Vivia Kay
.jpg)
Vivia Kay, who graduated from Humber’s Arts Administration & Cultural Management program in 2015, is pretty excited about the up-coming election. That’s because she’s working with the Canadian Conference of the Arts on their "I Vote Arts & Culture" federal election advocacy campaign, a "dream opportunity" for someone like Vivia, who combines both a keen interest in advocacy and a love of the arts.
Vivia says her love of the arts goes back to her childhood, "I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember." And it’s clear that it wasn’t just a childhood passion; she has a PhD in musicology and teaches private voice and piano lessons. And yet, she says, after a few years on the academic job market, she felt that her skills needed sharpening.
"I wanted to be able to bring the arts directly to the public in a more concrete way. I came to the program via an internet search, and as soon as I had my interview with Program Director Anne Frost, I knew that Humber was the right fit for me."
Since graduating, Vivia has been busy, not only with her work on the Canadian Conference of the Arts election advocacy campaign, but also getting ready to start singing gospel-influenced blues and jazz again with her project Blacksparrow. She’s also secured another short-term contract that will begin after the election and is looking for more work to supplement her busy private voice and piano teaching schedule.
Vivia says Humber’s Arts Administration and Cultural Management program allowed her to hone her diverse skill set and learn a lot in a short period of time.
"I feel now like I could jump in anywhere and find my footing—the program concentrated on practical skills that I use every day now. I really valued meeting and working with my cohort, who are now turning into my colleagues."
We’re looking forward to hearing more from this artist and arts worker, and we have our fingers crossed for an arts-positive election result!
Connect with Vivia on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/viviakay or follow her on Twitter @theviviakay. You can also find out more about her singing at her Facebook page viviakayblacksparrow or listen to her work on Soundcloud vivia-kay-blacksparrow.
