Professor Maureen Ryan (PhD, Chicago; MA, BA, UBC) has retired after thirty-two years with the department. Her lectures and seminars at the undergraduate and graduate levels took up the charged cultural politics associated with constructs of difference—gender, sexualities, religion, ethnicity, and class—within the frame of global networks, mobile populations, and the fraught and often aestheticized histories of migration and the violence of displacement. Former students still exclaim she was the best teacher and her outstanding pedagogy was awarded the prestigious Killam Teaching Award. She is an activist gardener who works steadfastly for public community gardening. We wish her all the best and thank her for the outstanding contribution she made to AHVA.
Learn more about Maureen’s UBC career: https://ahva.ubc.ca/persons/maureen-ryan/
Professor Barbara Zeigler (MFA, BFA University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) retires in December 2020 after forty-one years on our Visual Art faculty. Working in printmaking, photography, drawing, installation, video, and collaborative public art projects, throughout her career Barbara has sought to prompt questions as to the character and consequences of our existing cultural paradigms. She has taught the theory and practice of multidisciplinary printmaking to legions of students as technologies and techniques within the field of print constantly evolved, and she was instrumental in the creation of the new Print Media Research Centre, which dramatically changed the printmaking program in the department. We wish Barbara all the best in the retirement and look forward to hearing more about her future projects! Barbara recently reflected on her time in the department:
“Forty-one and a half years teaching at UBC! Imagine. The time has passed by so quickly and there is still so much I would like to do, experiment with in my approach to teaching, and explore through my research. I have certainly enjoyed the challenging artwork and discussions of my wonderful students and colleagues over all these years, and the thoughtful assistance from our excellent staff.
My research will continue, as I have been setting up a printing studio (digital and traditional) in a log cabin on Mayne Island, not far from the ferry. I plan to carry on visual print, drawing, and digital research there, beginning with increasing my understanding of the ecology of a small pond on the property. If anyone is going to Mayne Island and wants to stop by, please just contact me. Discussions are always welcome.
A high point over the all these years was the establishment of the Print Media Research Centre in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory and the subsequent building of the Audain Art Centre in 2013, a wonderful new facility in which it is now housed. Well staffed and equipped through continual requests over the years, it is a state-of-the-art printmaking studio. It is my hope that student, staff, and faculty research related to the ever-expanding and developing field of print media will continue in this facility for many years to come.”
- Barbara Zeigler, Critical Mass, State II, 2012, digital archival pigment print, 13 x 19 in.
- Barbara Zeigler, Under Siege, 2004, digital archival pigment print, 44 x 43 in.
Michael Mao (BA’81; MLIS’84), Curator of the AHVA Visual Resources Centre, is retiring in December 2020 after more than thirty-five years of continuous service to the department and the university. On the occasion of his retirement, we asked Michael to recall some highlights from his UBC career. We thank him for stewarding our collection of visual resources through constant technological change with unstinting care and enthusiasm. He will be greatly missed for fostering such a warm and welcoming environment in the VRC for our community.
“It has been a long and fulfilling career working together with my knowledgeable and supportive colleagues who share a common goal of contributing to the wellbeing of this dynamic department. 
There are many fond memories to cherish starting with, for instance, when I was told by my predecessor in a trusting and affectionate way, “You’ll find out in no time how to run this place” and by my first boss with unwavering support, “It’s now up to you to build this domain” and by two donors with the VRC in mind always as the recipient, “We’ll bring back digital images of Japan’s cultural heritage as requested instead of sake for you.” Many moons have come and gone, the VRC remains a vibrant hub that continues to provide dependable, specialized services with its professional and unique digital/analogue resources of visual culture to support scholarly and social activities.
Witnessing the many vigorous changes in the department, I extend my warmest of wishes to everyone in AHVA for every success in 2020 and beyond.”