Tom Hudson
1922 - 1997

Tom Hudson, a familiar face to Knowledge Network viewers, passed away in England on December 27, 1997.

Hudson wrote and presented four telecourses in conjunction with the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and the Open Learning Agency's Open University. These courses, which continue to be shown on the Knowledge Network, deal with Hudson's conception of the foundations of art education: Colour: An Introduction (1987), Mark & Image (1988), and Material & Form (1991). A fourth course, called Understanding Modern Art, was completed at the end of 1994, just prior to Hudson's return to his native England. The telecourses have won international awards for excellence and are being used by a large number of colleges, universities, and individual instructors across North America, Australia and New Zealand and in the Middle East.

Hudson was Dean of Instruction at the Emily Carr art school from 1977 to his retirement in 1987. Among his many accomplishments, there was the long-running series of exhibitions of children's art which began in 1979/80. In 1986, Hudson was Curator of International Young Art, an exhibition which coincided with Expo 86 and involved the creative work of the children from fifty-two nations. In 1994, the Open University granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree to Hudson for his work in distance education.

Educated in England, Hudson worked internationally as an artist/educator, was an examiner in art education for the University Institutes of Education, and for 10 years explored "The Creative Process" as part of a summer school in Wales. Hudson, as an artist, worked with a wide range of materials and performances.

He once commented that:

"Creative activity is more than a mere cultural frill, it is a crucial factor of human experience, the means of self-revelation, the basis of empathy with others; it inspires both individualism and responsibility, the giving and the sharing of experience."

A scholarship at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design will be established in Tom Hudson's name.

A memorial for Tom Hudson was held at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design on February 5, 1998.