David Thompson University Centre/Kootenay School of Arts Reunion Planned for 2025
By Contributor
A reunion of faculty, students and support staff of Nelson, B.C.’s former David Thompson University Centre and its successor institution, the Kootenay School of the Arts, is planned for April 25 to 27 next year.
The 2025 event follows the successful first-ever reunion in May 2023 of former participants in DTUC held at the Prestige Lakeside Resort in Nelson.
The expanded reunion this coming spring, thanks to the co-operation of Selkirk College, will offer a social evening April 25 at Mary Hall on Selkirk’s Tenth Street Campus in the city, and panels and presentations April 26 at the Tenth Street Campus’ Shambhala Music & Performance Hall. Art exhibits by faculty and alumni will be held at the former KSA building, Victoria and Josephine St., and at the Craft Connection, 378 Baker St.
As program details are finalized, information and a registration form will be available from the reunion’s website at www.dtuc-ksa-reunion.ca. Meantime, people interested in attending can contact the reunion committee at dtuc.ksareunion@gmail.com to ensure they receive the latest news about the event.
“Those of us on the planning committee for the 2023 DTUC reunion were astonished at how much enthusiasm people expressed about the gathering,” said Tom Wayman, a former writing instructor at both DTUC and KSA.
“Because lots of people subsequently told us they regretted not attending, the Nelson committee decided to plan for a follow-up.”
Wayman said that the reunion committee decided to include for the 2025 event faculty, students, and support staff from KSA, which grew out of the determination of the DTUC Support Society to preserve arts-oriented post-secondary education in Nelson after DTUC’s closure in 1984.
“I’m excited to learn about and celebrate the incredible accomplishments of DTUC/KSA alumni alongside Selkirk College’s current Kootenay Studio Arts students and instructors,” said Melody Diachun, chair of Selkirk’s School of Arts & Technology.
“This reunion is more than just a get-together; it will be a vibrant exchange of creativity, skills, and ideas between veteran artists and the next generation. I can’t wait to see the spark of inspiration when our community comes together to honour the rich legacy and bright future of these talented individuals.”
Nelson, unique among Canadian municipalities, has conceived and implemented three broad-based post-secondary institutions since the mid-Twentieth Century: Notre Dame University 1950-1977, DTUC 1979-1984, and the Kootenay School of the Arts, which opened in 1991 and earlier this century was merged into Selkirk College as Kootenay Studio Arts.
