Storying Online Exhibition

A photo of a group of people standing in three rows with their backs to the camera
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 9:00am to Monday, June 1, 2020 - 9:00am

Visit the exhibition at https://ocad.libguides.com/storying_exhibition

 

Over the winter semester 2020, OCAD U faculty Penelope Smart and Pam Patterson and 25 students of CROS 2002 Contemporary Issues: Art Today met on Thursday afternoons to explore the concept of identity — the solid, evaporating, congealing, fractured, token, sincere question of Who am I? within contemporary art practices. Our inquiry took on many forms: personal writings and responses on issues of representation and difference, memory and imagination, and the mediation of the world through technologies. Together, we mapped frameworks of the self through readings, peer discussions, presentations and gallery visits, working toward a fluid, unscripted, collective expression of our findings: a group exhibition of individual works that speak to identity as a myriad of stories we tell ourselves (or are told) about who we are. 

“Storying”-as-exhibit was set to open in the Learning Zone on April 2nd, 2020. As Covid-19 became a reality for the OCAD U community and across the globe, we pivoted to the OCAD U Library's digital platform. It is exciting and meaningful for us to share these works — as self-expression in the here and now — with online audiences during this extraordinary time. It has never been more important to stay connected and curious about other people. How do our personal experiences, histories, creative talents, and daily hopes and fears work to both keep us apart and bring us closer?

This website serves as an online exhibition and creative portfolio of the course. Please explore the multidisciplinary works — spanning painting, drawing, textile, sculpture, animation, music, AI tech and video — of students by navigating to the online exhibition and Facebook page. On the exhibition site, you can also read short artist statements including poems, lyrics and creative texts, which accompany and illuminate each work.

Thank you for visiting.

-- Penelope Smart, curator and tutorial leader

 

Exhibition Statement: “Storying” is an exhibition by students in CROS 2002 Contemporary Issues: Art Today. Individual works spanning a variety of media query identity as a creative act — a thing to be made, re-made, told, written, erased, re-written, documented and performed. Works consider how questions of authorship and authority shape the stories we tell about who we are.

Exhibiting Artists: Anam Feerasta, Bernobayobaylee/ Lee Reid, Carla Sierra Suarez, Carmen Mahave, Chris Mullrooney, Emily Flynn, Esther Liang, Fabina Germain, Fuyu Liu, Jerry Zhou, Kaia Fortis Scott, Lou Davis, Lucas Kim, Madison Burke, Philberta Mak, Raf Dan McEwan, Tony Leung, Violet Liepins, Zhenhao Sun

Professor: Pam Patterson 

Project curator: Penelope Smart, Tutorial Leader

Assistant curator: Temple Marucci-Campbell 

Web design: Marta Chudolinska

A special thank you to Marta Chudolinska, of the OCAD U Learning Zone, for her positivity, helpfulness and technical and administrative knowledge and support.

Venue & Address: 
https://ocad.libguides.com/storying_exhibition
Website: 
https://ocad.libguides.com/storying_exhibition
Email: 
mchudolinska@ocadu.ca
Cost: 
free

Penning Pictures, a Writing Workshop with Mehnaz Lamia

Event text with an image of a n open journal with writing and an image
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Join Creative Writing student Mehnaz Lamia for a hands-on, supported writing workshop that uses visual works to inspire written art! This workshop will take participants through a series of exercise and prompts, with support and resources available for new writers and English language learners! Bring your favourite writing materials, a list of your favourite books or writers to discuss, or just bring your yourself!

Student-Led workshops are funded by the Ontario Post-Secondary Access and Inclusion Program (OPAIP) administered by the Writing & Learning Centre. These workshops are free, including materials, and are open to all current students.

Venue & Address: 
Learning Zone, Level 1 of 100 McCaul Street, also accessible from 122 St. Patrick Street
Email: 
mchudolinska@ocadu.ca
Cost: 
Free
Event text with an image of a n open journal with writing and an image

Call For Papers: CFP Joint Panel on Phenomenology and Art

Tuesday, November 19, 2019 - 11:00am to Friday, January 3, 2020 - 12:00pm

CALL FOR PAPERS:
ART AND/AS PHENOMENOLOGY

Society for Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture (EPTC)

— joint session with the Canadian Society for Aesthetics (CSA) ―

The 2020 meetings of the Society for Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture, and the Canadian Society for Aesthetics, will both be held during the annual Congress of the Canadian Federation for the Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, from May 3 - June 5.

This joint panel session will explore the intersection and overlap of phenomenology, philosophical aesthetics from various traditions, and/or arts practices.

More details are included in the PDF attached above.

Email: 
david.collins3@mail.mcgill.ca

Holiday OCAD Artist Alley 2019

Sunday, December 15, 2019 - 1:00pm to 7:00pm

Come to OCAD's student-run Holiday Artist Alley! You'll find a wide variety of beautiful posters, prints, zines, stickers, greeting cards, ceramics, fashion, jewelry items and more from local creators. Support 50+ OCAD U artists and alumni.

This event is open to the public so come by and support local artists! FREE ADMISSION!

Remember to BRING CASH as most artists do not have card readers. There are ATMs in the building.
We are a wheelchair accessible space. Please take the (main lobby backside) elevators to the 2nd floor.

Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/ocadartistalley/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ocadartistalley/

We'll be revealing artist profiles leading up to the event!

If you want to volunteer or have questions, please contact: kmoore@ocadu.ca

The OCAD Artist Alley is a student initiative, created with support from OCAD Student Union, to give Students and Alumni across all programs the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work.

Poster art by Becky Wu.
Tickets NOT needed for entrance

Venue & Address: 
Great Hall (Level 2), 100 McCaul Street
Website: 
www.facebook.com/events/405397327005429/
Email: 
communications.ocadaa@gmail.com
Cost: 
Free admission
Holiday OCAD Artist Alley graphic 2019

Public Talk: Niigaan Sinclair - Reconciliation

Friday, November 22, 2019 - 1:30pm

The Faculty & Curriculum Development Centre: Indigenous Education Speaker Series invites all OCAD U students, faculty, staff and the broader community to attend a public talk by:

DR. NIIGAAN SINCLAIR
Friday, November 22nd, 2019 | 1:30 pm-3:00 pm
OCAD U, 100 McCaul St, Room 190 

All are welcome

RECONCILIATION

Dr. Sinclair will be speaking about Anishnaabeg art and literature, bridging understandings towards reconciliation.

“Reconciliation is about the hard work of sharing. It's about resources, time, space and land. This means commitment to change, in all its complicatedness.” Niigaan Sinclair, Winnipeg Free Press, 08/17/2018

Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe from St. Peter's/Little Peguis, Manitoba. Currently on sabbatical as an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba, his work spans national and international print and publications. In 2018, he joined the Winnipeg Free Press as a columnist and in May 2019, Niigaan was named Canada’s Best Columnist, winning also a distinguished National Newspaper Award. He is also a recovering high school teacher.

Dr. Sinclair’s talk will be followed by a question and answer period.

All are welcome!
 

Venue & Address: 
OCAD U, 100 McCaul St, Room 190 (main auditorium)
Email: 
fcdc@ocadu.ca
Cost: 
Free
Poster of Niigaan Sinclair talk at OCAD U on Nov 22, 2019

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: OCAD U TEACHING EXPO

Thursday, October 17, 2019 - 4:45pm to Tuesday, November 26, 2019 - 11:45pm

OCAD U Teaching Expo
- CALL FOR PROPOSALS -

CHALLENGING OUR ASSUMPTIONS:
TOWARDS MORE INCLUSIVE WAYS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 26, 2019
 

Organized annually by the Faculty & Curriculum Development Centre, the OCAD U Teaching Expo is an opportunity for all who teach or support learning in the OCAD U community to gather and share practices, ask questions, build relationships and collaborate with fellow educators. This peer-reviewed, full-day event is dedicated to reflecting upon our teaching and learning practices through workshops, presentations, facilitated discussions and demonstrations of class activities.

The Teaching Expo will be held on Friday, January 17, 2020 at OCAD University. This year, we are pleased to feature invited speaker Dr. Tanya Titchkosky, Professor in Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.

The theme of this year’s Teaching Expo invites you to consider how we, as educators, practitioners and scholars, need to challenge our assumptions—about our students, classrooms, disciplines, creative practices, institutional policies, and ourselves. Do we sometimes assume that all our colleagues share the same background knowledge, or all our students bring the same key skills or a shared understanding of classroom culture to their studies? How do we commit, as a university, to be “student-ready”? 

Reflecting on these assumptions and perspectives will deepen our understanding of the multi-faceted and diverse histories and backgrounds of our learners, colleagues and institutional policies and practices. Join colleagues from across the university in a critical dialogue that seeks to challenge our assumptions as educators and share new perspectives and strategies for inclusive teaching. We will also engage in discussion and activities grounded in the principles of Universal Design for Learning, an approach to teaching and learning that values reflection and embeds equity, diversity and accessibility into our practices. 

Proposal submissions are welcome from all faculty and staff who support teaching and learning at OCAD U. When preparing proposal submissions, we invite you to consider such questions as: 

  • What assumptions underpin our work as educators in an art and design educational context? What is the impact of these assumptions? 
  • What are some of the challenges we have in our classroom/studio/office around accessibility, equity and inclusion? 
  • What are some of the unique strategies, approaches or theories that inform our inclusive teaching practices?
  • How does our research and/or practice drive our perspectives on disability, oppression, social justice, Indigenous learning and decolonization in higher education? 
  • How do we engage with students/colleagues? What strategies do we use to actively listen and collaborate with others? 
  • What means/formats do we use to present new information? How do we plan for different learning preferences, languages, age, culture, abilities and experiences? How do we work across these differences to foster creativity and innovation? 
  • How do we encourage our learners to show their knowledge in multiple ways?  

TYPES OF SESSIONS (30 or 60 minutes each):  

Mini-lesson: Facilitate a hands-on activity where participants will become your actual students and will share their reflections from that perspective. 

Teaching or educational research presentation: Present a successful project or assignment that you have developed for your students and initiate a reflective dialogue with your peers, or share with your peers a completed or in-progress educational research project.

Faculty/staff/student panel: Bring together a panel of faculty, staff and/or students to discuss any aspect of teaching and learning at OCAD U. If you are interested in this option but do not have a panel, please let us know.

Roundtable: Lead an informal discussion with colleagues about a specific issue concerning teaching and learning, share strategies, brainstorm ideas and collaborate with peers.

TO PROPOSE A SESSION FOR THE TEACHING EXPO:  

Submit a brief proposal by e-mail to fcdc@ocadu.ca (with subject line: Teaching Expo Proposal) by the extended deadline date: November 26, 2019

Please include the following information: 

  • Presenter's name
  • Title of session
  • Type of session: (1) mini-lesson, (2) teaching or educational research presentation, (3) faculty/staff/student panel, (4) roundtable
  • Duration of session (i.e. 30 or 60 minutes)
  • Brief description (150 – 250 words)
  • Learning outcomes (40-word limit)
  • Strategy to actively engage participants during the session (i.e. group discussion, think-pair-share)
  • Supplies you will use (i.e. AV, flip chart paper, sticky notes, markers, pens, etc.)

Session proposals will be reviewed by a Teaching Expo Program Committee, composed of faculty and academic staff, and responses will be sent to applicants by December 16th, 2019. 

If you have any questions, please contact Mariela Giuliano, Education Developer, FCDC: mgiuliano@ocadu.ca

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University
Email: 
fcdc@ocadu.ca

When I Was A Kid, I Would Lay in My Twin Sized Bed and Wonder Where My Brother Was

Exhibition Poster
Thursday, October 10, 2019 - 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Andrew Atkin, Ahmed Drebika, Jiaqi Yuan

Opening reception: October 10, 5-8pm

October 11- November 3

Regular hours:

Wed - Sun:1 - 5pm

All three artists are interested in highlighting the duality of contemporary issues and explore the relationship of humanity to the highly industrialized society we find ourselves within. 

Through combining two forms of contrasting nostalgia, Ahmed Drebinka manages to produce creations that are earnest and sublime. Ahmed employees video game and CGI visual language that he grew up with to recreate the Libya that no longer exists after almost a decade of civil war. While the digital environments he creates harken back stylistically games of his youth, they contain symbols of the violence which has wreaked devastation and havoc on his homeland. Since Ahmed left Libya in 2013, the changes he notices when visiting have had a profound impact on him, and in his work, he uses technology to lament the upheaval of his birthplace while also trying to piece through what it has become today. 

 

The performative nature of Jiaqi Yuan’s agnostic automations embody representations of developmental learning. Her sculptures are cautionary observations reflecting on technology’s increasingly pervasive role in child-rearing. In her work Future Toy, for instance, Jiaqi reaches to the past for a traditional Chinese folk drum, which has been modernized through automation in order to consider the increasing dependence on technology children are devolving and warns of it becoming an emotional pacifier with dehumanizing effects. While Jiaqi laments the cotemporary phenomenon of mechanization and her observations are cautionary, through their repetitive kinetic motions the resulting objects become meditative to behold.  

 

Andrew Atkin creates interconnected systems based on organic and electronic components, in which he explores the history and impact of our material usage while offering a hopeful alternative. Andrew investigates the abilities of material science and food infrastructure to shape people into communities, ultimately speculating how the future can be shaped cooperatively through thoughtful making. By gestures such as replicating a Styrofoam cup out of stoneware, Andrew’s work suggests that an optimistic outcome can be achieved by embracing the technological trauma rather than wiping it from memory. 

 

Venue & Address: 
165 Augusta Ave
Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/427593191217972/
Email: 
ignitegallery@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
4169776000
Cost: 
Free
Ahmed Drebika
Keywords: 

No Problem

Wednesday, September 4, 2019 - 1:00pm to Sunday, September 29, 2019 - 5:00pm

No Problem

Agnes Wong, Sonia Beckwith, Brandon Celi, Evan Hudson and Hudson Christie

Opening reception September 5th 5 pm-8pm

September 4th to 29th 

Wednesday to Sunday 1-5pm

Venue & Address: 
Ignite Gallery 165 Augusta Ave
Email: 
ignotegallery@ocadu.ca
poster by Evan Hudson
Keywords: 

Asia-Global Cultural Studies Forum

Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF) is a forum of a lively discussion of Asia and Asia Global-related art, design, culture, media, creative strategy, and research. It is initiated by the professors and students at OCAD U who aspire to support and promote creative and critical research as well as art, design, media productions and ideas by Asian and/or Asia-Global students, professors, researchers, and professionals. The artist-designer-creator-researchers whose works are inspired by Asian cultures, values, and epistemology, as well as those who explore the latter’s connectivity to their work, are welcome to the forum.
The forum invites 3 tiers of presenters: the students, the professors, and the professionals.

The participatory organizational model of this forum consists of the presenters, the discussants, and the audience whose participation is to be valued equally to bring about a diverse and multidirectional discussion. The selection criteria of the presenters are based on merit and the contents of their works, not on rank or prestige.

The current focus of AGCSF is East Asia, particularly China, Korea, and Japan. However, the topics can be extended to include the issues related to South East Asia (i.e. the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand), the historical development and cultural formation of which are closely connected to that of the East Asian region through migration, etc. 

Everyone is welcome to participate in this forum or become a presenter in future events.

The AGCSF does not support any form of ethnocentric/regional chauvinism or hegemonic nationalism unfit for our vision of the future. The AGCSF does support the emergence of other cosmopolitan research groups and fora at OCAD U - based on a non-hierarchical and non-exclusionary notion of regional, national, ethnic and cultural identities.

For more information, please visit the website: https://asiaglobalculturalstudiesforum.wordpress.com

 

The Ethos of AGCSF

• A syncretic forum of all levels of researchers (students, professors, and professionals)

• Merit- and contents-based (not rank or prestige).

• No ethnocentric/regional chauvinism or hegemonic nationalism.

• Cosmopolitanism and exploration of difference and alternative epistemologies.

• Non-hierarchical organizational model for the promotion of a culture of open discussion.

• Participatory forum: The participants will consist of the presenters, the discussants, and the audience whose participation is to be equally valued to bring about diverse and multidirectional discussions.

• The Discussants are an important category of this forum. They are the generators of discussion as well as latent presenters. Those who are interested in presenting are recommended to participate as the discussants first. The discussants – along with the audience – who have previously participated in the forum and substantially contributed to the discussions will be considered with priority as the presenters for the following event.

• Embodied participation is implied in its growth model based on merit and contribution (rather than on rank or prestige). AGCSF hopes to make this forum truly an intellectually viable place for lively exchange and discussion of ideas and visions, a lively intellectual fora filled with genuine curiosity and openness to different perspectives.

• Embodied and experiential knowledge: AGCSF values embodied and experiential knowledge, research, and ideas rather than the overly academicized outcomes short of the conductive power to generate grounded and real conversations.

• ESL students are the most welcome. You are the holders of up-to-date global knowledge. If you have any ideas to share but the only thing that makes you hesitate is your English, please bring a translator or discuss the ideas with us.

 

The inaugural AGCSF event

The inaugural AGCSF event occurred on May 17, 2019 between 1:00 and 6:00pm at 205 Richmond St. West, Rm. 115.

Presentations delivered included:

• Dr. Soyang Park (OCAD U), A Cosmopolitan Remapping of East Asia and the Asia-Global: Notes Towards Asia-Global-Cultural Studies Forum(AGCSF)

• Leon Hsu (OCAD U), Reinventing Tradition Beyond Cultural Paradigm: A Brief Discussion of Cai Guo-Qiang’s Pyrotechnic Ephemera Works

• Christie Carriere (OCAD U), Returning the Gaze: Contemporary Asian Female Artists Responding to (Techno) Orientalism

• Richard Luong (OCAD U), Directing Orientalism: The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

• Jessica Liu (OCAD U), Painting My Own Being in the World, Falling in and out of Past and Contemporary

• Christine Li (OCAD U), Manuel Ocampo and Colonial Legacy: Trauma, Multidirectional Memory, and Redemption

• Ema Dan (OCAD U),  Idol, Not Celebrity: K-Pop, K-Pop Fans, and their Symbiosis

• Yilong Liu (OCAD U), Confronting Ambiguity: The Intersection of Racial and Sexual Repression and Marginalisation in Rex vs Singh and Seeking Single White Male

• Florence Yee (OCAD U), Bad Forgeries Make for Good Originals: A Studio-Research Project into Cantonese-Canadian Issues of Authenticity, Belonging and Diaspora Subjectivities Working with Text-based Art

• Yujia Shi (University of Toronto), From One-Child to Two-Child: Understanding Birth Planning Policies in China’s Population Governance

• Hannia Cheng (TeaBase), Tea Base: Against the Displacement and Gentrification of Chinatowns

 

Additional Information:

What is Culture?

Culture is the shared value system and code of conducts that exist in interconnected and contingent differences across communities, cultures, and nations.

Culture in all its manifestations – conventional, popular, emergent, marginal, and resistant – are constantly shaped by and are (re-)shaping our status quo, ways of thinking, and visions.

Culture is not fixed but constantly shifts through the intersecting influences of politics, economy, populations, migrations, and even environment.

The study of culture is empirical as well as theoretical, and most importantly, it is an interdisciplinary endeavor. The set of questions, analyses, and evaluations it involves itself in interacts with other fields of study such as the study of economy and politics; social studies, ethnic studies; cultural anthropology and media studies; identity, gender, sexuality, class, and ideology studies.

What is a Forum?

A gathering place for exchanges of ideas and views. It is also the agora (Greek), a proto-site of democracy.

 

Event photographs courtesy of Carlina Chen.

Creator: 
Sponsor(s): 
Photograph of Dr. Park and speaker conversing with audience at the AGCSF event.
Friday, July 12, 2019 - 12:15pm

Inaugural Event of Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF )

Photograph of Dr. Park and presenter conversing at the AGCSF event.
Friday, July 12, 2019 - 11:45am

The inaugural event of the Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF) facilitated by Dr. Soyang Park (LASSIS) was successfully held on May 17, 1-6 pm in room 115 at 205 Richmond St. West.

11 speakers presented their research, creations, community activities/entrepreneurship on and dealing with diverse topics concerning the issues in Asia and the Asia-Global. The presenters and discussants consisted of OCAD U student-researchers from both undergrad and graduate programs (Art, Design, CADN, VCS, CRCP, CCP, and IAMD), OCAD U faculty members, graduate researchers from other institutions (UofT), and a professional (the founder of Tea Base).

Topics dealt with at this event included: the art, creation, media, and strategies concerning, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, (techno-)orientalism, memory/trauma, multi-directionality, race and gender, the matriarchic history of Vietnam, the colonial history of Philippines, K-pop and Korean pop cultural industry, the intersection of racial and sexual oppression in Canada, the visual strategies of the artists working in-between cultures, etc. 

The interdisciplinarity (art, research, and media) of the presentations and syncretic organization (intersecting all tiers of presenters such as professors, students, and professionals), endorsed as the key ethos and organizational model of AGCSF, were attested to be conductive and refreshing throughout this inaugural event. The forum really came alive within about an hour or so, as the participants became more relaxed and more engaged in the presentations and discussions. Different views were presented, engaging the participants in truly lively discussions. With Dr. Park in the role of active mediator of the multilateral conversations and learnings, the forum successfully made the event a participatory occasion for intellectual conversations about the presented topics and researches wherein the contributions by the presenters, the discussants, and the audience were all equally valued.

The event’s organizer received many heartfelt feedback from the students and faculties (including those from the LAS Office) who participated and witnessed the event. Many appreciated how the forum was so lively and inclusive. Also, they shared that they are looking forward to the next event and that they wish for this forum to continue and grow further in the future. Many attendees have expressed their interest in presenting their works at future events.

Thanks to a few engaging and extended presentations and discussions, the event went over the intended 5 hours and continued until 7 pm. Despite the extension, 35-40 people (5-6 coming in and out) stayed until the end with such enthusiasm and keen interest.

The organizer wishes to extend thanks to all participants in the forum, especially Yilong Liu (Louie) and Richard Luong for their hard work as the coordinators, and to the Research Office and the LASSIS department for extending the funding and supporting the event. The organizer also thanks Professors Ian Clark, Marie-Josée Therrien, and Ashok Mathur who came to witness and participate in the event. Special thanks also go to Kirstyn Moore for assisting the coordinators with circulating the event announcements to the wider OCAD U community and to Carlina Chen for her support as well. 

For more information on AGCSF and its future events, please visit the website: https://asiaglobalculturalstudiesforum.wordpress.com

 

Event photographs courtesy of Carlina Chen.

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