Dr. Bonaventure Ndikung named first OCAD U International Curatorial Resident

Dr. Bonaventure Ndikung; photo by Abrie Fourie
Tuesday, July 23, 2019

After an extensive search of candidates internationally,OCAD University has selected Berlin-based curator and biotechnologist Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, PhD, as the first curator of its International Curators Residency (ICR) program. The ambitious new program, supported with a grant from Partners in Art, will be the largest of its kind in Canada. The program will stimulate curatorial research and excellence through an original exhibition at OCAD U’s flagship professional gallery, Onsite Gallery. Curated by Dr. Ndikung, the exhibition will then travel internationally to promote Canadian creators abroad. The ICR program will also create educational opportunities for the OCAD U community and the public, introducing innovative curatorial methods while advancing cultural dialogue on contemporary curatorial practice. 

“We are delighted to announce the selection of Dr. Ndikung as OCAD U’s first curator of our exciting, new International Curatorial Residency,” said Dr. Sara Diamond, President and Vice-Chancellor, OCAD University. “The opportunity to interact closely with innovative international curators will enhance the learning experience for OCAD U students and our community, while heightening international awareness of Toronto as a vibrant contemporary art community. It will build opportunities abroad for Toronto artists. We must take our talent out to the world.”

Born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Dr. Ndikung is an independent curator, author and biotechnologist, and is the founder and artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary Berlin. He was curator-at-large for Documenta 14 in Athens and Kassel, and guest curator of the 2018 Dak'Art Biennale in Senegal. Together with the Miracle Workers Collective, he is curator of the Finland Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2019. Dr. Ndikung is currently guest professor in curatorial studies and sound art at the Städelschule in Frankfurt; artistic director of the 12th Rencontres de Bamako, a biennale for African photography, 2019; as well as artistic director of Sonsbeek 2020, a quadrennial contemporary art exhibition in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

Dr. Ndikung was selected from a shortlist of five international curators by OCAD U’s Curatorial Advisory Committee to develop his project titled, “The Cochlea: Sonic by Nature,” which explores sonority and auditory phenomena in a world saturated with images. 

The three-phase program will begin in January 2020, with the arrival of Dr. Ndikung for his extended residency at OCAD U. The second phase will be the presentation of an original exhibition at Onsite Gallery in early 2022, curated by Dr. Ndikung. In the third phase, the exhibition will tour internationally to a venue that will be announced at the opening of the exhibition in Toronto. 

Partners in Art will support OCAD U on phases one and three. “We are thrilled to be supporting OCAD U in its first cultural residency program. Dr. Ndikung’s international experience and vision will be an incredible asset for Toronto’s multicultural landscape and will also help promote the work of Canadian artists globally,” said Antonella Vergati, Co-President of Partners in Art.  

While in Toronto, Dr. Ndikung will participate in multiple engagements that will include visits with OCAD U classes, local studios, artists and designers, as well as public talks and dialogue with multiple cultural leaders. The program will also include symposia, workshops and publications in order to support and extend scholarly knowledge on contemporary curatorial practices in art, design and new media. 

About OCAD University
OCAD University (www.ocadu.ca)is Canada’s university of the imagination. Founded in 1876, the university is dedicated to art, design and digital media education, practice and research, and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. 

About Partners in Art
Partners in Art (PIA) is a volunteer-led charitable organization that funds contemporary art projects across Canada and around the world. Since 2002, the Toronto-based PIA has raised over $4.7 million and supported 80 projects. PIA collaborates with Canadian curators, arts organizations and museums to fund projects featuring contemporary artists with challenging works and thoughtful perspectives. For more information visit www.partnersinart.ca.

- 30 - 

For more information, please contact:

Natalie Pavlenko
Strategic Communications Officer, OCAD University
416-977-6000 Ext. 475
npavlenko@ocadu.ca

Photo: Abrie Fourie

Curators’ Tour with Heather Igloliorte, Amy Dickson and Charissa von Harringa

Friday, September 27, 2019 - 6:30pm

Curators’ Tour with Heather Igloliorte, Amy Dickson and Charissa von Harringa
Friday, September 27, 2019
6:30 p.m.

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Free event as part of Onsite Gallery's public event program for ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦ ᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ / Among All These Tundras.


Join Heather Igloliorte, Amy Dickson and Charissa von Harringa for a curatorial tour of ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦ ᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ / Among All These Tundras, a group exhibition that features contemporary art by Indigenous artists from around the circumpolar world.

 

Dr. Heather Igloliorte is the University Research Chair in Indigenous Circumpolar Arts at Concordia University in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal, where she also leads the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership SSHRC Partnership Grant and Co-Directs the Initiative for Indigenous Futures Cluster (IIF) in the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology with Professor Jason Edward Lewis. Igloliorte currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Indigenous Circle for the Winnipeg Art Gallery, working on the development of the new national Inuit Art Centre; on the Board of Directors for North America's largest Indigenous art historical association, the Native North American Art Studies Association; is Vice-President of the Inuit Art Foundation; and sits on the Faculty Council of the Otsego Institute for Native American Art History at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, among others.

Amy Dickson is an emerging curator and doctoral student in the Art History program at Concordia University. Her research focuses on the practice of Inuit artists within urban spaces and the role of art in the construction of place. Amy holds a BA and an MA in Art History, both from Carleton University. Her writing has been featured in Inuit Art Quarterly and esse arts + opinions.

Charissa von Harringa is a PhD Researcher in Art History at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from New York University (2007) and an M.A. in Art History from Concordia University (2016). Von Harringa’s academic area of focus lies at the intersection of several fields including Circumpolar, Indigenous, Memory and Performance Studies. Through her doctoral work she examines the media-based practices, archival dispositions, and networked agencies of pan-Inuit and Sámi artists. These are analyzed as they engage past and present Arctic discourse, elaborate new functions of tradition and modernity, and clarify the ever-evolving nexus of theory and practice in contemporary art towards sovereign ends. She has several published essays and reviews in Inuit Art Quarterly and RACAR: revue d'art canadienne / Canadian Art Review, among others.

 

ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦ ᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ
Among All These Tundras

September 18 to December 7, 2019

ᐊᓯᓐᓇᔭᖅ
asinnajaq
ᓛᑯᓗᒃ ᐅᐃᓕᐊᒻᓴᓐ ᐸᑦᑑᕆ
Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory
ᑲᕈᓚ ᑯᕋᕼᐊᓐ
Carola Grahn
ᒫᔾᔭ ᕼᐋᓕᓐᑐ ᐅᓇᓗ ᓵᒥ ᕕᓐᓚᓐᒥᐅᑕᖅ
Marja Helander
ᖃᑉᓗᓯᐊᖅ
Kablusiak
ᓵᓐᔭ ᑲᓕᕼᐅ-ᑰᒻᔅ
Sonya Kelliher-Combs
ᔪᐊᖅ ᓇᓐᑰ
Joar Nango
ᑕᕐᕋᓕᒃ ᐹᑐᔨ
Taqralik Partridge
ᐱᐅᓕ ᐸᑐ
Barry Pottle
ᐃᓅᑎᖅ ᓯᑐᐊᑦᔅ
Inuuteq Storch
ᑲᔨᓐ ᐸᓐ ᕼᐅᕕᓕᓐ
Couzyn van Heuvelen
ᐊᓕᓴᓐ ᐊᑰᑦᓲᒃ ᒍᐊᑕᓐ
Allison Akootchook Warden

ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᑲᒪᔨᑦ: Hᐃᑐ ᐃᒡᓗᓕᐅᖅᑎ, ᐋᐃᒥ ᐳᕈᑎ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᕆᓴ ᐹᓐ ᕼᐃᐅᓕᒐ
Curated by Heather Igloliorte, Amy Dickson and Charissa von Harringa

ᓴᕿᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑐᓂᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᑖᒃᑯᓇᖓᑦ ᓕᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐲᓇ ᐊᓕᓐ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ, ᑳᓐᑯᑎᐊ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᕕᒃᔪᐊᖅ
Produced and circulated by the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University

Among All These Tundras, a title taken from the poem ‘My Home Is in My Heart’ by famed Sámi writer Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, features contemporary art by Indigenous artists from around the circumpolar world. Together, their works politically and poetically express current Arctic concerns towards land, language, sovereignty and resurgence. Click here to read more.

Produced and circulated by: Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University
Patron Sponsor: Birch Hill Equity Partners
Supported by: Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Mobilizing Inuit Cultural Heritage), Initiative for Indigenous Futures and Nexus Investments

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays to Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

Onsite Gallery acknowledges that the new gallery construction project is funded in part by the Government of Canada's Canada Cultural Spaces Fund at Canadian Heritage, the City of Toronto through a Section 37 agreement and Aspen Ridge Homes; with gallery furniture by Nienkämper. Onsite Gallery logo by Dean Martin Design.

 

Image: asinnajaq, Rock Piece (Ahuriri edition), 2018. Video still. Video, colour, sound, 4 min. 2 sec.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery: 199 Richmond St. West
Website: 
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/curators-tour-with-heather-igloliorte-amy-dickson-and-charissa-von-harringa-tickets-69783208455
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
asinnajaq, Rock Piece (Ahuriri edition), 2018. Video still. Video, colour, sound, 4 min. 2 sec.

Call for Applications - Gallery 44 Curatorial Project Assistant

Gallery 44 is a dynamic space and a leading artist-run centre led by a dedicated group of artists, curators and educators, and is currently seeking a part time Curatorial Project Assistant. Reporting directly to the Executive Director and Curator of Exhibitions and Public Programs, the Curatorial Project Assistant will contribute to the research, development and realization of an online exhibition and adjacent programming. 

Call for Applications - Gallery 44 Curatorial Project Assistant

Call for Applications - Gallery 44 Curatorial Project Assistant
Thursday, November 22, 2018 - 12:00pm to Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - 12:00pm

OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

DEADLINE: Wednesday, December 3, 2018
RATE: $16.5/ hour for 14 hours/ week
TERM: Part-time, January – December 2019 (48 weeks) 

Gallery 44 is a dynamic space and a leading artist-run centre led by a dedicated group of artists, curators and educators, and is currently seeking a part time Curatorial Project Assistant. Reporting directly to the Executive Director and Curator of Exhibitions and Public Programs, the Curatorial Project Assistant will contribute to the research, development and realization of an online exhibition and adjacent programming. The exhibition will be released in five chapters between Spring2019 and Winter 2020, and will functions as a hybrid online gallery/publication.

The Curatorial Project Assistant will work directly with artists, guest curators, designers, and Gallery 44 staff. This is a 14 hour per week position that runs from January 29 to October 31,2019. Strong knowledge of contemporary and historical photography, and digital art and culture is an asset.

Gallery 44 is committed to equity and diversity in all aspects of its operations. G44 welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and strongly encourages applications from members of equity-seeking communities, including women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions. If you are contacted for an interview, please advise us of any accommodations needed to ensure you have access to a fair and equitable process.

 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Organizes research for each chapter of Gallery 44’s upcoming online exhibition. 
  • Assembles and organizes all content, images, biographies and logos.
  • Organizes programming logistics for associated artist talks, performances, workshops and panel discussions. This may include booking hotels and flights. 
  • Assists in the preparation of materials for communication and marketing. 
  • Maintains excellent, timely and professional communication with artists, curators and designers.
  • Organizes and maintains artist and curator related information on shared database
  • Manages and maintains all aspects of the publication’s website
  • General administrative assistance as needed

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Must have graduated from OCADU in 2017 or 2018
  • Strong communication skills and professionalism verbally and in writing
  • Demonstrated research and presentation skills
  • Demonstrated experience with project management and logistics coordination
  • A good attention to detail, time-keeping and organizational skills
  • Computer skills: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite. MAC iOS.    
  • Website management experience
  • Experience in writing and editing exhibition and catalogue text is an asset 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

  • Full contact information (Name, phone, and email), a confirmation of eligibility and a current Resume.
  • A cover letter outlining interest and relevant background.
  • A short one-page writing sample.
  • 1 – 2 References 

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTION

Please submit all written components in one (1) PDF to the attention of Tak Pham tpham@ocadu.ca

For more information, visit the Career Launchers Website

Venue & Address: 
Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography 401 Richmond St W #120 Toronto, ON M5V 3A8
Website: 
https://careerlaunchers.format.com/5854651-2019-g44-curatorial-project-assistant
Email: 
tpham@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 Ext. 361
Cost: 
N/A

Call for Applications - Critical Distance Centre for Curators Design & Comms Assistant

Working with the Director and fellow team members atCritical Distance, the Design & Communications Assistant supports and contributes to the development and implementation of strategic outreach/marketing initiatives and provides design and production support for print/digital materials relating to our exhibitions, publications, website, social media feeds, and newsletters. 

Call for Applications - Toronto Biennale of Art: Curatorial Assistant

The Toronto Biennial of Art (TBA) is accepting applications for a full-time position of Curatorial Assistant. An ideal candidate must have a view to inclusivity and diversity, building capacity and changing the landscape of future Canadian leaders in arts and culture. 

OCAD University mourns the loss of Mary MacDonald

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Canada has lost a celebrated artist, curator and writer, OCAD U alumna Mary MacDonald (MFA, Criticism & Curatorial Practice, 2012).

Born in Nova Scotia, MacDonald was a well-known figure in the arts communities of St. John's NL and Atlantic Canada. She ran the Eastern Edge gallery in St. John’s from 2012 to 2015. She was also one of the founders of Girls Rock NL, a mentorship program and summer camp that provides girls and women opportunities to empower themselves through musical expression and education.

In 2014, MacDonald was selected by ARTINFO as one of Canada's 30 under 30.

She passed away in St. John's on July 18, 2017, surrounded by her family and close friends. Her obituary can be found at CBC.ca.