Message from the Chair


It is a great pleasure for me to be joining the Department of Visual Arts as Chair. The Department is a vibrant and diverse community of committed professors, staff, and students in art history, museum and curatorial studies, and studio art, with both undergraduate and graduate programs. By having both engaged faculty members and strong programs, the Department is active on the local, national, and international art scenes, successfully training the next generations of specialists in Visual Arts, promoting principles of excellence and respect, preparing the cultural leaders of tomorrow.

The Department of Visual Arts offers an environment conducive to exploring and pushing the boundaries of art production, experimentation, and embracing the intellectual and academic value of our sensorial interactions with the world, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration both within and outside our Faculty. We offer a rich combination of staff support, facilities, access to faculty, quality courses and pedagogy, and the academic environment of a first-rate comprehensive University.

I arrived at Western in 2009, after completing my MA and PhD in Mexico at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, National Autonomous University of Mexico), where I specialized in Early Modern Latin American Art. In the years since I have been back in Canada, I embarked on the mission of increasing the presence of the field of Latin American art in the country, through my teaching and research. I am an advocate of internationalization, experiential learning, collaborative projects, and Public Humanities with local and broader communities. I understand the need of and will support initiatives in relation to environmental sustainability, social justice, equity, and diversity.

I strongly hope the Department of Visual Arts can soon start to host its events in person. After more than a year of online presence, we look forward to seeing you again. Whether you are a past, present or future student, or an art enthusiast, I invite you to browse our website to learn more about what makes our Department special. Please feel free to contact me (arobin82@uwo.ca) with any questions if you are seeking more information or just want to say hello.

 

Alena Robin 
Chair, Department of Visual Arts
Western University