CURRENT: Digital Futures Graduate Exhibition 2017

Current DF Thesis Show
Thursday, April 13, 2017 - 6:00pm to 9:00pm

OPENING
Thursday, April 13, 2017 - 6:00 PM (EDT)

EXHIBITION CONTINUES
Saturday, April 15 - 12:00–6:00 PM
Monday, April 17 - 12:00–6:00 PM
Tuesday, April 18 - 12:00–6:00 PM

CURRENT
Noun: a flow of electricity which results from the ordered directional movement of electrically charged particles; a body of water or air moving in a definite direction; the course of events. Adjective: belonging to or existing in the present time; happening now.

Digital Futures Graduate Exhibition 2017
The Digital Futures Graduate Exhibition is an annual event hosted by Graduate Studies at OCAD University and our partners the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Media Lab.

CURRENT features the Master's thesis projects of 12 Digital Futures graduate students. Thesis work ranges from augmented and virtual reality to digital and electronic fabrication, holography, digital artworks, serious games, data visualisation, transmedia storytelling and immersive audio-visual environments.

Exhibitors
Michael Carnevale
Margarita Castro
Ling Ding
Marcus Gordon
Leon Lu
Marcelo Müller Luft
Jordan Shaw
Nimrah Syed
Fusun Uzun
Egill Runar Vidarsson
Jazmine Yerbury
Davidson Minsheng Zheng

CURRENT is presented by:

CFC Media Lab and OCAD University

Venue & Address: 
Open Space Gallery 49 McCaul Street Toronto, ON M5T 1V7
Email: 
monica.virtue@gmail.com
Cost: 
Free

DF Talk x Talk Industry Panel Discussion

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 - 4:00pm to 7:00pm

Digital Futures work with industry partners in a range of ways from the classroom to student placements to research collaborations. Each year we organize events for our students to connect with industry partners with the intent of building meaningful relationships that lead to future work opportunities.

Panellists include:

- Brittney Oberfeld, Producer, Kids and General Entertainment, Digital, Corus Entertainment and Miranda Madden, DF Undergrad

- Leona McCharles, Customer Experience, Transformation and Organizational Change Management Executive, RBC and Matt Crans and Karina Kurmanbayeva, DF Undergrad

- Vlad Dascalu, Entrepreneur, PinchVR and Parth Soni, DF Undergrad

Join us for this series of panel discussions in which our students and industry partners talk about their experience of student placements. The discussion will identify tips, techniques and best practice approaches for successful placements.

Venue & Address: 
Room 510, 205 Richmond Street West
Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1741294826181038/
DF Talk x Talk Industry Panel Discussion

Digital Futures & CFC Media Lab welcome Kanien'kehá:ka artist Skawennati

Skawennati: Becoming Sky Woman
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - 6:30pm

Skawennati makes art that addresses history, the future, and change. Her pioneering new media projects have been widely presented across Turtle Island in major exhibitions such as Now? NOW! at Denver’s Biennial of the Americas; and Looking Forward (L’Avenir) at the Montreal Biennale. She has been honoured to win imagineNative’s 2009 Best New Media Award as well as a 2011 Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship. Her work in is included in both public and private collections. Born in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, Skawennati graduated with a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, where she is based. She is Co-Director of Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC), a research network of artists and academics who investigate and create Indigenous virtual environments. Their Skins workshops in Aboriginal Storytelling and Experimental Digital Media are aimed at empowering youth. In 2015 they launched IIF, the Initiative for Indigenous Futures. www.skawennati.com

Venue & Address: 
205 Richmond St. W. Room 115
Email: 
cporemba@faculty.ocadu.ca
Cost: 
Free all welcome!
Skawennati Flyer

Student Maya Wilson-Sanchez’s work featured on ROM website

Monday, March 13, 2017

Current BA (Honours) in Visual and Critical Studies student Maya Wilson-Sanchez's text "Collaboration, Family and Photography: The Process of Creating an Installation for the Family Camera Exhibition" is featured on the ROM's blog. Maya gives an overview of the Family Camera project through her participation in the Digital Futures Graduate Program course “Special Topic: Family Camera at the ROM.” The Sesquicentennial Exhibition The Family Camera will launch at the ROM in May 2017.  

The Exhibition will examine ideas surrounding the contemporary Canadian family through vernacular photography and the changing definitions of family, experiences of migration, memory and mementos. "The Family Camera" project asks the questions: What are family photographs? How do they shape our memories? How do they mediate our experiences of migration? What can they tell us about our national histories? 

The Family Camera opens May 6 at the Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park.

 

 

 

Three OCAD U teams heading to the Hult Prize regional finals

Strategic Foresight and Innovation
Friday, February 3, 2017

Students from the Strategic Foresight and Innovation (SFI) graduate program and the Digital Futures (DFI) program are on their way to the next level of the million-dollar Hult Prize competition on March 3, 2017.

The Hult Prize Foundation is a start-up accelerator for social entrepreneurs emerging from the world’s universities. The goal of the annual competition is to create and launch the most compelling social business ideas—start-up enterprises that tackle issues faced by billions of people. Winners receive $1 million U.S. in seed capital, as well as mentorship and advice from the international business community.

The 2017 Hult Prize "President's Challenge" is "Refugees - Reawakening Human Potential" and will focus on restoring the rights and dignity of people and societies who may be, or are forced into motion due to social injustices, politics, economic pressures, climate change and war. We will also work to restore the rights and dignity of those currently living in informal / illegal settlements. Our aim is to reach 10M by 2022 and believe young people and their collective wisdom is the only way forward. This challenge was selected by President Bill Clinton and announced at the 2016 Hult Prize Finals and Awards program New York.

The OCAD University teams:

Competing in Boston: Team Hive  

Collective Farming in Refugee Camps

Team Hive’s DIY Modular Indoor Farming Kit hopes to capture the talent and knowledge of the people in refugee camps. The kit is a self-contained low-tech module that will give people the opportunity to grow their own produce and redistribute to the local economy. The kits are designed with the concept of biomimicry - looking to nature to see how bees have created a community. Team Hive hopes to inspire the same sense of a collective community with the kits. Each module will be able to connect to another which will allow a larger system to be built over time, thus increasing the production capabilities within refugee camps.

  • Tania De Gasperis (SFI)
  • Daniel Ura  (SFI)
  • Sugeevan Shanmuganathan (DFI - undergraduate) 
  • Manik Gunatilleke (DFI - graduate)

Competing in London: Team Sage

Turning camps into classrooms without the need for internet connections or physical spaces.

As a universal right, education gives people the baseline skills to thrive, but for many children living in refugee camps, access to education is not guaranteed.

What if refugees could receive education without interruption? What if it was low cost, used existing infrastructure, and even created employment opportunities?

Using the smartphone that nearly every refugee already has, Sage turns refugee camps into classrooms without the need for internet connections or physical spaces. A mobile education solution, Sage uses mesh networks to connect students with tutors, and provides the necessary curriculum for them to continue their education while living in uncertainty.

  • Courtney Cooper (SFI)
  • Vince Galante  (SFI)
  • Ziyan Hossain  (SFI)
  • Lisa Hart   (SFI)

Competing in Shanghai: Team Forsati  

A mobile platform for economic resilience within refugee camps

What if a refugee could capitalize on the time they spend waiting in a refugee camp? What if the “wait” was not an obstacle, but an asset, to economic mobility? Forsati, which translates to “My Opportunity” in Arabic, is a simple but powerful mobile platform that helps refugees find safe work opportunities within a camp. Whether they have resources to rent, baking to sell, childcare to offer or trade skills to employ, Forsati can help connect them with the right buyer. Meanwhile, an authenticated work history log tracks completed jobs and compiles them into an accessible, usable résumé for life after the camp.

  • Alastair Woods (SFI)
  • Jessica Thornton (SFI)
  • Lindsay Clarke  (SFI)

 

 

Family Camera at the ROM - Digital Futures Graduate Student Projects

picture of Digital Furtures graduate students
Wednesday, December 21, 2016 - 5:00am

At Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum in mid December, students from the Digital Futures Graduate Program course “Special Topic: Family Camera at the ROM” presented their proposals for interactive installations to become part of the upcoming Sesquicentennial Exhibition “The Family Camera” which will launch at the ROM in May 2017.  

“The Family Camera” will examine ideas surrounding the contemporary Canadian family through vernacular photography and the changing definitions of family, experiences of migration, memory and mementos. "The Family Camera" project asks the questions: What are family photographs? How do they shape our memories? How do they mediate our experiences of migration? And what can they tell us about about our national histories? 

Three student groups presented their interactive proposals to an esteemed audience of curators and ROM staff members connected to the upcoming exhibition. The class presented on three self defined themes: family photography and the domestic space, family photography as performance, and family photos in the private and public spheres. 

This course, which continues in the winter to develop and execute the interactive exhibition theme chosen by the ROM, is led by Dr. Martha Ladly, and “The Family Camera” curators Dr. Jennifer Orphana and Dr. Julie Crooks. This class is also mentored by lead curator Dr. Deepali Dewan and ROM Exhibition Manager Steven Laurie. Participating students are Samaa Ahmed, Bijun Chen, Margarita Castro, Mudit Ganguly, Afaq Ahmed Karadia, Annette Mangaard, Ania Medrek, Katie Micak, Natasha Mody, Maya Wilson- Sanchez, and April Xie.

Find out more about "The Family Camera" at https://www.rom.on.ca/en/ROMfamcam and http://familycameranetwork.org/

For more on the Digital Futures program: www.ocadu.ca/academics/graduate-studies/digital-futures.htm

INT VAR VOID - end of semester showcase

Monday, December 12, 2016 - 11:00pm to Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 2:00am

Creation & Computation is a course in the first year of OCAD U's Digital Futures graduate program in which students learn to create works using programming, physical computing, visual computation, networking and connectivity.

Come join us for our end-of-semester showcase “INT VAR VOID” where we will be sharing selected projects from a series of five rigourous 2-week experiments. Works exhibited include games, art installations, design prototypes, and more.

Be sure to bring your smartphone fully charged as we will have several opportunities for participation via a mobile device.

Please RSVP to int var void event at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/int-var-void-creation-computation-2016-showcase-tickets-29582332553

Venue & Address: 
Graduate Gallery, ground floor, 205 Richmond Street West
Website: 
http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/int-var-void-creation-computation-2016-showcase-tickets-29582332553
Cost: 
FREE
poster for INT VAR VOID

Student Gallery Exhibition features IAMD and DF Students

image of work by Katie Kotler
Thursday, October 13, 2016 - 10:00pm to Friday, November 11, 2016 - 11:00pm

The current exhibition at the OCAD U Student Gallery, Escape to Camp CMYK, features work by current Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design student Eli Schwanz and recent alumna of the Digital Futures graduate program, Katie Kotler.

More about the exhibition:

"Escape to Camp CMYK is an augmented campground, an experiential landscape that expels the stresses of everyday life, through the interplay of both the virtual and the physical. Entering through the campground’s trails, reveals an immersive space filled with hypnotic campfire, celestial light play, and an alien canopy. Exploring the campground divulges a performance that embodies the search for physical and mental serenity. Escape to Camp CMYK creates an experimental environment that is submerged in tranquility, by the use of everyday objects, light, and technology."

EXhibiton open from Wednesday - Saturday, 12:00 - 6:00pm

Exhibiting Artists Websites:

Katie Kotler: https://katiekotler.com/

Sooyeong Lee: http://www.sooyeonglee.com/

Eli Schwanz: http://www.elischwanz.com/

Carson Teal: http://www.carsonteal.com/

Bonnie Tung: http://www.bonnietung.ca/
 

More on the OCAD U Student Gallery: http://www.ocadu.ca/gallery/student-gallery.htm

More on the Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design program: http://www.ocadu.ca/academics/graduate-studies/interdisciplinary-masters-in-art-media-and-design.htm

More on the Digital Futures program: http://www.ocadu.ca/academics/graduate-studies/digital-futures.htm

Venue & Address: 
OCAD U Student Gallery, 52 McCaul Street
Website: 
http://www.ocadu.ca/gallery/student-gallery.htm
Email: 
studentgallery@ocadu.ca
Cost: 
FREE

Faculty member’s game launches with new Sony Playstation VR

Logo image: Super hyper cube
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - 4:00am

A video game designed by Cindy Poremba, faculty member in the Digital Futures program, is accompanying the launch of the highly anticipated Sony PlayStation VR on October 13. Superhypercube is a creation of Kokoromi Collective, made up of Poremba, Heather Kelley, Phil Fish and Damien diFede.

PlayStation VR is a new virtual reality head-mounted gaming display that works with the PlayStation 4 video game console. Reviewers who have received advance access to the game are giving it high praise. As one writer put it “when I’m not playing Superhypercube, I’m wishing I were playing Superhypercube. It’s a deep, beautiful, and superbly crafted arcade puzzle experience.”

Game description from Kokoromi:

Superhypercube is a VR "first person puzzler" with classic controls and intuitive shape-matching gameplay. You control a group of cubes and rotate it to fit through a hole in a wall that is constantly moving toward you. Each time you fit through another wall without crashing, more cubes are added to your cluster. Head tracking is critical in the game – as your cluster of cubes gets bigger, you will need to lean around it to see the hole and quickly determine what rotations to make.

 

 

 

Digital Futures (DF) & CFC Media Lab Present: A Very VR Afternoon w/ Hector Garcia & Michael Naimark

Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Digital Futures (DF), Graduate Studies (GS) in Partnership with CFC Media Lab Present… A Very VR Afternoon

Wednesday, October 12th

1:00PM – 4:00PM VA Lab,

Room 720, 205 Richmond St. W.

OCAD University

1:00PM – 2:30PM

Hector Centeno Garcia

Digital Futures graduate and researcher

"Sitting Under a Highway” VR Presentation and Demonstration

Sitting under a highway is a research-creation project by Hector Centeno Garcia and presented as an interactive audiovisual virtual and presential space. By wearing a head-mounted display (VR), a hand tracking device, headphones and an electroencephalography band, the audience experiences photorealistic 3D visuals and spatial audio that are the product of an artistic practice centred on the attentive aesthetic exploration of a physical place. - See more at: http://www.ocadu.ca/academics/graduate-studies/digital-futures.htm#sthash.Lq3htrWZ.J47zaAV7.dpuf

The virtual reality space that the user inhabits is activated through the combined measurement of concentration and relaxation through an EEG reader. A hand tracker allows the user to also physically interact in space. Through mindfulness we engage with the environment, in the hope that art created with such processes can contribute to a better understanding of the disconnect that exists between post-modern society and our inhabited places. Awarded Best Creative Work and Best Thesis Document, Digital Futures Graduate Program, OCAD University.

http://hcenteno.net/about.html

2:30PM – 3:00PM Break: social discussion and refreshments

3:00PM – 4:00PM

Michael Naimark 

Guest artist, inventor, scholar, and coach in emergent media and immersive experiences

Presentation and discussion on VR Cinematography

Michael Naimark is a media artist and researcher who often explores "place representation" and its impact on culture, and is actively engaged in understanding the dynamics between art and technology, with an uncanny track record of art projects presaging widespread adoption, often by decades. He is noted in the histories of Google Street ViewProjection Mapping, and Virtual Reality (and, some claim, the Facebook Like Button); and in ongoing work with cinematic crowdsourcinglive global video, and cultural heritage. Michael has directed projects with support from Apple, Disney, Atari, Panavision, Lucasfilm, Interval, and Google; and from National Geographic, UNESCO, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Exploratorium, the Banff Centre, Ars Electronica, the ZKM, and the Paris Metro. He occasionally serves as faculty at USC Cinema's Interactive Media Division, NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, and the MIT Media Lab.

http://www.naimark.net/

Venue & Address: 
Wednesday, October 12th 1:00PM – 4:00PM VA Lab, Room 720, 205 Richmond St. W. OCAD University
Website: 
http://www.ocadu.ca/graduate-studies
Email: 
gradstudies@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416 977 6000 x423
Cost: 
Free
VR Poster

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