LANGLEY, BC—Erica Grimm-Vance is an uncommonly productive artist with an international reputation. Her lengthy resume lists a host of awards, solo exhibitions and commissions, including three paintings and a sketchbook of 50 drawings for the movie Catwoman in 2003. Actress Halle Berry now owns one of her paintings.

Notwithstanding these brushes with fame, Grimm-Vance has been an assistant professor of art at Trinity Western University (TWU), a Christian liberal arts institution 60 kilometres west of Vancouver, since 1989. “It’s a small but growing department,” she says with characteristic enthusiasm.

To hear her describe her schedule is enough to leave most people breathless. “Right now I’m running a series of ‘Art Talks’ lectures. I coordinate student exhibitions. We don’t have a gallery, but the next building on campus will be a centre for the arts with a gallery. Right now I’ve established temporary art spaces in the hallways. I teach three or four classes a semester as well.”

And she continues to produce cutting-edge art. “I’ve been working on an interdisciplinary collaborative installation with other faculty members and a host of other collaborators—a dancer and video artist, PET [positron emission tomography] scan technician, and lighting designer.”

The large installation project fills a room, and includes a 20-foot by five-foot panel. It is a new exploration; an experimental work called (im)Balance. It involves “soundscapes” and a variety of digital interactive features. “It’s not passive at all.”

Nor is Grimm-Vance. In addition to the heavy demands of teaching and producing her own art, she plans to continue her own formal education in a PhD program at Simon Fraser University in September. This builds on a BFA (Great Distinction) in Visual Art from the University of Regina, further studies in Munich and the Banff School of Fine Arts, and audited courses at Regent College in Vancouver.

“Teaching is not a static thing,” she insists. “It’s very alive and develops. If you’re not an active professional, I don’t think you’re an effective professor. You have to keep bringing new developments to the ancient foundational disciplines. The world changes daily. You have to be aware and bring that to your teaching.”

Visual society

And why is it important for people to study art? “We’re providing a solid foundation in the visual language,” explains Grimm-Vance.

“This includes teaching students foundational skills, learning the history of the discipline and parsing contemporary culture. The goal is to empower students to be active within culture, help them to use it, rather than to be controlled by it or to fear it.

“We live in very visual society. If we don’t understand how information and meaning is coded and is constantly being conveyed through the visual, we won’t understand society—let alone lead it. It’s absolutely critical as a foundational skill. It’s not an extra.”

She adds: “You become what you contemplate. We understand who we are by the images we surround ourselves with.”

Art is not always held in high regard in Christian institutions. “Some brands of Christianity have actively dissuaded their community from participating in this,” says Grimm-Vance.

However, “that’s mostly a thing of the past. When I first started 17 years ago, students had more problems getting permission to take art courses. Now the art department is the fastest growing department on campus. But those prejudices are fading. People are released to be their best and pursue this giftedness.”

Christians need to be active in artistic endeavour, she says. “The visual gifts were given by God. And just like any gift, when they are not used, they muck up.”

Grimm-Vance is also keen to see how a leadership transition at TWU will affect her department. “We have a new president and we’re looking forward to seeing his priorities. We have a series of curricular dreams and plans, and we’re eager to launch the next stage of the art program. There’s lots of energy around interdisciplinary work—arts, music, drama and film—and we’re ready to launch some exciting programs.”

“I believe we are poised to be the next corridor of growth at Trinity Western University.”

Samples of Erica Grimm-Vance’s art can be seen online at www.assiniboia.com and www.egrimmvance.com.