Portfolio Guidelines

Admission to Kootenay School of the Arts program is by interview and portfolio review. Interviews are held in spring and early summer. Telephone interviews will be arranged for those applicants who, because of distance, cannot attend in person. These applicants must mail their portfolios to the school and ensure that they are received one week before their scheduled interview date.

Admission to the full time programs is competitive. The portfolio is a very important part of the application process and applicants should take care to ensure that their work is presented as strongly as possible. KSA is looking for a demonstration of visual awareness, creativity and technical skill. Applicants should choose pieces for their portfolios that demonstrate the nature, scope and direction of their work. The portfolio pieces may be of any medium and they need not be specific to studio preference. Applicants should give special attention to the following guidelines when preparing their portfolios (download a pdf version of KSA's portfolio guidelines):

1. The number of pieces in an applicant's portfolio will vary depending on the manner in which the applicant works. Generally, the admissions committee would like to see a minimum of eight (8) and a maximum of twenty-four (24) pieces.
2. Portfolios should be brought to the interview and only mailed if, because of distance, the applicant is unable to attend their interview in person.
3. Two-dimensional works may be presented in their original form. Three-dimensional pieces or any works on a large scale should not be brought to the interview but represented by slides or photographs.
4. An applicant's portfolio must be the applicant's own original work. It can include variations and modifications of existing work.
5. Applicants should organize their work and set it out so that it shows development over a period of time or group it according to type.
6. Applicants should bring their workbooks and journals. School assignments and independent explorations will also be helpful to the Admissions Committee.
7. Applicants must keep their presentations simple and neat. Work should not be matted or elaborately framed.
8. If an applicant includes slides or photographs, each must include a list of the materials used, size of the piece, title and date.

Portfolios for telephone interviews must be mailed to:

Kootenay School of the Arts at Selkirk College
606 Victoria Street
Nelson, BC V1L 4K9

Mailed portfolios must be sent in one package and include the applicant's name, return address (marked inside and outside the package), the applicant's name on each piece (original work, slide or photograph), a self-addressed label for return mail and return postage and packaging.

Every precaution is taken to ensure that portfolios are handled with care. KSA does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage to submitted materials. All portfolios that the school has not been able to return to applicants by Nov. 15 will be recycled.

Personal Essay Guidelines

The 250-word personal essay is intended as an introduction of yourself to KSA and the Admissions Committee. Your essay could include who inspires you as an artist, a brief description of your life, or how you came to this point in your life; we want to get a good idea of who you are by reading your words.