STUDENTS SHOW GAMES AT LEVEL UP 2014

Gameplay at last year's Level Up event. Image courtesy University of Toronto.

Students from 17 different post-secondary institutions from across Ontario, including OCAD U, demonstrated more than 60 games at the fourth annual Level Up Showcase on Friday, April 4. Held at the Design Exchange, the popular event continues to grow, with more institutions, partners, sponsors and gamers participating than ever before.

Level Up was first initiated in 2011 by Emma Westecott, Assistant Professor, Game Design and Director, game:play Lab at OCAD U, together with Steve Engels, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Toronto, as a collaborative teaching event bringing together art, design and computer science students to make games.

As the event evolved Westecott and Engels began inviting more members of the closely-knit Toronto gaming community to participate, along with students from other post-secondary institutions. The event is garnering international interest — the Level Up team presented at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the world’s largest industry event, in San Francisco in March, and was also featured in the GDC 2014 Education Summit.

“We are proud of how we have grown in the past four years,” said Westecott. “I think it’s important. Showcases like Level Up enable students to see how their work fits to the wider context of other student games and motivates everyone to excel—showing your work to an audience of 800 people is very different than a regular end-of-term critique.”

Connecting with industry and community

With a wide range of gaming companies and industry organizations participating, the event also provides students with the opportunity to interact with future potential employers. “More than one game company has picked up new employees at the event,” said Westecott.

It’s also a good way for students to connect with Toronto’s thriving independent gaming community in Toronto, including organizations such as Bento Misothe Hand Eye Society and Dames Making Games.

“Toronto is home to a wealth of independent game makers, not to mention the plethora of individuals whose ongoing generosity remains an inspiration, and resource, for all our students,” said Westecott. “Connecting to and supporting this community is central to my work at OCAD U. I believe that we can build virtuous circles to benefit all and help us reach beyond our boundaries.”

 

Learn more:

Level Up Showcase 2014

Level Up on Facebook 

Attend Level Up

OCAD U’s game:play lab

Level Up 2013. Image courtesy University of Toronto.

Design Study Abroad - India

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 - 4:00am to Friday, October 17, 2014 - 4:00am

Student Exhibition of the Design Study Abroad - India May 2014

Venue & Address: 
Great Hall 100 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

OCAD University partners with Bell Trinity Square to showcase student and graduate work

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 4:00am

(Toronto—October 26, 2011) Students and graduates from OCAD University's Faculty of Art will get an exclusive career boost this academic year through a competition that will result in the purchase of their work and permanent display in the common spaces of a prominent Bay Street office building in downtown Toronto.

Sponsored by Union Investment Real Estate GmbH based in Hamburg, Germany, owner of Bell Trinity Square building located at 483 Bay Street in Toronto, the Bell Trinity Square Imagination Zone Student Competition will lead to a purchase  of several large works of art that will be permanently displayed throughout  the newly renovated common public areas of Bell Trinity Square.

"The competition recognizes and celebrates the talent and skill that has emerged out of OCAD University over its 135 year history," said Dr. Vladimir Spicanovic, Dean of the Faculty of Art. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Union Investment  in a partnership that will showcase the work of our students and recent graduates in a way that enriches and energizes an important architectural and business landmark in our city."

The Bell Trinity Square Imagination Zone Student Competition is open to students and 2011 graduates nominated by the Faculty of Art's program chairs based on artistic merit. The nominees will be invited to submit art work that considers themes of:

  • Spaces of Nature: illuminating, unexpected encounters of natural phenomena, the sublime and landscape;
  • Light and Architecture: instigating viewer's reengagement with the poetics of space and intersections of light in built environments;
  • and Cross Cultures: evoking the capacity of art to interpret the iconography and values of a multicultural world.

The art works will be selected by a jury comprised of representatives from the sponsoring institution, a representative of OCAD U's Faculty of Art and an invited expert in contemporary art from the Toronto community.  The Bell Trinity Square Imagination Zone will be open to public in January 2012.

About Bell Trinity Square
Designed by John Parkin and Associates Bell Trinity Square is a million square foot office building located in the heart of downtown Toronto with direct access to PATH. Home to major telecommunication, banking, finance and power distribution firms, the building has been broadly recognized as a leader in sustainability and energy efficiency. Certified as LEED EB Gold in 2009 and voted BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) Outstanding Building of the Year in Canada in 2011, the building is an ideal location to host the Imagination Zone Student Competition.

About  Union Investment
Union Investment is a leading international property investment company specializing in open-ended real estate funds for private and institutional investors. Union Investment has assets under management of some €19 billion in eight real estate funds. The portfolios of Union Investment's open-ended real estate funds comprise some 300 properties and projects in Germany and other European countries, the Americas and Asia. Within the commercial real estate sector, Union Investment is active as an institutional investor, developer and landlord.

OCAD University (OCAD U): 135 Years of Imagination
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca) is Canada’s “University of the Imagination.” The University, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

- 30 -

Download this release as a PDF file.

For more information contact:

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer
416-977-6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

Fabian Hellbusch, Head of Real Estate Marketing, Communication
Union Investment Real Estate GmbH
Tel: +49 40 3491 94160, fax: +49 40 3491 95160 
www.union-investment.com/realestate   

OCAD University’s 97th Graduate Exhibition opens May 3

Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 4:00am

(Toronto—April 11, 2012) The class of 2012 invites the public to join them at OCAD University's 97th annual Graduate Exhibition, featuring work from more than 550 graduating students. The exhibition gets underway with Toronto's biggest exhibition opening party and cultural industry night — with more than 5,000 guests — on Thursday, May 3 from 6:30 to 11 p.m.

New this year, the exhibition features Alumni Day, with special family-friendly programming, a barbeque and exhibition tours on Saturday, May 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Alumni and their families are invited to reconnect with friends, old and new.

OCAD U's annual Graduate Exhibition presents the work of graduating students working in 12 undergraduate programs ranging from drawing and painting, printmaking, photography, criticism and curatorial practice, integrated media and sculpture/installation in the Faculty of Art, to advertising, environmental, industrial and graphic design, illustration and material art and design (jewellery, fibre and ceramics) in the university's Faculty of Design. Each year, the exhibition transforms the university's main building, including the acclaimed Sharp Centre for Design, into the city's biggest exhibition of the year.

The Graduate Exhibition continues until Sunday, May 6 at 5 p.m.

OCAD University's 97th annual Graduate Exhibition
May 3 to 6, 2012

Hours:
Opening Night — Thursday, May 3, 6:30 to 11 p.m. (remarks at 7:30 p.m.)
Friday, May 4, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Alumni Day events from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Sunday, May 6, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

OCAD University - 135 Years of Imagination
100 McCaul Street, Toronto
416-977-6000 |  www.ocadu.ca/gradex

---------------------------------------------------------

OCAD University's Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design (IAMD) graduate students are holding exhibitions across the city in conjunction with our Graduate Exhibition:

Ben Edelberg: Its Teeth in His Body, Out of 60 Dogs
April 27 to May 4
Forgetus Collective
163 Sterling Rd., Unit 29, Toronto

Julian Higuerey Núñez: The Promise of Making
April 24 to May 6
Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects
1086 Queen Street West, Toronto

Susan Campbell: Site Lines: An Exploration of Physical Mapping Practices
April 24 to May 6
Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Projects
1082 Queen Street West, Toronto

Britt Wray: The DIY Body Project
Until August 12
The !dea Gallery at the Ontario Science Centre
770 Don Mills Road, Toronto

About OCAD University (OCAD U)
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca) is Canada's "university of imagination." The University, founded in 1876, is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. OCAD University is building on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies. In the Age of Imagination, OCAD University community members will be uniquely qualified to act as catalysts for the next advances in culture, technology and quality of life for all Canadians.

- 30 -

Download this release as a PDF document.

For more information contact:

Sarah Mulholland, Media & Communications Officer
416-977-6000 Ext. 327 (mobile Ext. 1327)

All Inclusive

All Inclusive
Friday, July 26, 2013 - 8:00pm

An exhibit of work from students in the summer 2013 Inclusive Art, Design and Communication course

Graduate students in OCAD University’s Inclusive Design Program are presenting new artworks that explore the possibilities and challenges of translation, accessibility or inclusivity in art making and art presentations.

The public is invited to view the work on Friday, July 26, 4-6 p.m. in the Open Gallery, 49 McCall Street, Toronto.

The exploration of inclusion in art practice is part of the two-year Master of Design (MDes) in Inclusive Design. This program offers graduate students a unique opportunity to become global leaders in the emerging field of inclusive design in information and communication technologies (ICT) and practices. Inclusive Design encompasses the full range of human diversity including ability, language, culture, gender and age. Led by an accomplished and diverse faculty, our students are urged to think differently in order to break through existing societal barriers to address the growing global demand for inclusively designed digital technologies, products and services.

Participating students include:

Dina Anker
Noelle Campbell-Smith
Karman Chan
Qi Chen
Sarah Crosskey
Andrei Dacko
Jan Derbyshire
Angela Dosis
Sara Durning
Feriyal Hallajarani
Lawrence Kwok
Brandon Laird
Lester Leung
Ambrose Li
Maz Mohad
Vanessa Pfaff
Angela Punshon
Paul Shecter
Mariel Vandeloo

Twitter #allinclusiveshow

 

Free

 

Venue & Address: 
Open Gallery 49 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

Shift: Processes Launch Party

 Shift: Processes Launch Party
Thursday, September 26, 2013 - 11:00pm

Presented by the OCAD U Student Press

The OCAD U Student Press invites you to join us for the launch of the 6th edition of the Shift series. Shift: Processes looks at the creative methods employed by over 20 OCAD U students and alumni and is divided into 3 sections, Unprocessed, Processed, and Post-Processed.

Join us on September 26 at the OCAD U Student Gallery, 52 McCaul St. from 7-10 PM to celebrate the launch and pick up your copy. Books will be sold at $10 for students and $20 for non-students. We look forward to seeing you there!

ABOUT OCAD U STUDENT PRESS:
The OCAD U Student Press is a student-run group based on a model of dissemination, exploration, cross-disciplinary inclusion and community involvement. In addition to our annual publication Shift, we publish Rivet, a bi-annual publication focusing on experimentation and alternative processes. We also run a series of Workshops throughout the year, and host a Pecha Kucha style lecture series called Function that takes place once in the fall and once in the spring.

Visit us online for more information about the Press and our initiatives.

 

www.ocadustudentpress.com

 

Venue & Address: 
OCAD U Student Gallery 52 McCaul Street Toronto, Ontario

Design Abroad: India Exhibition

Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - 4:00am to Friday, September 27, 2013 - 4:00am

opening reception on Tuesday, September 24th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Student exhibition

This week-long exhibition features the work of OCAD University students who participated in Design Abroad: India. This new and exciting course launched in May of this year. Learn about the projects the students accomplished while co-designing with community-based organizations in rural India. The students' individual pieces reflect their experience designing and traveling in India and how this unique opportunity has influenced their own design practice going forward.

Join us in the Great Hall for an opening reception on Tuesday, September 24th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

 

Free

 

Venue & Address: 
Great Hall 100 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario
Design Abroad: India Exhibition with event info and photographs of people in India

Drawing at First Sight

 Drawing at First Sight
Monday, November 4, 2013 - 5:00am to Friday, November 22, 2013 - 5:00am

Reception: Wednesday, November 6, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Light Refreshments

Annual Exhibition for First Year Art & Design

First Year Art & Design at OCAD U welcomes you to highlights of a wide range of drawings produced by students developing both their technical and conceptual skills over the two-dimensional plane.

 

Free

 

Venue & Address: 
Transit Space 100 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

e-Leo exhibit Launch

e-Leo exhibit Launch
Friday, November 29, 2013 - 11:00pm

Main doors (and door to 4905) Open to the Public between 5:30PM to 9:00PM

An interactive gallery showcase of OCAD U student, alumni and faculty work alongside some of the world's top designers

Public opening with gala launch evening featuring tours of the exhibit, a chance to meet the creatives and special guests.

OCAD University's, e-Leo exhibit is an interactive gallery showcase of student, alumni and faculty work alongside some of the world's top designers. OCAD University’s influential and world class Digital Futures undergraduate program combines art, design, technology and enterprise along with core skills. Graduates have a multidisciplinary toolkit to work from that helps them innovate and sets them apart from other designers.

The e-Leo exhibit includes pieces previously exhibited in MOMA and the Smithsonian but seen for the first time in Canada in this exhibit.

Student and Faculty exhibit:
On display:
New and experimental smart products, Augmented reality games, wearable technology, digital and hybrid games, cities of the future, video and sound installations.

A collaborative project between OCAD University’s DFI program and artist Marina Abramović.

Featured works by world renowned design thinkers:
Steve Mann
Edward Gajdel
Tom Barker
Nathan Phillips
Jason Mrdeza
Maryam Nabavi

As part of Project e-Leo the exhibit includes a modern-day recreation of Leonardo da Vinci created by some of Canada’s top design thinkers.

Project e-Leo Academic Research:
Project e-Leo is an academic research study that aims to answer two questions:

• Are the best design universities in the world accepting the most talented multi-disciplinary candidates or is the application process getting in the way?

• Would truly genius multi-disciplinary candidates be accepted to design programs in the world's top universities if they didn’t fit the usual mold?

The study is based around the theory that an ever changing digital world full of social enterprises will require designers with a multi-disciplinary skill set, that a traditional design education does not address. This study is also a challenge to the theory of the ‘T-shaped Designer’ put forth by the IDEO consultancy at the turn of this century which stated that to compete designers would need a core competency (the stem of the ‘T’# and to branch out #the top of the ‘T’) into other areas to be more able to adapt and deliver useful design solutions in a world with a rapid pace of change and technological advancement.

The world's top universities have developed design programs that target this problem of creating multi-disciplinary designers, but has the recruitment process changed along with their curriculum and goals?

For the purpose of this study we determined that a truly multi-disciplinary candidate would have a mix of skills in the areas of science, technology, art and enterprise with a core competency in design. We call this an ‘X-shaped Designer’. The four points of the ‘x’ being art, science, enterprise and technology while the centre of the ‘x’ is a core design competency. We further decided to create a composite character with a portfolio comprising the talents of some of the worlds top design thinkers based on one of the greatest multi-disciplinary design thinkers of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. Hence the project name ‘e-Leo’.

In order to challenge the recruitment process of the design programs we applied to, our modern day Leonardo, like Leonardo da Vinci himself, did not have a formal education. Because the portfolio was comprised of the work of such influential and recognised design thinkers, there should have been no question of talent when applying for these programs. We incorporated Leonardo da Vinci’s own thoughts on design, as well as his own words into the application letters and statements of purpose.

The results of the study were varyingly encouraging and disappointing. Some universities clearly are doing what they say they are and looking for future design innovators, while others are held back by their own application process and protocols.

We will be releasing the exciting results of our study and revealing the design talent included in the e-Leo portfolio in an exhibit hosted by OCAD University in Toronto on November 29th running until December 5th, 2013. The exhibit will also include an academic symposium and industry conference on the subject. The symposium and industry conference are by invitation only, but the exhibit will be open to the public on select days including the launch on November 29th, 2013.

Please Contact:
Sabrina Lindo
Assistant, Digital Futures Initiative
T 416.977.6000 x4581
E slindo@ocadu.ca

Free

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University 49 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

e-Leo exhibit Symposium

e-Leo exhibit Symposium
Thursday, December 5, 2013 - 3:00pm

Main doors (and door to 4905) Open to the Public between 9:00AM to 4:30PM

An interactive gallery showcase of OCAD U student, alumni and faculty work alongside some of the world's top designers

An academic symposium of invited guests from academic institutions in Canada and the United States. The symposium will be hosted by President Dr. Sara Diamond and Tom Barker and will include a workshop, panel discussion and keynote addresses by Steve Mann, Edward Gajdel, Tom Barker and Sara Diamond.

OCAD University's, e-Leo exhibit is an interactive gallery showcase of student, alumni and faculty work alongside some of the world's top designers. OCAD University’s influential and world class Digital Futures undergraduate program combines art, design, technology and enterprise along with core skills. Graduates have a multidisciplinary toolkit to work from that helps them innovate and sets them apart from other designers.

The e-Leo exhibit includes pieces previously exhibited in MOMA and the Smithsonian but seen for the first time in Canada in this exhibit.

Student and Faculty exhibit:
On display:
New and experimental smart products, Augmented reality games, wearable technology, digital and hybrid games, cities of the future, video and sound installations.

A collaborative project between OCAD University’s DFI program and artist Marina Abramović.

Featured works by world renowned design thinkers:
Steve Mann
Edward Gajdel
Tom Barker
Nathan Phillips
Jason Mrdeza
Maryam Nabavi

As part of Project e-Leo the exhibit includes a modern-day recreation of Leonardo da Vinci created by some of Canada’s top design thinkers.

Project e-Leo Academic Research:
Project e-Leo is an academic research study that aims to answer two questions:

• Are the best design universities in the world accepting the most talented multi-disciplinary candidates or is the application process getting in the way?

• Would truly genius multi-disciplinary candidates be accepted to design programs in the world's top universities if they didn’t fit the usual mold?

The study is based around the theory that an ever changing digital world full of social enterprises will require designers with a multi-disciplinary skill set, that a traditional design education does not address. This study is also a challenge to the theory of the ‘T-shaped Designer’ put forth by the IDEO consultancy at the turn of this century which stated that to compete designers would need a core competency (the stem of the ‘T’# and to branch out #the top of the ‘T’) into other areas to be more able to adapt and deliver useful design solutions in a world with a rapid pace of change and technological advancement.

The world's top universities have developed design programs that target this problem of creating multi-disciplinary designers, but has the recruitment process changed along with their curriculum and goals?

For the purpose of this study we determined that a truly multi-disciplinary candidate would have a mix of skills in the areas of science, technology, art and enterprise with a core competency in design. We call this an ‘X-shaped Designer’. The four points of the ‘x’ being art, science, enterprise and technology while the centre of the ‘x’ is a core design competency. We further decided to create a composite character with a portfolio comprising the talents of some of the worlds top design thinkers based on one of the greatest multi-disciplinary design thinkers of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. Hence the project name ‘e-Leo’.

In order to challenge the recruitment process of the design programs we applied to, our modern day Leonardo, like Leonardo da Vinci himself, did not have a formal education. Because the portfolio was comprised of the work of such influential and recognised design thinkers, there should have been no question of talent when applying for these programs. We incorporated Leonardo da Vinci’s own thoughts on design, as well as his own words into the application letters and statements of purpose.

The results of the study were varyingly encouraging and disappointing. Some universities clearly are doing what they say they are and looking for future design innovators, while others are held back by their own application process and protocols.

We will be releasing the exciting results of our study and revealing the design talent included in the e-Leo portfolio in an exhibit hosted by OCAD University in Toronto on November 29th running until December 5th, 2013. The exhibit will also include an academic symposium and industry conference on the subject. The symposium and industry conference are by invitation only, but the exhibit will be open to the public on select days including the launch on November 29th, 2013.

Please Contact:
Sabrina Lindo
Assistant, Digital Futures Initiative
T 416.977.6000 x4581
E slindo@ocadu.ca

 

Free

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University 49 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario

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