Chromatic Festival

Image of a mirrored disk with lights and symbols
Friday, May 27, 2016 - 4:00am to Saturday, May 28, 2016 - 4:00am

Experience art in a unique environment featuring new and innovative creative work from Montreal and Toronto’s rising artists as well as from the intentionally renowned Daniel Iregui and Mike Pelletier. Combining innovative initiatives, new media, digital art installation, painting, video projection, street art, and music, Chromatic Toronto is in the city at Rally Ossington for a two-day event only!

Be part of the Chromatic Night on May 27 for a celebration of both burgeoning art scenes with DJ sets and a live mural painting, or experience the Chromatic Day in a family friendly atmosphere.

Venue & Address: 
Rally Ossington 12 Ossington Ave.
Website: 
http://www.chromatic.ca
Cost: 
CHROMATIC NIGHT Fri. May 27 7:30 p.m. - 2 a.m. Tickets: $10 advance, $15 door CHROMATIC DAY Sat. May 28 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tickets: $5 door, free for children 12 and under

WAYHOME Competition Deadline

poster for Wayhome competition with deadline
Friday, March 11, 2016 - 10:00pm

WAYHOME Competition Deadline!

Open to all students and first and second year alumni.  We're looking for teams of students to design and build an interactive installation/spectacle onsite at the WayHome Music & Arts festival.

1st place $5,000 + $18,000 fabrication budget + WayHome passes

2nd place $1,000 + WayHome passes

Teams of 3-6 people may apply

Send submissions to:  ocadu.contest@wayhome.com 

 

Venue & Address: 
Send submissions to: ocadu.contest@wayhome.com
Website: 
http://www.wayhome.com/ocadu
Email: 
rnicholls@faculty.ocadu.ca
poster for Wayhome competition with deadline

Pitfall Planet makes indie game finals

Pitfall Planet video game image
Pitfall Planet video game image
Pitfall Planet video game image
Thursday, January 7, 2016 - 3:15pm

A game designed by team of OCAD University and University of Toronto students has made it to the finals at the 2016 Independent Games Festival in San Francisco. Pitfall Planet is a co-operative puzzle-solving game where players help two robot astronauts return to their home planet.

Pitfall Planet is one of five games vying for the $3000 prize for Best Student Game, which will be awarded during the festival taking place March 14 to 18. Named Best Overall Game at last year’s Level Up showcase in Toronto, Pitfall Planet is the creation of the team behind Bonfire Games:

OCAD University community members showcased at Planet IndigenUS festival

Nancy King, Medicine Man (2015) – part of re:GENERATION
Cody Kullman, Non-textile (2014) – part of re:GENERATION
Thursday, August 6, 2015 - 5:00pm

OCAD University students, alumni, staff and faculty are well represented at this year’s Planet IndigenUS festival at Harbourfront Centre.

re:GENERATION opens at 7 p.m. on August 7 and runs until 7 p.m. on  August 9. Presented by OCAD U’s Indigenous Visual Culture Program (INVC), it features the artwork of 15 artists. Lisa Myers is re:GENERATION’s curator and an instructor in the OCAD U Faculty of Art. Myers says that the artists “express their perspectives on how the past, present and future both connect and encourage continuity and accountability for the next seven generations.”

Melissa General (BFA, Photography), the INVC’s program manager, is displaying work at Planet IndigenUS called Nitewaké:non, which explores her connection to the history and narratives of her home, the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. “I attempt to reconnect with and honour the memory and history intrinsically ingrained in Haudenosaunee territory.”

Also on at Harbourfront (June 20 to September 20) is the group show our land, together. Curated by OCAD U alumna Suzanne Morrissette (MFA, Criticism and Curatorial Practice) and including the work of alumna Cheryl L’Hirondelle (MDes, Inclusive Design), the show reflects indigenous peoples’ “relationships to place within our land.”

OCAD University students triumph at Digifest 2015

Photo of Areen S. Khan
Photo of James Rollo
Friday, May 8, 2015 - 7:45pm

Two OCAD University students took home awards at the Best of the Best Student Showcase held at Digifest 2015.

Areen S. Khan won the Mobile App Development Award for her project “Hatter: Empowering Buskers through a Social App.” Currently completing her master’s degree as part of OCAD U’s Digital Futures program, in which she is focusing on the impact of a cashless society on busking, Areen’s Hatter app would enable patrons to support buskers without the bother of fishing for change.

James Rollo emerged victorious in the Visual and Interactive Art category. A fourth-year student in the Integrated Media program – as well as a new media, installation and performance artist – James’s project “I Can’t See What You’re Doing” is an interactive installation that challenges notions of presence in the physical and virtual realms.

Both Areen and James were also among the 20 winners of the 2015 OCAD University Medal, the university’s highest award. They also both exhibited their projects to great acclaim at the recent 100th-anniversary Graduate Exhibition. 

The Fortune of Having Been There

Contact logo with OCAD U loco
Thursday, May 14, 2015 - 4:00am to Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - 4:00am

27 emerging artists from OCAD University’s photography thesis program present their graduate work in the exhibition, The Fortune of Having Been There, as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

The Fortune of Having Been There showcases the work of 27 graduates of OCAD’s photography thesis program. This month long exhibition, curated into three distinct shows by students from OCAD’s Criticism and Curatorial Practices program, introduces the next generation of local artists and curators.

Volume I (May 14 to 24), curated by Tori Maas. This exhibition brings together images and objects from artists’ interactions with space and site, the landscapes they inhabit, and the tension created by the collision of public and private lives. Opening: Friday May 15, 5 to 8 p.m.

Volume II (May 25 to June 2), curated by Sara Nicole England. The gateway into this exhibition is the idea of "doubling." Included works incorporate subject matter that mirrors the "double nature" of photography; twinning, duplication, generation, imagined selves and masquerade are all at play. Opening: Thursday May 28, 5 to 8 p.m.

Volume III (June 3 to 10), curated by Stephanie Peikert. As humans, we often associate ourselves with external entities in order to ground us in our journey. Exploring the relationship between individuals and objects, works in this exhibit reveal the associations, tensions and struggles inherent to identity and self-discovery. Opening: Friday June 5, 5 to 8 p.m.

These events are open to the public and press. The artists and curator of each volume will be in attendance during the respective opening reception.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Friday: 2 pm to 8 pm. Saturday to Sunday: 12 pm to 6 pm

Venue & Address: 
The Project Gallery, 1109 Queen St. E.
Website: 
http://projectgallerytoronto.com
Email: 
info@projectgallerytoronto.com
Phone: 
Devan Patel (416) 315-1192

WayHome Music and Arts Festival and OCAD U Competition

Black poster with white text and graphics
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 - 9:00pm

WayHome Music and Arts Festival and OCAD U have joined forces to create a Faculty of Art Competition.
1st place winners will receive a prize of $5,000 and a budget of $18,000 to design and build an interactive installation on site at the festival.

The Competition:
WayHome Music & Arts Festival, in partnership with OCADU, is pleased to announce a competition for the design and construction of an interactive/experiential, site-specific installation. We are looking for enthusiastic teams of students who will think outside the box to design (and eventually build) an installation, experience or spectacle, to be displayed at WayHome.

Competition Schedule and Submission Materials
Phase one: 1 page written concept and sketches (min. 3, max. 5) are due at 5:00pm, April 1, 2015. Late submissions will not be accepted. Confirmation of receipt by the OCAD project manager is required.

Please send digital proposals (In PDF form send digital sketches, or any other form of submission) to ocadu.contest@wayhome.com, along with the signed application form.

Each team must submit 2 contact email addresses and phone numbers.

5 finalist teams will be selected by April, 15, 2015.

Phase two: Budgets and 3D model from the 5 finalists will be due on May 1, 2015.

1st and 2nd place proposals will be selected on May 15, 2015. .

Website: 
http://wayhome.com/ocadu
Email: 
rnicholls@faculty.ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x 330

Festival of the Body

Thursday, January 15, 2015 - 5:00am to Thursday, February 5, 2015 - 5:00am

Festival of the Body
In the Great Hall at OCAD University

A month-long series of events and exhibitions for the PanAm/ParaPan Am games and the launch OCADU’s new specialization Life Studies on contemporary studies of the body in art and science.

Festival of the Body Part I: Whose Body?
Private Opening: Thursday, January 15
Opening remarks by Dr. John Semple, Chief of Surgery at Women’s College Hospital.

Panel Discussion:
The Festival of the Body: Whose Body?
Thursday, January 15
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Participating artists and curators of the exhibition discuss the show in the context of diversity and representation.
Moderator: Amy Swartz
Panel: Natalie Waldburger, Ryan Rice, Bogdan Luca, JJ Lee, Christina Sealey & students participating in the exhibition

Kit Curry memorial show
Location: January 19 to 23
Transit Space
Opening reception: Thursday, January 22

Panel Discussion:
The Festival of the Body: Athleticism
Thursday, January 22
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
A panel on art and athleticism as it relates to identity, ability and performance.
Moderator: Dr. Spencer Harrison
Panel: Matthew Strang –Academic, Adam Lancia - ParaPan wheelchair basketball athlete, Andrea Nann – Dreamwalker Dance Company

Festival of the Body Part II: Speculative Bodies.
Thursday, January 29
Performance & Video event in the Great Hall and Central Hall, Room 230

Panel Discussion: The Festival of the Body: Science
Thursday, February 5
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
This panel with investigate the threshold between art and science which is increasingly generative for the new specialization in Life Studies.
Moderator: Dr. Caroline Langill, Dean of Liberal Arts and Science, School of Interdisciplinary Studies
Panel: Nina Leo (TBC) – Assistant Professor, OCAD U, Suzanne Ankor – Bio Art Lab, NY, Francis LeBouthillier - Assistant Professor, OCAD U

Sponsored by the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/ Parapan Am Games, The Faculty of Art, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science/School of Interdisciplinary Studies, IAMD, Graduate Studies, First Year, Drawing and Painting and The Office of the President to support the launch of the Life Studies Specialization

Venue & Address: 
The Great Hall
Email: 
tbuchanan@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 ext 330
Cost: 
Free

Onsite [at] OCAD U exhibition celebrates the 10th anniversary of Flash Forward

The Passing by Jinyoung Kim

The Flash Forward 10: Uncanny Worlds exhibition on now at OCAD U’s Onsite [at] OCAD U gallery brings together works by a diverse group of past Flash Forward Festival winners from OCAD U, as the international photography festival celebrates its 10th anniversary. The show runs until December 20, 2014.

The collaborative exhibition could be considered a departure for Onsite, but Lisa Deanne Smith, the gallery's curator, was won over after talking with MaryAnn Camilleri, the director of the festival (and founder of the Magenta Foundation which hosts it) together with Barbara Astman from OCAD U’s photography faculty, and then reviewing the range of work.

“It was very inspiring to research each artist’s full body of work since they graduated from OCAD U,” Smith said. “The Photography department at OCAD U fosters experimental, critical, conceptual work and I was blown away by the depth conceptually as well as visually. The educational foundation these photographers received is evident in the successful manner in which they are evolving.”

What unifies the work of the 12 photographers in the show is how they build a complex conversation addressing the relationship of humans and the physical world. When you walk into the gallery and start looking around, you’ll see a wide range of images that you pull you into their worlds and tell engaging stories. In Jinyoung Kim’s video, “The Passing” a person stands against the backdrop of the ocean, slowly letting a fistful of sand blow into the wind. It could evoke a sense of release and letting go, or loss, depending on how you view it.

Danny Custodio’s series, taken in the St. Catherines suburbs, shows trees growing up around hydro poles and wires—nature accommodating built structures, and perhaps even thriving in spite of it.

In Meryl McMaster’s “Murmur #3” hundreds starlings swirl around a woman’s head, but the birds are made from paper, and she’s standing against a concrete backdrop.

The exhibition also showcases Sanaz Mazinani, Nathan Cyprys and Stacey Tyrell, described by Smith as having developed “challenging, rigorous, gorgeous work.”  She says she was drawn to the “formal qualities nearing perfection” of featured works by Geoffrey Pugen, Kotama Bouabane, Adrian Fish and Elise Victoria Louise Windsor, and notes Sebastián Benitez and Alex Kisilevich “employ humour and critique, always a difficult endeavor.”

Quoted:

“In its state of rapid change I find our world extremely exciting and often quite scary. Every day an article or conversation voices concern for our environment and the effect of humans on the earth. Every day there is someone, something or a moment that inspires and, I feel, makes our world a better place. The artists in Flash Forward 10: Uncanny Worlds do just that.” Lisa Deanne Smith, Curator, Onsite [at] OCAD U

Find out more:

Upcoming events as part of Flash Forward 10: Uncanny Worlds 

Flash Forward 10

Flash Forward 11 Call for Submissions 

Toronto Tea Festival 2014

Event Poster
Saturday, February 1, 2014 - 5:00am to Sunday, February 2, 2014 - 5:00am

Curated by OCAD U alumna, Katherine Bellman, Drawing & Painting, 2010

The Toronto Tea Festival returns for its 2nd year to the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon of The Toronto Central Reference Library on February 1 and 2, 2014.

Following the huge success of last year’s festival which drew over 1200 attendees, Canadian Tea Media Inc. will once again present an event that features tea tastings, speakers, tea ceremonies and exhibitors offering related products as well as an auction featuring rare tea items.

“We are very excited to organize such a great event again,” says Tao Wu, owner of Tao Tea Leaf. “And due to last year’s turn out, we are proud to extend it to two days. This show reaches out directly to the growing public fascination in the ancient art of preparing and serving the second most consumed beverage in the world.”

“The return of the Toronto Tea festival for a second year is an exciting step in the evolution of Canada into a knowledgeable tea consuming society,” says Bill Kamula, Tea Guild of Canada Chair. “Tea is one of the fastest growing segments of the beverage market, and this festival presents an opportunity for interested consumers to explore many aspects of tea culture, and be introduced to new tea products, under one roof.

Over 30 exhibitors participated last year, and this year will feature many additional exhibitors to suit all of your tea related needs.

For a complete listing of Festival events and to purchase tickets in advance please visit www.teafestivaltoronto.com. Tickets also available at Tao Tea Leaf and Majesteas.

Ticket Prices:
Single Day Pass: $10 Early Bird / $15 Regular
Two Day Pass: $20 Early Bird / $25 Regular **Please note tickets will not be sold at the door once the event sells out.

Venue & Address: 
Toronto Reference Library, Appel Salon, 2nd floor 789 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario 647-878-6934  
Website: 
http://www.teafestivaltoronto.com
Email: 
kat@teafestivaltoronto.com
Cost: 
$10-$25

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