Connecting Entrepreneurial Feminists Changing the World

The Entrepreneurial Feminist Forum 2018
Sunday, December 2, 2018 - 10:00am to Monday, December 3, 2018 - 4:00pm

We have a fantastic line up of 2 Movement Sessions, 9 Workshops, 3 "Lightning Talks" Sessions and 3 Foundational Talks by OCAD U’s own Dr. Dori Tunstall (decolonized feminism and design), Carol Anne Hilton (Indigenomics) and Dr. CV Harquail (What Makes a Business Feminist?) along with many others! To check out the latest agenda and sing up for your ticket, visit feministforums.com.

We are happy to provide OCAD U students with a discounted ticket price of at $99 with a valid ID.

Venue & Address: 
Daniel Spectrum
Phone: 
416-219-1456
Cost: 
$99 discounted for OCAD U Students
Keywords: 
Digital Screen: 

Thinking Through Craft and the Digital Turn

Thinking Through Craft and the Digital Turn is an ongoing research project.

Notions of craft and working by hand are inextricably linked in the popular imagination. Yet today's craft studios feature technological innovations such as 3D printing, laser cutting and computerized textile machinery. Students, faculty and technicians, in university studio departments, develop and explore the relationship of handwork to digital technologies daily. This study focuses on questions of how digital technologies intersect and combine with traditional, mechanical and hand fabrication processes, particularly the possible affordances of digital technology through embodied learning, a pedagogy of the whole body not just the intellect. The discourse is complex, however, autonomy and agency---the control of creative methods and output through materiality, tools and process---are central concerns in craft methodology. We interrogate the concepts of re- and deskilling as they pertain to craft and the digital turn.

In 2016, a study titled Craft, Pedagogy and the Digital Challenge sought to consider the place of teaching and learning digital craft at OCAD University from the perspectives of faculty, staff, and technicians. It identified the challenges of merging traditional techniques with the digital tools within an institution and finding ways of improving the gap between students, faculty, staff, technicians, and their work. OCAD Faculty, staff, and technicians who teach and facilitate traditional and digital craft methods provided insight and their perspectives through interviews.

Project Team:

     Dr. Lynne Heller (Material Art & Design) - Principal Investigator
     Dorie Millerson (Chair, Material Art & Design) - Principal Investigator
     Claire Bartleman - Graduate Research Assistant
     Ellie Manning - Undergraduate Research Assistant and Videographer
     Enna Kim - Undergraduate Research Assistant
     Keiko Hart - Research Assistant

Summary of study:

This research was inspired by the teaching environment of the Material Art and Design program, which includes the study of ceramics, jewellery and textiles practices. Research questions included, "What is the relationship between craft making traditions and the advent of advanced digital tools, and what are the pedagogical implications of that confluence"?

A number of faculty, staff and technicians who teach or facilitate digital craft methods were asked to participate in an interview for the Thinking Through Craft and The Digital Turn project. After consenting to participate in an interview and video, participants were given a list of questions in advance. Questions asked participants to discuss experiences in learning and teaching digital craft methods with reference to how they set goals or evaluate digital processes and what they see as the future of digital craft teaching. During the interviews PIs Heller and Millerson encouraged participants to answer or expand the questions in their own ways, which led to a variety of findings.

During the interviews RA Ellie Manning documented audio and visual material to create a video that was used in part to frame the presentation at the Canadian Craft Biennal (CCB) Conference on September 15th, 2017. In addition to the video, RA Claire Bartleman and PI Lynne Heller created a Research Wall in the host lab, the Data Materialization Studio. The Research Wall facilitated a visual and research-creation approach to the data collected and the theoretical stances being explored.

After the interviews, the research team chose a quote from each interview that best represented its participant. Quotes were then incorporated into posters designed by PI Lynne Heller. The posters were hung in the entrance to OCAD U during CCB conference proceedings. The intention in documenting and attributing quotes was to give a voice to the participants and draw attention to the findings of the project. The posters utilized a suffrage banner format as a framing device (based on the poster Standing Together ... by the National Women's Party, 1913-1920, as photographed in the exhibition Agitprop! at the Brooklyn Museum in 2016 by Alex Kittle).

The CCB Conference was well-attended and Hands on the Tech: Craft, Pedagogy and the Digital Challenge was scheduled for the session "Making Education: The Changing Nature of Teaching Craft", which was facilitated by PI Dorie Millerson and included papers from across the world. Heller and Millerson summarized their findings through the video, which was followed by a PowerPoint presentation. Afterwards, in a lively Q&A session, members of the audience asked questions about approaches to intersectional feminism within this context. The CPDC team described teaching practices that encourage students to investigate their own identities through their work and commented that there is an unequal gender representation in Material Art & Design that should be better understood and discussed. 

Moving forward, the Thinking Through Craft and The Digital Turn team is engaging student voices and collecting the findings, along with theoretical analysis, into an edited anthology focused on the relationship between teaching and learning digital craft. In order to expand the research across Canada the team has also applied for an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

The research team realizes the world of digital craft is a complicated topic that requires more time to theorize than simply referring to the binaries of digital and analogue. The team believes in providing a voice to OCAD U faculty, staff and technicians and is looking forward to extending this opportunity to students. The Principal Investigators are developing more research with the Faculty and Curriculum Development Centre along with pursuing more funding to augment this initial pilot project.

Click here to view the Craft, Pedagogy and the Digital Challenge video recorded and edited by Ellie Manning, Undergraduate Research Assistant.

A note on the Posters: The quotes that appear on the posters below were developed from each of the inverviews undertaken and include two quotes from the Principal Investigators. The posters were an amalgam of both digital and analogue techniques. The banner image is based on the sufragette banner Standing Together ..., by the National Women's Party, 1913-1920 (as photographed by Alex Kittle in the exhibition Agitprop! at the Brooklyn Museum, 2016). The quotes were 'typeset' in Photoshop and then the posters were printed in black and white. Researchers then hand-coloured the posters using pastels.

The posters are currently being exhibited in OCAD U's Office of Research and Innovation and Faculty and Curriculum Development Centre.

Photograph of CPDC posters exhibited on a wall at OCAD U.
Photograph of PIs Dr. Lynne Heller and Dorie Millerson and Head of Instructional Services Daniel Payne in front of a poster.
Poster reading "Beautiful expensive machines are pretty useless if people do not know how to use them" - Nick Hooper
Poster reading "I like working with the malfunctioning of a computer as the focus of investigation" - Stan Krzyzanovski
Poster reading "It is rare that you just push a button and the hand is not further involved in the making" - Marie O'Mahony
Poster reading "Materiality is the message" - Lynne Heller
Poster reading "Machines do not run themselves" - Laurie Wassink
Poster reading "Whether it is digital or analogue the subjectivity of the maker is paramount" - Kathleen Morris
Poster reading "The digital privileges the design process over making" - Dorie Millerson
Poster reading "The digital calls into question the whole meaning of craft" - Greg Sims
Poster reading "The term rapid prototyping is somewhat of a misnomer" - Darrell Currington
Poster reading "How can we use this technology but make it human" - Chung-Im Kim
Photograph of Lynne Heller and Dorie Millerson speaking about their research to faculty and students at OCAD U
Photograph of viewers examining the hung posters
Saturday, January 26, 2019 - 10:30am

FEMINIST ART CONFERENCE OF TORONTO

Tuesday, January 10, 2017 - 5:00am to Saturday, January 21, 2017 - 5:00am

An international and intersectional celebration of multidisciplinary arts

Feminist Art Conference (FAC) is a Toronto-based organization that brings together artists, academics, and activists to consider feminist issues through art and dialogue. Join us at OCADU on January 21st, 2017 for an incredible line-up of artists, speakers, and panels. The conference registration is on a sliding scale, with PWYC options available by emailing FACpwyc@gmail.com.

Learn more at www.factoronto.org including FAC satellite events, which are free to attend!

 

Our upcoming conference is taking place on at OCAD University on January 21st, 2017, with an accompanying exhibition running from January 10th to January 21st. 

Facebook Invite

 

Special FREE CODE for any OCADU students wishing to attend: OCADUSTUDENT

REGISTER HERE

 

Artist Panels:

Toys, Tools, and Tricks of the Trade: Redefining the Domestic Sphere
Bare Bodies: Metaphor, Expression and Self-Realization
Resilient Bodies: Class, Work and Worth
Shared Secrets and Systemic Violence Exposed
Stories of Power: Observations of Becoming
Cultural Hybrids: Decolonizing and Reconstructing Identities

Community Panels:

Liisbeth: Gender, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Black Futures Now: Organize This! The Ethics, Politics and Joys of Organizing a Black Feminist Conference
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario
Feminist Art Gallery and York University: Queering Feminist Art Class Presents and Interactive Panel

Closing Keynote Performance: Sadie Buck interviewed by Erika Iserhoff - Kwe Performance Series presented by Native Women in the Arts. 

Other FAC Events (No Registration Required - Open to the public and Free or PWYC)
January 8th - Exhibition at OCADU, Runs Until January 22nd
January 15th - Sketch Exhibition Satellite Show at York University (Crossroads Gallery), Runs until February 6th FREE 
January 16th - IRIS Satellite Show at University of Toronto - OISE, Opening January 16th 5:30 - 7:30 with Panel Discussion - FREE
January 17th - Activate TO Panel: Art(s) & Crafts & Feminism 7:00 pm, location TBA - FREE
January 18th THE MAGIC HOUR - Theatre Performance by Jess Dobkin at the Theatre Centre at 8:00 pm (Note an ASL performance will take place on January 13th ) 
January 19th - Reception for Exhibition at OCADU, 7:00 - 10:00 pm with performances TBA - PWYC 
January 20th - Screening of The Apology at OCADU Room 190 at 7:00 pm (pay what you can at the door)

 

 

Venue & Address: 
The Great Hall, OCAD U
Feminist Art Conference Poster

Feminist Art Conference

FAC round logo with red text
Thursday, September 24, 2015 - 4:00am to Sunday, September 27, 2015 - 4:00am

Feminist Art for Social Justice

The third annual feminist art conference will provide an opportunity for feminist issues to be explored and communicated artistically in a unique and creative space that encourages sharing, creating and discussion.

Our Vision

The mission for the Feminist Art Conference (FAC) is inspired by attacks on women’s and transgender rights in Canada, the US and abroad. Issues such as rape culture, trans phobia, racism, violence, media and political representation, cultural appropriation, online harassment, environmental degradation and impact on Indigenous lands, missing and murdered Indigenous women, and Islamophobic policies are areas of deep concern. These infringements on our right to agency and independence have been occurring in alarming numbers in our governments, in the media and in our communities. This conference provides an opportunity for these issues to be explored and communicated artistically in a unique and creative space that encourages sharing, creating and discussion. In the centuries old tradition of people organizing we believe that by coming together and communicating about these issues through our artistic practice, that we can initiate progressive change and spark collaborations accross disciplines.

Our Mission

We are looking for multidisciplinary art and workshop submissions including: visual art, film, theatre arts, music, dance, design, spoken word and literature. We will create a space that is celebratory,positive, intellectually engaging and provocative. We are committed to this space being trans inclusive, anti-racist, and intersectional. Furthermore, by providing an opportunity for feminist artists to meet and share their work, we believe we can provide opportunities for networking and future artistic collaboration that can inspire social change and empowerment. We have the vision that the ripple effect from this type of artistic sharing and learning can provoke positive transformations in both our communities and our minds.

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, Toronto
Website: 
http://www.factoronto.org vimeo.com/110169380
Email: 
torontofac@gmail.com

Feminist Art Conference

Logo with FAC in the middle in a red font
Thursday, March 6, 2014 - 5:00am to Saturday, March 8, 2014 - 5:00am

A Multidisciplinary Art Conference Inspired by Feminism

Conference Timeline
March 3-8 Exhibition 12:00 - 6:00 pm
Beaver Hall Gallery, 29 McCaul Street

March 6, Reception 7:00 - 11:00 pm
Beaver Hall Gallery, 29 McCaul Street

March 7, Screening 6:00 - 10: 00 pm
OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street

March 8, Conference 12:00 - 7:30 pm
OCAD University, 100 Mc Caul Street

Conference Video
http://vimeo.com/86289106

Registration
PWCY at the door: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/feminist-art-conference-2014-tickets-10510568393

Feature artists include d'bi young, who will open the conference with a keynote, and Suzy Lake, who will close the conference in conversation with Johanna Householder.

About
Feminist Art Conference (FAC) is a Toronto-based organization that brings together artists, academics and activists to consider feminist issues through art. Founded in 2013
by artist Ilene Sova, FAC began initially as an event to link feminist artists with each other, as well as to provide a forum in which to discuss our content. A call for organizing help was included in the first call for submissions and a large committee
was formed to organize FAC 2013 on March 9th for International Women's Day. The first Feminist Art Conference caught the interest of over 70 participating artists and 175 attendees from Canada and the US. With astounding interest both nationally and internationally, the FAC Committee made an on-going commitment to facilitating interdisciplinary and inclusive arenas for feminist art.

Mission
The mission for the Feminist Art Conference (FAC) was inspired by the recent spate of attacks on women’s and transgender rights in Canada, the US and abroad. Issues such as rape culture, trans phobia, racism, violence, media representation, cultural appropriation, reproductive rights, environmental degradation, impact on Aboriginal lands, missing and murdered Indigenous women, and Islamophobic policies are areas of deep concern. These infringements on our right to agency and independence have been occurring in alarming numbers in our governments, in the media and in our communities. This conference provides an opportunity for these issues to be explored and communicated artistically in a unique and inclusive space that encourages sharing, creating and discussing. In the centuries old tradition of people organizing, we believe that by coming together and communicating about these issues through our artistic practice, that we can initiate progressive change.

Vision
We aim to showcase like-minded, multi-disciplinary art including: visual art, film, theatre arts, music, dance, design, spoken word and literature. We will create a space that is celebratory, positive, intellectually engaging and provocative. We are committed to this space being trans inclusive, antiracist, and intersectional. Furthermore, by providing an opportunity for feminist artists to meet and share their work, we believe we can provide opportunities for networking and future artistic collaboration that can inspire social change and empowerment. We have the vision that the ripple effect from this type of artistic sharing and learning can provoke positive transformations in both our communities and our minds.

Venue & Address: 
Beaver Hall Gallery 29 McCaul St. Toronto, Ontario  
Website: 
http://www.factoronto.org
Phone: 
<p>647-919-7336</p>
Cost: 
Registration - PWYC at the door

Call for Submissions: Workshop Proposals for Feminist Art Conference 2015

Conference logo on an image in red text
Wednesday, July 9, 2014 - 4:00am to Friday, August 15, 2014 - 4:00am

Hosted by OCAD University

Are you a feminist artist, theorist, advocate, activist, collaborator, maker, thinker or all of the above? 

Are you an artist who has always wanted to collaborate with an art historian or cultural theorist, or are you a researcher that has
a printmaking idea? 

Maybe you are an activist that has an idea for a public performance piece that can be workshopped?

Submission Details
We are looking for preliminary proposals to gather ideas for grant applications and other funding.

This call is for people who have ideas for a workshop and want to work with other like-minded but differently-skilled practitioners
to build feminist knowledge and activity out of studio practice.

In 2015, FAC will be returning to OCAD University. OCAD U will be opening up their studio spaces to FAC2015 for workshops
and panels. We would like to reach out to our community for the content of these workshops.

For one aspect of FAC2015, we are looking for workshops based around feminist social justice issues that bring together ideas
and creative practice to address the power of art for social change. We are also looking for ideas that create community
partnerships. 

We are asking you to send a brief proposal of your idea and we can help develop it through the use of studios and help to find
collaborators to work with you to present your ideas at FAC2015. 

Time Frame: 3-hour workshops on September 26th and 27th during the conference

Support: Technical assistance from OCAD U technicians

Collaborative opportunities Work with other members of the FAC community in a multidisciplinary framework.

Please submit one paragraph outlining your idea and with the names of the people that would be leading the workshop.

Even if you don’t want to lead the workshop and you have an idea, let us know!

DEADLINE: August 15, 2014

EMAIL SUBMISSION TO: torontofac@gmail.com

Website: 
Email: 
torontofac@gmail.com
Cost: 
Free

Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon

Illustration of a hand in the middle of the female icon
Wednesday, July 23, 2014 - 7:00pm to 10:45pm

Tutorial 3:00pm-4:00pm; Edit-a-thon 4:00pm-6:45pm

Everyone is welcome! Bring a laptop! (if possible)

Wikipedia's gender trouble is well documented. In a 2010 survey, Wikimedia found that less than 13% of its contributors are female. Content is skewed by the lack of female participation. Many articles on notable women in history and art are absent on Wikipedia.

This event continues the work of previous Art + Feminism Edit-a-Thons across the world, which added more than 100 women artists to Wikipedia. With access to OCAD U library’s books and article databases, you are invited to help continue adding and editing entries.

Want to get started right away?
Before you arrive try creating a Wikipedia account before the event! It is easy to do and instructions are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/BeginnersGuide#Create_your_account.

Try this tutorial for students, which covers the basics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Training/For_students.
Please RSVP to artfemwikiATgmail.com + indicate whether you will attend the tutorial.

See you on the 23rd!

Venue & Address: 
Dorothy H. Hoover Library, Room 1215, Level 2 113 McCaul Street Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
FreeFree