized tree trunks and branches against a dark blue background, adorned with various whimsical figures and animal shapes. The lower section displays textured wooden mounts, and a modern fireplace sits at the base. The overall composition combines natural elements with artistic illustration.

An art gallery interior features a light wooden floor and large windows overlooking a green landscape. In the center, there is a wooden scaffold displaying a colorful textile artwork. To the right, a series of bright red, rounded benches are arranged on the floor. A small mounted piece is visible on the left wall. The overall atmosphere is spacious and modern.

A minimalist gallery space with a light-colored wooden floor features a large, abstract outline of a city map in light red on a white wall. In the foreground, various red, round and elongated seating forms are scattered on the floor, contrasting with the wall artwork.

A composition of abstract lines in bright red against a light background, creating a structured yet chaotic pattern reminiscent of architectural forms or cityscapes. The lines vary in thickness and direction, suggesting depth and movement within the design.

A spacious interior featuring a light wooden floor. On the left, a large white wall displays a detailed red line drawing of a city map. In front of the wall, several modern red seating elements of various shapes and sizes are arranged. To the right, a natural stone wall has a narrow window that reflects greenery outside.

A modern art gallery interior features light wood flooring and exposed wooden beams. In the center, a transparent display structure holds various art pieces. To the right, several red sculptural seating elements are arranged on the floor below a red abstract wall mural. Large windows provide natural light and a view of trees outside.

A modern interior space featuring light wooden flooring and exposed wooden beams. There are three colorful framed artworks on a white wall to the right. Red ottomans are positioned in the foreground. On the left, a seating area with dark furniture is partly visible, and large windows allow natural light to illuminate the room.

A spacious art gallery features a large white wall with a red, abstract line drawing, resembling a city map. In the foreground, various red sculptures in geometric shapes, including rounded and elongated forms, are scattered across the light wood floor. The ceiling has exposed wooden beams, and additional artworks are visible on the right side of the image.

A spacious interior with wooden beams across the ceiling and large glass windows offering views of a landscaped area outside. Three red furniture pieces, including a bench and two circular stools, are positioned on a light wooden floor. The walls are a mix of natural wood and stone. The overall atmosphere is modern and inviting, with natural light illuminating the space.

Interior view of Andrew Petter Hall featuring large glass windows that overlook a landscaped area. There are two colorful seating pieces: a round red ottoman in the foreground and a seating arrangement visible outside through the window. The walls are a light brick, and the floor is wooden. Natural light fills the space.

An interior view of a modern gallery space featuring a curved reception desk made of light wood. On the left wall, there are exhibition and event details displayed on two large paper panels. Large glass windows on the right side reveal a view of a garden with greenery and two red circular stools positioned outside. The room has natural light filtering in, highlighting the wooden ceiling and flooring.

A large wooden art installation features multiple layers of translucent materials, showcasing a variety of shapes and colors. The top section contains abstract patterns in muted tones, while the middle layer displays organic forms in earth tones. The lower portion presents a colorful composition with blues and browns, all backlit by natural sunlight streaming through large windows, with trees visible outside. The installation stands on a light wood floor.

A large textile artwork displayed on a wooden frame, featuring layered fabric pieces in neutral and earthy tones, with abstract shapes and textures. The artwork is illuminated by natural light coming through large windows, which showcase a green outdoor landscape. The wooden frame supports the textile, allowing it to hang freely in a modern, minimalistic gallery space.

A stack of printed booklets with a cover that reads "Bring It Up from the Dark" is displayed on a light wood shelf. The background is a plain white wall, and the papers have a gradient color transitioning from red to white.

The image shows an interior space designed to resemble a military observation post. The walls are lined with sandbags, and the flooring is made of light wood. In front, there are three screens displaying images of a wooded landscape and an orange and white striped arm reaching towards a surface. The ceiling is covered with a camouflage netting, adding to the military theme of the environment.

A dimly lit space with a curved wall made of camouflage material, partially covered with sandbags. In the background, three screens display images: two show natural scenes with greenery, while the other features abstract red and white patterns. The floor is light-colored wood, enhancing the contrast with the darker elements.

A modern interior space featuring a light-colored brick wall and large windows. In the foreground, a dark wood, cart-like table holds a pot and several small dishes. Four metal-framed stools with colorful seats are arranged around the table. To the right, a carved wooden artwork hangs on the wall, and outside the window, greenery is visible. Soft, natural light streams into the room.

Two people are seated at a round wooden table in a modern art space with a large window that allows natural light to fill the room. One person, a woman with glasses, is interacting with the other, a young man wearing a hooded jacket. In the background, a textured brick wall contrasts with a large, oval, carved wooden artwork displayed on a white wall. There are two small, metallic stools nearby. The atmosphere is bright and inviting.

A modern kitchen countertop features a large stainless steel pot with a lid and a heating element. Surrounding the pot are several small, octagonal ceramic bowls in varying sizes, with a mix of brown and yellow colors. The background consists of light-colored brick walls, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Lorna Brown is a Vancouver-based artist, curator, writer, and editor. She is a founding member of Other Sights for Artists’ Projects; was the Director/Curator of Artspeak Gallery from 1999 to 2004, and was Acting Director/Curator at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at UBC. Brown has taught at SFU and Emily Carr University where she received an honorary doctorate of letters in 2015. Awards include the VIVA Award (1996). Her work is in the collections of the Belkin, SFU, the National Gallery of Canada, the BC Arts Council, the Surrey Art Gallery and the Canada Council Art Bank.

Justine A. Chambers is a dance artist based on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, in Vancouver, Canada. Her practice is a collaboration with her Black matrilineal heritage and extends from this continuum and its entanglements with Western contemporary dance and visual arts practices. Her research attends to embodied archives, social choreographies, and choreography and dance as otherwise ways of being in relation. Chambers’ work has been hosted at galleries, festivals and theatres nationally and internationally. She is an Assistant Professor at the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University. Chambers is Max Tyler-Hite’s mother.

Patrick Cruz is an artist, educator, and albularyo who considers the role of spirituality, improvisation, intuition, and play as emancipatory tools to reify embedded colonial frameworks and ideologies in art making. Cruz employs healing, meditation, divination, exorcism and hypnosis as research methodologies to exhume and retrieve hidden knowledge. His works are informed by the intersections of clown philosophy, magic, and the occult, and their syncretic manifestations and relationship in contemporary life. Most recently, Cruz has been making works using material retrieved from past-life regressions to navigate and side-step cultural and ancestral identity.

Lucien Durey is an artist and singer based in West Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. His mixed media and performance-based practice engages with found objects, photographs, sounds, and place. Durey holds a BFA from Emily Carr University and an MFA from Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts. Recent exhibitions include those at The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia; Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto; Gordon Smith Gallery, North Vancouver; School of Art Gallery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg; with performances at Lobe Studio, Vancouver; and Burnaby Art Gallery.

Sameer Farooq is a Canadian artist of Pakistani and Ugandan Indian descent. With a versatile approach that shifts between sculpture, photography, documentary film, and anthropological methods, he investigates strategies of representation to expand the ways through which museums have looked at the past through traditional forms of collection, interpretation, and display. Farooq foregrounds community-based models of knowledge production and an array of contemplative practices in order to suggest new ways of narrating our cultural histories. He has held exhibitions at institutions around the world including the Jaou Biennial Tunis (2024), Venice Architecture Biennale (2023), and Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden (2023).

Jared Stanley is a poet and writer who often collaborates with artists. He is the author of four collections of poetry, So Tough, EARS, The Weeds, and Book Made of Forest, as well as many chapbooks and pamphlets, most recently The Blurry Hole (with Sameer Farooq, Artspeak, 2022), and SHALL, (Black Rock Press, 2019). Jared’s awards include The Saturnalia Prize, Harvard’s Woodberry Poetry Room Creative Fellowship (with Sameer Farooq), and a Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. He teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Elisa Ferrari works with sound, performance, and writing. Her practice attends to memory formations, translingual ecologies, sonic sediments, and the possibilities of reception and idleness. Elisa’s projects and collaborations take on different forms including exhibition-making, sound events, listening workshops, archival projects and community building initiatives. On Vancouver co-op radio, she hosts aux-sends—a quarterly radio series about experimental music, sound, and aural poetics. She is a PhD student at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. Ferrari lives as an uninvited guest on the unceded lands of the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and in Brescia, Italy, where she grew up.

Germaine Koh served as the City of Vancouver’s first Engineering Artist in Residence from 2018-20 and was a 2023 winner of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Previously a 2023-24 Shadbolt Fellow in the Humanities at Simon Fraser University, since 2024 she has been Assistant Professor at University of British Columbia.

Helena Krobath is the kind of guy who explores how spaces, senses, and movements are mapped with story forms to create various worlds. Integrating sound dimensions, she likes to experiment with games of awareness, intuition, and imagination. She has worked with Nuxalk Radio (Bella Coola), University Highlands Elementary and the Gibson Art Museum, and Megaphone Magazine on audio fieldwork projects. Krobath is currently a PhD student at SFU School of Communication and continues to work on audio documentary and creative sound design projects for series like Invisible Institutions and Disability Disruptions (TBR). She is a member of the Soundscape collective with shows airing every Weds at 9PM on Vancouver Co-op Radio 100.5 FM and in her spare time draws cartoons about housing justice. She lives in unceded Vancouver, BC.

Liz Magor lives and works in Vancouver. She studied at the University of British Columbia (1966-68), Parsons School of Design in New York City (1968-1970) the Vancouver School of Art (1971). In 2021, France awarded her the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Gershon Iskowitz Prize. In 2009 she received the Audain Prize, and in 2001, she was a recipient of the Governor General’s award. In 1987, she exhibited at documenta 8 in Kassel, Germany, and in 1984, she represented Canada at the Venice Biennale. In Vancouver she exhibits her work at Catriona Jeffries Gallery.

Cindy Mochizuki creates multi-media installations, animation, drawing, audio fiction, performance, and community-engaged projects. She has exhibited her work in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Japan. Recent exhibitions include the Art Gallery at Evergreen, Kamloops Art Gallery, Prince Takamado Gallery, Nanaimo Art Gallery, and Surrey Art Gallery. She has created illustration and animation design for theatre companies including the Arts Club Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Theatre Replacement, and Little Onion Puppet. She received the Mayor’s Arts Award in New Media and Film (2015) and the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award (2020).

Pietro Sammarco’s creative practice improvises with found sounds to learn about our relationships to place. He has taught listening and audio production at Emily Carr University, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, and the Vancouver Public Library’s Inspiration Lab. From 2016 to 2021, he programmed educational activities at VIVO Media Arts Centre, to deepen community engagement with the non-profit’s exhibitions, archives, and facilities. Pietro earned his MA from SFU on the unceded territories of the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), studying soundscape composition with Barry Truax and Hildegard Westerkamp, and youth media with Stuart Poyntz. He joins the Gibson’s team as their new Curator of Learning & Community Engagement in October 2025.

Liz Toohey-Wiese is a settler artist residing on the homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ peoples. She is a graduate from the MFA program at NSCAD University. She completed her undergraduate degree in painting at Emily Carr University, also undertaking coursework at the University of Victoria and the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. She has taken part in solo and group shows across Canada, and has undertaken artist residencies at the Sointula Art Shed (2019), the Caetani Cultural Center (2020/21/22), Island Mountain Arts (2021), the Similkameen Artist Residency (2023), Artscape Gibraltar Point (2023), and the Klondike Institute for Arts + Culture (2024). Deeply interested in the history of landscape painting, her paintings explore contemporary relationships between identity and place. Her most recent work explores the complicated topic of wildfires and their connections to tourism, economy, grief, and renewal.

Debra Sparrow was born and raised on the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Reserve and is a self-taught artist, designer, weaver, and jewelry-maker. Sparrow has been weaving for over twenty years and is dedicated to the revival of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm weaving. Through courses taught at Langara College, weavings in the Vancouver International Airport, large murals like her Blanketing the City series, various publications and many other exhibits and contributions, Sparrow states that her hope is to educate others about the beauty and integrity of her peoples’ history through her art practices.

Jin-me Yoon lives in Vancouver and has been a visual arts faculty member at SFU since 1992. She is a locally, nationally and internationally recognized artist who has been a critical voice in the development of a discourse around identity in visual art practices. She received her BA from the University of British Columbia in 1985, her BFA from Emily Carr College of Art in 1990, and her MFA from Concordia University in 1992. Over the last three decades, Yoon’s work has been presented internationally in hundreds of exhibitions, and she has mentored many students over the years while teaching at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts. In 2018, she was elected as a Fellow into the Royal Society of Canada in 2018; and in 2022, she won the prestigious Scotiabank Photography Award. She was a recipient of a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2025.

Kimberly Phillips is a committed arts leader, educator and writer of Welsh-Irish settler ancestry, based on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm, Skwxwú7mesh and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ/Selilwitulh peoples. For the past 20 years, in her roles as gallery director, curator and teacher, she has worked to amplify the voices of under-acknowledged artists and practitioners, to ethically vision and build organizational capacity, and to create meaningful and unexpected ways for contemporary artists and their publics to find one another.

Since 2020 she has held the position of Director at SFU Galleries (and now the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum). Previous to this she was Curator at the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) in Vancouver, where she oversaw the gallery’s exhibitions, publications and artist residencies. She served as Director / Curator of Access Gallery (2013 – 2017), a Vancouver artist-run centre committed to emergent and experimental practices, and as Curator of Interpretation at the Vancouver Art Gallery (2009 – 2013). Phillips holds a PhD in art history from the University of British Columbia (2007), where she was an Izaak Walton Killam Doctoral Fellow.

Phillips’s curatorial practice maintains a particular interest in the spectral and the resistant, as well as the conditions under which artists work. She has curated over 60 exhibitions and public art projects and has edited numerous books and catalogues. She looks for unlikely collaborations that create platforms for investigating the conditions of our contemporary world; while at Access Gallery, Phillips developed the internationally recognized residency and exhibition programme Twenty-Three Days at Sea, which saw artists travel across the Pacific Ocean aboard working container vessels.

Phillips maintains an active teaching practice. She looks to steward opportunities for learners to inhabit the art museum as a place of open inquiry, develops curriculum and instructs courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels in visual culture and curatorial practice at Simon Fraser University and Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she was awarded the Ian Wallace Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015.