Vancouver Island School of Art

It is a wonderful place to find your artistic side, once you take one course here, it becomes an addiction, te instructors, staff and fellow students form a creative community where deep transformations take place.

A supportive community boasting enthusiastic and talented teachers working with intimate class sizes; a great experience for anyone from beginners to established artists.

My daughter's life has been enriched greatly with a two year program at VISA where she was treated with respect and consideration as their youngest student ! Amazing artists reveal hidden talents at VISA. Congrats on the upcoming new digs !

I had some very good experiences while taking courses at VISA, but I also had a few bad ones. I really liked my teachers, the classroom environment, the content we where learning, and the flexible scheduling. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication between a few different staff members, on portfolio day for my intro drawing class (halfway through the course) all of my work got thrown out because it wasn't being stored in the "correct place". Mind you, this was the only place I had been told by staff that I could store my work at the school. This was incredibly discouraging and disappointing to me, as some of my best works where in there, and I was planning to use those works to apply for a program. I ended up dropping the class. I'm pretty unhappy with how the school's director handled the situation. We talked and sorted out a deal that I would get a tuition credit for the class that I dropped, and a gift card for the supplies that I lost, which is an agreement I was fine with. When I actually received the card with the credit in it, she suggested that I "pick up a cardboard portfolio for future safekeeping of my work", which I found to be very backhanded, disrespectful, and unappreciated. Especially seeing as I came to class with a portfolio the day I found out that I didn't actually have any pieces to put in it anymore because it had all been thrown in the trash. All in all, I enjoyed my actual classes immensely and will use my tuition credit to take another class at VISA, but I was planning to apply for a program there which I'm no longer doing because of the bad experience I had.

The school is on the third floor, in an architecturally interesting building at the new downtown location. Staff are friendly, helpful and patient and the space the school occupies is open and airy. All this plus the high ceilings, and a logical layout to the space make being in the main room feel comfortable and inviting. Equipment is visible, supplies are logically stored and in addition to classes the space is available for drop-in use for only $15! Enrollment in online classes has also granted access to an excellent calibre of instructors and a supportive community of artists. There is a parking lot immediately across the street, practically facing the building and there is public transportation service available, almost right to the front door.