OCAD University

The Peer Wellness Educators are a diverse team of students at the OCADU Health and Wellness Centre who have come together to install a series of portraits that celebrate living queer icons.

queer:

an orientation, identity, and a sense of community that challenges the societal normalization of heterosexuality, gender identity & gender expression*

Submission Requirements:
-All submissions must feature a living queer icon.
-Swearing and profane language is to be used responsibly and purposefully. No slurs will be tolerated.
-Ideas and work should not perpetuate existing assumptions, generalisations, stereotypes & stigma.
-Submissions must celebrate individuals living with disabilities, diversity, gender identity, and the overarching aim of the project.
-Please avoid romanticising substance use and illness.
-Once submitted, artists are consenting to their work being photographed, shared, reproduced, and printed.

*As defined by Peer Wellness Educators at the Health & Wellness Centre.

Please submit portraits to HWC by email under the subject header “Submission Pride” to Alex McLaren at amclaren@ocadu.ca by June 23rd

Are you living in between cultures? You have multiple ‘homes’? Join my journey to find a sense of belonging in between cultures. Let's be friends!

My name is Naya. I was born and raised in Seoul, Korea until my parents decided to immigrate to a small town in BC when I was 14 years old. My journey as a ‘cultural inbetweener’ came with a constant battle of choosing between two cultures, two homes and two identities.

As a student working on a thesis project for Industrial Design BA, I spent countless hours on honest conversations on this topic of living in-between cultures. No matter how alone I felt growing up, I now know that I am not alone in living ‘Inbetween Cultures’. In fact, that there is whole bunch of you guys!

I invite you to join an evening full of sushi-making and cultural conversations. You will learn how to roll sushi from me (a former sushi chef), make new friends and share your unique stories. I have designed a very special workshop in collaboration with the Health and Wellness Centre at OCAD University and they will provide a nice and safe place for us to have the best evening. They are also sponsoring us with basic fresh vegs but please bring any special sushi ingredient and impress us with your preparation! I am so excited to meet you all.

TICKETS
The event is FREE and no ticket is needed. But please RSVP to save your spot and to help us preparing enough ingredients for sushi.

LOCATION
Lambert Lounge @ 100 McCaul St. (Lambert Lounge is inside the pencil crayon building! Turn left as soon as you enter the lobby and you will see the sign for the workshop.)

WHAT TO BRING
Feel free to bring any additional sushi ingredients to impress us, but the basics are provided for you.

SCHEDULE
5:00pm – Say Hi
5:05pm – Group Guideline
5:15pm – Ice Breaker(Collaborative mind map)
5:30pm – Conversation Cards
5:50pm – Learn How To Roll
6:05pm – Let’s Roll
6:30pm – Present your Sushi
6:50pm – Enjoy & Reflect

FACILITATOR
Naya Choi is a 1.5 generation Korean-Canadian, aka ‘Cultural Inbetweener’. She is currently finishing her Bachelor of Industrial Design at OCAD University. With one year of studying abroad as a part of Codesign Master Program in Denmark, her passion and interest lay on participatory design adapting Codesign methodology.

*By attending this event, you are expected to be filmed/photographed for documentation of the workshop. If you wish otherwise, please let us know ahead of time. *

Talking Wellness at OCAD U, is a project and exhibition by Pam Patterson's Art and Design Education Lab (ADEL): Community investigating various concerns around how we might achieve a healthier art and design education community at OCAD U.

Join students, Angie Ma and Nataly Kais with faculty and staff members Pam Patterson, Robyn Shaw, and Marta Chudolinska to learn about the original premise and organization of the Talking Wellness project, an investigation into the wellness experiences of students at OCAD University. This talk will cover the ADEL students research experience and hanging of the exhibition along with OCAD U's Health & Wellness Centre's collaboration, and the Learning Zone's role and participation.

PRESENTERS: Angie Ma and Nataly Kais (ADEL students), Pam Patterson (Lecturer, Faculty of Art), Robyn Shaw (Manager, Health & Wellness Centre), Marta Chudolinska (Learning Zone Librarian)

Discover more about the Talking Wellness project including the participating artists/researchers at the Talking Wellness Libguide.

Free take away text bubbles from the exhibit will be handed out to all attendees (while supplies last).

All are welcome! January 30th from 1 to 2 pm.

Talking Wellness is part of Research Wednesdays speaker series presented by the OCAD U Library. It's a forum for anyone (undergrad, or graduate students, staff, or faculty) to present in a casual, supportive environment about research activities, collections and more. We apply a broad definition of research which includes a variety of activities within the domains of art, design, libraries and archives. This event is open to all members of the OCAD U community as well as the general public.

Do you have a research experience that you would love to share with us? Contact Daniel Payne at (dpayne@ocadu.ca)

Interested in learning how to cook a budget-friendly, simple, and nutritious meal?  Do you like FREE FOOD? Then join us for COOKING CLUB on Friday October 5 from 1-4pm!  Cooking Club will take place in Lambert Lounge (100 McCaul, room 187). All food and equipment will be provided. We encourage students to bring their own reusable bottles/cups to drink from as well as reusable containers, in case there is pizza available to bring home.

Connect with our nurse Sarah to RSVP or to ask any questions at scree@ocadu.ca. This event is open to all OCAD U students.

Fall Cooking Club dates: October 5, November 9, December 7

Logo design by  Pauline Aksay

Come and join us for Sushi Day at Cooking Club! We're planning to make Mini Sushi Rolls, Onigiri, and beverages! 

All food and equipment will be provided. Why make one meal when you can have several? Students are encouraged to bring containers to bring home any extra prepared food. 

This session is FREE for all current OCAD U students, even those not enrolled in a summer class. Advise Sarah of any allergies or dietary restrictions at scree@ocadu.ca, and feel free to contact me with any questions. Registration is encouraged but drop-ins are just as welcome!  Staff and faculty are welcome to drop by as well. 

HWC events throughout July include:

Tuesday July 10 - Board Game Day (1-3:30pm at Lambert Lounge, as part of Camp Wellness)

We’ll be making brownies with Greek yogurt and psyllium husks, Jell-O with fruits, and playing board games.

Tuesday July 17 - Slime Making & Tie Dye Day (1-3:30pm at Lambert Lounge, as part of Camp Wellness)

Students are encouraged to bring their own clothing items to dye, and all other materials will be provided. A limited number of items to dye will be provided by HWC. If you have any well-loved white or off-white items you'd like to donate for this event (or if you'd like to stop by to dye something yourself!), please let me know.

Friday July 20 - Cooking Club - Sushi Edition! (1-4pm at Lambert Lounge)

Thursday July 26 - Salad Day! - grOCAD and Cooking Club (12-2pm, meet at Lambert Lounge)

-From Lambert, we'll head over to the grOCAD community gardens to harvest vegetables and herbs, then return to the kitchen to prepare salads and make a variety of dressings from scratch.

Tuesday July 31 - Seed Planting Day (1-3:30pm at Lambert, as part of Camp Wellness)

Poster credit: Mikayla

Camp Wellness will take place on a drop-in basis every Tuesday and Thursday throughout June from 1-3:30pm (please see attached poster for complete schedule).  We have a variety of activities planned for Tuesdays - Our first event will be tie-dye t-shirts in Butterfield Park!   On Thursdays we will show a (health or mental health-related) movie at the Health and Wellness Centre, with snacks provided and the option to participate in a facilitated discussion.  

Tuesday June 5: Tie dye event - Do you have an article of clothing or an accessory to transform through the magic of tie dye? Bring it to Butterfield Park on Tuesday! (A limited number of items will also be provided by HWC.  FYI The dye will adhere best to natural fabrics!)
We will be meeting in Butterfield Park near Lambert Lounge at 1pm (look for the red table cloth). You can also meet us at 12:30pm at Health & Wellness to walk over together! 

Thursday June 7: Movie and snacks at Health & Wellness
Meet us at the Health & Wellness Centre (230 Richmond, 6th floor) at 1pm for a relaxing afternoon of snacks and a movie (slumber party theme present but optional). 

You're invited to join OCAD U Health & Wellness, Campus Life, and student groups for #BellLetsTalk Day on January 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lobby of 100 McCaul St for hot chocolate, tea and treats, freebies and self-care tips. Mental health affects us all. Join the conversation by sharing your ideas for how we can take better care of both ourselves and others, and help end the stigma of mental illness.

On Bell Let’s Talk Day, Bell will support mental health initiatives by donating 5¢ for every applicable text, call, tweet, social media video view and use of the Facebook frame or Snapchat geofilter. For complete details on how to participate and how funds raised are used, visit the Bell Let's Talk website.