Courses

Detail of a Kasai velvet tapestry, hand-woven by the Kuba tribe people of the Kasai district of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire).

African Indigenous Designs in Textile Arts

This course involves the manipulation of lines to create innovative designs that would be used for decorations. It also includes the adaptation of African indigenous motifs, signs, symbols, patterns, and art forms to develop African designs.

A Soundtrack for Change

It has been suggested that every great movement – intellectual, philosophical and social –has been addressed through music. From Medieval Scholasticism to the Age of Enlightenment, Romantic Nationalism, and Democratic Socialism, music has a significant influence.

Advanced Methods in Portrait Drawing with Graphite

This class is for students who have a good grasp of portrait drawing but would like to challenge themselves in developing their facial drawing skills.

Black and white photo of birds flying around a building.

Alfred Hitchcock's Pure Cinema and Film Noir

Alfred Hitchcock defined the concept of pure cinema, during his career in the time of silent films, developing ways to tell stories using only pictures. He stated that he was putting pieces of film together like notes of music in a melody.

Photo of vintage cameras stacked on a shelf.

Analogue Film Photography

This introductory studio course will cover the basics of how to use an analogue camera, including camera mechanics, exposure triangle and the in-camera light meter. We’ll discuss the history of photography up to current art practice.

Art Now: An Introduction to Contemporary Visual Art

Art Now will examine contemporary visual art through a thematic framework. Students will gain exposure to a wide range of artists and practices while developing skills with which to unpack and analyze contemporary works of art.

Photo of artist book and supplies laid out on table.

Artist Books

Artist books can be intimate, share ideas and hold memory. You will learn introductory book binding and folding methods to make your own artist books.

Barrel House, Boogie Woogie, Honky Tonk and Stride

This series of lectures accompanied by live piano performances illustrate the rich history and evolution of piano music from the “Gay Nineties” to the blues traditions of New Orleans that were popular through the “Dirty 30s” and continue to be a soulful influence on the music today.

Basic Design Principles

In partnership with Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD) - This studio course introduces students to fundamental design principles. These principles that underpin two dimensional space will be explored using typography, photography, and drawing.

Basic Observational Drawing with Graphite

Using graphite, you will explore the elements of drawing through mark making, line, shape, texture and volume. We’ll study basic perspective, work towards understanding positive and negative space and understand how light and shade is applied on various forms and surfaces.

Beatboxing, Live Looping and Vocal Triggering

A fun, interactive and informative introduction to the art form and culture of beatboxing and live-looping technology. Beatboxing is for everyone and anyone with a tongue, lips and lungs can do it!

Beginner Guitar

You will learn to develop the basic guitar skills to set you on the path of achieving your musical goals.

Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald

Two rival big bands with two legendary singers. Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald were at the top of their game and though their styles were polar opposites, the two became friends

Buffy Sainte-Marie and Gordon Lightfoot

Buffy Sainte-Marie and Gordon Lightfoot both placed in the top five of CBC’s recent list of Greatest Canadian Songwriters of All Time. Explore their lives and their music to discover why these artists and their works continue to endure as legendary.

Photo of woman taking landscape photo of beach at sunset.

Capture Better Smartphone Photos

Improve your composition skills by learning to capture and control light. Unleash your artistic potential using the medium that is transforming photography. Learn new techniques to take better nature, architecture, people and travel photos with your smartphone.

Cashing in on Your Photography

Photography is a fun and enjoyable hobby, but it can be a potential way to make money as well. Learn how your photo skills can translate into a side gig or even a full-time business.

Cattail Hat Weaving

In this course, the skill of basketry will be employed in hat-making to create a beautifully woven broad-brimmed hat.

Cedar Weaving Workshop

You will learn the many uses of cedar bark, the history of cedar bark weaving and the Indigenous protocols for harvesting the cedar bark.

Chronicling the Stories of Your Life

This workshop will encourage you to examine significant experiences and central themes in your life through short presentations, guided writing exercises, and small group discussions.

Classics of Film Noir

What is film noir and why are we still fascinated by it? You will view clips from 6 classic film noir films from the key era of 1944 to 1958, starting with Double Indemnity, The Killers, Gilda, The Big Sleep, Out of the Past, and ending with Orson Welles' film, The Touch of Evil, all considered key films of the classic period.

Classics of Film Noir II

In this follow-up to the Film Noir course offered this past fall, we will view clips from six classic film noir films from the years 1941 to 1949, starting with The Maltese Falcon, followed by Shadow of a Doubt, Mildred Pierce, Detour, The Blue Dahlia, and ending with Rudolph Maté's film, D.O.A., all considered key films of the classic period.

Classics of Film Noir III

What is film noir and why are we still fascinated by it? In this course, you will view six classic film noir films from the key era of 1944 to 1958, including Black Angel (1946), Road House (1948), Kansas City Confidential (1952), The Hitch-Hiker (1953) and The Big Combo (1955).

Collage: Ideas, Materials and Process

This class combines the use of collage and mixed media techniques with a free spirit of experimentation. We will be working from both our imaginations and observation of the natural world.

Collage – Value, Colour and Design

This course will inspire you, whether you are just discovering the medium of collage or would like to add to your knowledge and skills. We will cover different approaches to collage using colour, surface treatments, typographic elements, photographs, found objects, ephemera and image transfer.

Colour Theory

Colour can be used to evoke emotion and change perception. This course begins with a brief history of colour theory, however the main objective is to apply colour theory to your practice.

Comics and Graphic Novels Studio

In partnership with Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD) - In this interdisciplinary workshop series for writers, artists, and designers, students will experiment with the comic medium as they explore the interplay between image and text, form and content.

Composition and Light

Digital photography has made pressing the shutter release effortless. This fast-paced method can be a stumbling block to refining technical and artistic results. In this course you will build your picture step-by-step by layering your subject, light and composition. Assignments will focus on researching and implementing your ideas to generate signature work.

Contemporary Art Around the World

Since the 1980s, global artists, designers and architects have used their work to convey messages about who they are, where they come from, and which issues are impacting their communities.

Contemporary Chinese Brush Painting

This workshop is designed for people who are interested in the oriental painting medium. Both traditional and contemporary techniques of Chinese brush painting will be introduced. You will learn about Chinese ink, rice paper, colour, texture, composition, and the aesthetic principles of Chinese brush painting.

Creating a Visual Workbook

Create a personalized piece of art while gaining a deeper understanding of your sources of inspiration.

Closeup of someone writing in a notebook.

Creative Nonfiction: Writing from Everyday Life

Creative nonfiction employs the art of personal narrative to engage readers in stories from real life. It seeks to reflect the rich and multilayered details of lived experience.

Creating Illustrated Children’s Books

This course will assist you in creating books for children aged one to eight. They can be fiction or non-fiction, read-aloud and/or early readers books. Students will learn about plot, content, heroes and villains, and themes that are age appropriate for their readers.

Creative Writing: The Writer's Craft

Through online and in-class writing exercises, cross-genre readings and engaging discussion, you will explore everything from the structural integrity of the sentence and the symbolic unity of word sounds, to the archetypal patterns in narrative and verse form.

Digital Photography: Shifting to Manual

Is your camera Automatic or Autocratic ?

Documenting Your Legacy of Wisdom

This workshop will encourage you to examine and chronicle the personal values, beliefs, life lessons and achievements that have been particularly important to you through small group discussion and guided writing exercises.

Photo of artist workspace with sketchbook, pencils and paints.

Drawing and Painting for Beginners

Acquire essential skills in the foundational components of drawing and painting, such as line, form, space, and colour.

Drawing Basics

Through accessible hands-on exercises and projects in a range of drawing media, artist Connie Morey will support participants with the development of skills, confidence and individual creativity. Unleash your creative potential while drawing from life and imagination with pencil, charcoal, ink and watercolour pencils.

Drawing for Absolute Beginners

In this fun, hands-on course, Victoria artist Trace Nelson will give you a working knowledge of drawing introducing a variety of different techniques and materials.

Drawing Fundamentals

You will be introduced to the five basic skills of representational drawing. The focus will be on basic shapes and forms, architectural perspective, human figure, head structure and drawing from life.

Editing Your Words

Editing your own writing can be difficult. In this course we will review the five major types of editing: content and developmental editing, structural editing, copy editing, line editing, and proofreading.

Environmental Writing Workshop: Turning Knowledge into Feeling

In this four-day workshop, environmental journalist and author Arno Kopecky will discuss how to turn complex information into emotionally compelling narrative. Participants will dive into a range of current environmental writing, from advocacy journalism to op-eds and longform creative nonfiction.

Fabulous Fiction

Did you know that there are over 140 types of fiction? By the end of the course, you'll have a solid understanding of what goes into your novel of choice, and how to create a novel that readers will love.

Closeup photo of paintbrushes on top of paint splotches.

Focus on Composition

In this studio workshop, you will create four mini paintings of the same subject in a variety of compositions. You will also explore the elements of colour, contrast, juxtaposition and narrative.

From Journal to Story: Using Life Experience to Create Fiction

Through writing exercises and discussion, participants will draw on their own lives and memories to find new story ideas, create compelling characters and write powerful and engaging stories for readers of all ages.

Film Noir Classics: The Deviant Genre

The course will provide an opportunity to analyze and discuss elements that make up film noir, and discover how a brief period of mostly B-movies become one of the most influential movements in film history.

Forest Drawing

This is a course for people willing to explore drawing as a way of connecting with nature. We will learn the simple drawing and observation techniques most useful for connecting to other life forms, and then we will go outside to practice them

Fundamentals of Perspective Drawing

Are you looking to better understand illustration and general representational art making? From still life to environmental spaces and basic human forms, this course will give you the tools to move forward with more accuracy and realism in your art making.

Get Paid to Write What You Love

In this interactive course, we'll cover the myths on writing for pay, recognizing your passion and knowledge for profit, and ways to promote yourself online.

Great Adaptations - Classic Plays

Read classic plays and watch their film adaptations on your own schedule before meeting in person to discuss them. You will also have access to articles about the works studied, as well as readings about the art of adaptation.

Hard-boiled Fiction in Film Noir

What is film noir and why are we still fascinated by it? In this course, we'll study six classic film noir movies from 1942 to 1950 that came from the pens of hard-boiled writers such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

Her Story: Women Making Art

We will focus on the work of women and gender nonconforming artists throughout western art history, spanning from the 1500s to our current day.

History of Jazz Piano

In this course, we will explore the recordings and styles of history's famous artists like Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson, Mary Lou Williams, Bill Evans, Chick Corea and Marion McParland.

How to Listen to Classical Music

This course offers an in-depth tour of the workings of harmony, rhythm, melody, form and more, in easy-to-understand language for people without musical training.

How to Listen to Jazz

Ever wonder why your favorite jazz songs and artists might be different from the opinions of your friends and family? Do you think a deeper understanding of jazz might enhance your enjoyment of the music?

How to Write a Song

Veteran songwriter Jan Randall reveals how to unlock your creativity in this hands-on group music workshop series.

How to Write Fast-Paced Novels

Writing novels like thrillers and mysteries require a fast pace combined with strong characters, believable situations and plenty of twists and turns. This four part course includes detailed handouts as well as in-class and take home assignments.

Intermediate Guitar

Join a musical community with fun jam-sessions mixed with practical instruction on technique, repertoire building and relevant music theory.

Introduction to Collage

This course will inspire you, whether you are just discovering the medium of collage or are looking to add to your knowledge and skills. We will cover different approaches to collage using colour, surface treatments, typographic elements, photographs, found objects, ephemera and image transfer. No experience is required, just your enthusiasm!

Introduction to Digital Photography

Learn how to get the best possible photographs from your digital camera and find out what all those mysterious buttons and settings really do!

Closeup photo of vintage metal letterpress.

Introduction to Letterpress Printing

Using the Mearns Centre – McPherson Library’s special collections of letterpress printing presses, learn to hand-set metal and wood type, mix ink, and use letterpress printing presses in this hands-on, technical course.

Introduction to Music Theory: Level I

This course will cover the basic rudiments of classical music theory, dealing with rhythm, time signatures, clefs and staff notation, scales and keys.

Introduction to Portrait Drawing with Graphite

In this introductory course, we will explore the complex topic of portrait drawing and break it down into manageable concepts. With easy-to-follow exercises, we’ll examine the face in sections and focus on understanding how to get more accurate proportions.

Introduction to Voice Acting

In this series of four online workshops, LA-based voice actor Erin Fitzgerald will introduce students to the basics of voice acting. Participants will learn how to apply theatre experience to behind-the-mic acting.

Image Transfer

Learn a range of techniques to transfer your photographs onto printmaking paper, acrylic skins and other surfaces that be can incorporated into your paintings, collage or mixed media artwork.

iPhone as an Artist Tool

With an iPhone/iPad and a few choice apps you can push your photographs beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Illustration of English Country Dance from Jane Austin era.

Introduction to English Country Dancing

An Introduction to English Country Dance moves and music. Your will learn the basic moves, vocabulary, and some history of these Jane Austin era dances selected from: The Playford Ball: 103 Early English Country Dances.

Islamic Geometry Patterns

Dive into the mesmerizing world of Islamic Geometry Patterns. Over the course of this immersive study, participants will uncover the historical significance, mathematical precision, and aesthetic beauty of traditional Islamic designs.

Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen

Two Canadian folk music icons that changed the course of musical history on the world scene: one, a prairie girl with small town roots; the other from the Jewish community in Montreal.

Keeping a Sketchbook for Travel and Fun

In this six-week course, Victoria artist Trace Nelson will demonstrate various techniques for keeping a travel sketchbook.

Let's Sing! Level 1

This is a course for anyone wanting to learn to sing. We will concentrate on the fundamentals of vocal technique, and work on developing good breath control and proper placement of the voice.

Let's Sing! Level 2

This course follows Let's Sing Level 1. We will continue to build on basic vocal techniques, and we will learn how to take and support breath correctly, and use resonance to improve vocal quality

Low Impact Basketry

In addition to hands-on learning of basketry techniques, we will consider ethical/sustainable collection of basketry materials. Using non-native, and non-endemic, plant species (previously collected by the instructor) you will be supported through the process of making a beautiful woven object.

Photo of art piece by Anne-Laure Djaballah.

Mapping with Thread

Through three hands-on mapping projects, participants will learn hand sewing, embroidery, how to use dissolvable fabric and techniques for mapping through removal. The maps will begin with each person’s own life and will be inspired by contemporary textile art and how mapping is used in society and in art.

Memoir: How to Write Your Own Life Story

You are the main character in your life story, and it's a story that needs to be told. This course will encourage you to have your story heard.

Miracle Numbers in Music

Explore the fundamental nature of music through the lens of mathematics and physics. No previous experience required.

Music for the People

When society controls, promotes, consumes, restricts, enables, or imposes a music narrative on its people, music and musicians have no choice but to respond to the challenge.

Natural Light Portraiture Made Easy

Learn how to photograph people on location. If you have wanted to learn the professional secrets to getting a great portrait then this class is for you.

Navigating the Novel

If you want to write a novel but you're unsure of how to pull it all together, this 14-hour course will guide you through everything you need to know to complete your first draft!

Opera in High Definition

In this course we will look at a broad selection of opera favourites from the Baroque period through Verdi with an emphasis on fantastic singers in their roles.

Opera Live and in High Definition

If you missed the first three sessions of this course in the fall but would like to join this term's classes, we have a few remaining spaces! Go beyond Pacific Opera Victoria’s season and explore two of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2020 high definition broadcasts, as well as one of the remaining operas in POV's repertoire.

Painting Colour and Space

In this studio course you will address painting fundamentals. You will develop an understanding of colour, line and form.

Closeup photo of paintbrushes on a colourful canvas.

Painting: Creative Responses

Come explore a variety of approaches to painting, using traditional and non-traditional materials, tools, techniques. The goal is to continue your development of a personalized imagery.

Photography Plus: Understand Your Camera and Improve Your Photos

Do you love photography, but aren't always happy with your photographs, be they family, travel, landscape or other? This course will cover the basics of camera use and composition, and how to improve the photographs you want to take.

Romancing the Keyboard

Learn what sub-genre works best for you and how to create a great story line. Discover the importance of settings, character development and satisfying the reader. Learn about tropes and how to use them, as well as creating tension through action and dialogue

Students from a session in instructor Leanne Olson

Room Without a Trace: Projection Possibilities and Installation Art

What are the possibilities of projection art? Can a room be filled without leaving a trace? In a time of materials and waste considerations, projection art offers a way to create an immersive space.

Self-publishing Your Book

In this course, we'll study how the book publishing industry has changed, where the money goes, how to organize your book, where to publish, who to use for help (editors, illustrators, proofreaders) and why you need an online presence.

Screenwriting

This course is for anyone who loves movies and is interested in learning what it takes to write a screenplay. Film is a visual media, but it all starts with a great idea and a well-written script.

Screenwriting for Features, TV and Streaming Services

The screenwriting market has changed; streaming services have eclipsed the studios.

Short Shorts

This course focuses on micro, flash and short shorts from 100 to 2,000 words. You’ll also learn where to submit your short stories.

Songwriting: An Introduction

"Without a song, the road would never end...". Whether you are a musician, singer, composer or author, the world may be waiting to hear your song!

Story Telling Workshop

In this workshop you will discover how to develop personal stories and what to look for in traditional ones. Learn to prepare for a storytelling session: memorizing, pacing, creating characters, adding props and music, and exploring all avenues to create a great story. Learn how stories can be a powerful tool in education, research and healing.

Symphonic Masterpieces

Each lecture corresponds with a different concert selected from the Victoria Symphony’s 2020 Masterworks series including such works as Tchaikovsky's Pathetique and Mahler's 3rd Symphony. Through guided listening and class discussion, you will learn how to listen to the form, instrumentation and style of the selected works.

Taking Great Travel Photos with Your iPhone/iPad

This course covers: which apps to use and when; how to plan your itinerary with specific photo destinations; how to produce stunning 360-degree panoramas; and the creation of watercolour-style artwork images for cards

The 8-Week Photo Club v 6.0

The 6th iteration of this evolving course pursues a theme of images in our midst − atmospheric, relatable, created largely in-camera.

The Art of Type

In partnership with Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD) - This design studio course is an introduction to the potential and expressive qualities of contemporary typography.

The Artful Photograph

Think analog, act digital is the rallying cry of this creative photography course. You will examine new methods of modulating tone, focus and composition – each which can be achieved in-camera without extensive post-editing.

Man listening to music with a smile on his face.

The Emotional Language of Music

Why does music affect our moods and control us the way that it does? This course demonstrates and explains the connections we have with songs and recordings and breaks down how they reach us on such deep, emotional levels.

The Life and Times of Bob Dylan

Is Bob Dylan a poet or a songwriter? Did he nearly die in a 1966 motorcycle accident? What do his lyrics mean? There are more questions than answers about the enigmatic Mr. Zimmerman, but the only things that do matter are his music and his lyrics.

The Poetry Workshop

This ten-week poetry workshop will equip you with the foundational tools of the craft through in-class writing exercises, readings, discussion, and workshop.

Travel and Street Photography Basics

How do I learn to overcome shyness when photographing people? Why are my landscape photos pale and lifeless? How do I select photos for Instagram presentations or printed travel photo albums?

Illustration of a woman looking out of a spyglass.

Through a Woman's Lens: Writing with Photographs

This course offers a toolkit for all writers in a piece of creative nonfiction writing. You will explore the work of various women photographers and historians and discuss why photographs are important to them.

Type and Image Studio

In partnership with Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD) - Students will explore the relationship between type and image across print and digital media.

Photo of man in shadow with silhouette outlined by light.

Understanding Light in Photography

Light is photography’s visual vocabulary, used to convey what we see in our viewfinders. It shapes our subject aesthetically while also influencing mood in a subliminal context.

Urban Sketching

Celebrate spring in Victoria with on-location drawing. You will learn some basic drawing techniques and ways to approach drawing on location.

Voice of the Drum Workshop

In this online workshop you will learn how to make your own drum using the supplies provided.

Watercolour for Beginners Workshop

This course introduces novice painters to watercolour painting. We will review everything from the correct side of the paper to use, to how to hold a brush, how to clean your brushes, how to mix pigments together to create an abundance of colour choices, and washes (wet on dry and wet on wet).

Watercolour for Beginners: Level 2

This course will build upon the Watercolour for Beginners workshop offered by Joanne Thomson. There will be emphasis on experimenting with composition and balance, using line and colour, as well as strategies and tips for moving to a larger format.

A detailed section of carvings/sculpture depicting a scene of carnage in Rome. Vatican.

Western Art History: The Greatest Hits

A survey-style lecture class to explore the depth and context behind some of the most well-known artworks in Western art history. We will discuss Michelangelo's David, van Gogh's Sunflowers, and Frida Kahlo's self-portraits.

Write Now! A Creative Writing Survey

This course gives both new and experienced writers the opportunity to examine and experiment with a variety of literary forms. There will be in-class writing and suggested weekly assignments to nurture the writing genie!

Write Now Again!

You've taken the Write Now! course and you are ready to Write Now Again!

Write with Feeling!

Create a story filled with emotion that immerses the reader firmly in a believable world of your creation. You’ll learn how to gently incorporate all the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to create a vivid world for your characters and story.

Illustration of a pencil with letters coming out of it.

Writer's Bootcamp

Take your story idea from a thought to having a solid plot, outline, timeline and great characters. You will gain a better understanding of what your story will look like, what you need to finish it and a basic understanding of editors, proofreaders, agents and publishers.

Illustration of book with mythical dragons and adventures coming out of the pages.