Starting in May 2017, the Faculty of Fine Arts will begin offering a new minor in Digital and Interactive Media in the Arts (DIMA). DIMA will allow you to combine current electives with new training in interactive media as part of your UVic Bachelor degree.

Writing prof David Leach, part of UVic’s Digital Storytelling & Social Simulation Lab

“Our minor in Digital and Interactive Media in the Arts is an innovative program that builds on our strengths in research and creative activity, as well as the kind of hands-on, dynamic learning Fine Arts is known for,” says Susan Lewis, Dean of Fine Arts.

The arts are traditionally at the forefront when it comes to creative applications of new technologies, and the conversion of regular media to digital formats unleashes new possibilities for interactivity. Networked digital media make it possible for groups to form around all sorts of shared interests in order to better coordinate, communicate and collaborate.

Not only has digital media led to emerging genres and forms of art, but it’s also created new areas of inquiry and analysis into social and cultural impacts. And we’re hearing increased demand for digital and interactive media skills from both students and post-degree industries and institutions in general.

As such, DIMA students will learn technological production and collaborative practices to create and curate immersive and interactive stories, games, performances and installations. Courses will be offered in a range of programs, including (but not limited to):

  • interactive media design
  • photography & film production
  • digital art history
  • technology & visual studies
  • game strategy
  • music, science & computers
  • sound recording
  • digital publishing & digital media arts
  • acting for the camera
  • film studies

As well as a foundational course in creativity (FA 101), you’ll build on a selection of electives looking at digital media production and cultural impacts, combined with a capstone course looking at digital and interactive media in the arts. A balance of practice and theory, core lectures, seminars and studio work will explore the conceptual and creative possibilities of this new area of knowledge and study.

Open to anyone across campus, the DIMA is a natural fit for Fine Arts, already home to the Studios for Integrated Media.  DIMA will also join our current batch of minors, including:

The minor in Digital and Interactive Media in the Arts is yet another way we’re looking at how new technologies are revolutionizing the way we carry out our daily lives. From Netflix to smart phone culture, digital media is already a big part of what we do — why not integrate it into the classroom as well?

By taking the DIMA minor, you’ll

  • Develop skills in new media to create and co-create artistic work
  • Understand the intersections of art, media, and culture and their impact on society
  • Enhance visual literacy and the capacity to reflect critically on the social impact of new media
  • Build a critical vocabulary to clearly communicate concepts and analyze new media

To learn more about the minor in Digital and Interactive Media in the Arts, please contact our Fine Arts Advising Officer.