Worn Dialogues: Gallery Conversations

Bust of Harriet Tubman's dress
Sunday, September 20, 2015 - 6:30pm to 7:00pm

Join us once a month for a personal exploration of the exhibit Worn: Shaping Black Feminine Identity and its themes. Special guest speakers give us their take on this stunning work by Karin Jones in an informal in-gallery presentation.

August 16:  Dalton Higgins

September 20: Mimi Joh

October 18 Jessica Karuhanga

 

Dalton Higgins is a National Magazine Award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author who has written six books that interweave the worlds of digital culture, hip hop and popular culture into one potent mix. He is also one of Canada’s foremost experts on hip hop, the leading youth sub-culture of this generation.

Mimi Joh currently teaches in OCAD University’s Continuing Studies program and writes on contemporary art.  She received degrees in Art History from Cornell University and OCAD U, and worked for many years with German and Austrian Expressionist art in New York.  Mimi Joh is an active volunteer in the arts, holding positions with multiple Toronto based arts organizations. Her varied art background gives her a multiplicity of viewpoints into contemporary art, ideas and themes.  She is particularly interested in how art practices can critically reflect and respond to our society and how they ultimately shape our culture.

Jessica Karuhanga is an artist currently based in Toronto, Canada. Her practice undulates between performance, video, drawing and sculptural processes. She holds a BFA Honors from The University of Western Ontario and a MFA from University of Victoria. Her visual art and performances have been presented at various centres nationally including Royal BC Museum, Deluge Contemporary Art, Art Mûr, Whippersnapper Gallery, OCAD U Student Gallery, Videofag, Electric Eclectics, Nia Centre for the Arts, and The Drake Hotel. Karuhanga was featured in FADO Performance Art Centre's 2014 Emerging Artist Series at Xpace Cultural Centre. She has lectured for the Power Plant's Sunday Scene Series and Art Gallery of Ontario's Idea Bar Series. Most recently she presented her work at 2015 Black Portraitures Conference, a series organized by Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, in Firenze, Italy.

 

Venue & Address: 
Royal Ontario Museum
Website: 
http://www.rom.on.ca/en/activities-programs/events-calendar/worn-dialogues-gallery-conversations

Interference: New paintings by Robin Kingsburgh and David Griffin

Artwork by David Griffin and Robin Kingsburgh
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - 4:00am to Sunday, September 20, 2015 - 4:00am

Opening Reception: Thursday September 3, 7 to 10 p.m.

Artist Talk: Saturday September 12, 1 p.m.

In this exhibition, Robin Kingsburgh and David Griffin approach painting as an art of colour, but from very different perspectives. Kingsburgh’s work embodies experiments in nature. Process driven, unconscious gestures respond to the random drip of flowing paint or the grain on a slab of wood, andbecome the starting points for meditations on rhythm, form, tone and colour. The paintings explore the boundaries between order and chaos, mirroring the condition of the human psyche, and the Universe as a whole.

While Kingsburgh seeks to distill complexity through restrained colour and shape, Griffin draws cadenced human, animal, and liquid topographies, to hold light, giving voice to complex metaphors. The paintings emerge as syncopations of sinew, drapery, and dream, but also growth, and reflection.

In addition, Kingsburgh and Griffin offer two collaborative paintings, passed back and forth over several months, as experiments in slow, visual conversations. These paintings occupy an odd middle ground between the two painters own working methods, where Griffin attempts to bend Kingsburgh’s rationality through an atmospheric lens, while Kingsburgh offers Griffin some quiet.

Artist Talk/Interview:

Saturday September 12, 1pm – Kingsburgh & Griffin will be interviewed by Jane Adams.

About the artists:

Robin teaches science to artists and designers at OCAD University, and in the Division of Natural Science at York University. She has a PhD in Astronomy (1992, University College London), and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Mexico from 1993-1996. Her artistic education comes from studies at University of Toronto, and continuing education at The Slade School, London UK, which paralleled her scientific development. Kingsburgh has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows over the past decade, and inspired by the ideas and methodologies of science, she has curated exhibitions in the Toronto area, including Nuit Blanche Independent Projects, and at the Ontario Science Centre. 

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, David works with painting, performance, notation systems, and writing in dynamic relationship with these studio practices. Currently a lecturer in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University in Toronto, David holds an MFA (Painting) from The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and a PhD from the Glasgow School of Art, where he designed and implemented a series of graphical music notation systems, including a positive notation for vocal silence. 

Venue & Address: 
@Propeller 30 Abell St, Toronto ON, M6J 0A9 Wednesday-Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
Phone: 
416 504 7142
Keywords: 

Design with Dialogue: The Art and Practice of Regenerative Leadership

Speech bubble with black text
Wednesday, September 9, 2015 - 10:00pm to Thursday, September 10, 2015 - 1:00am

What new ways of thinking and seeing are needed within the many participatory organizing structures that are emerging? How can we integrate living systems principles as we explore the leadership that is needed now in our organizations and communities? What are our new practice grounds – spaces and times of shared learning, renewal and relationship that deepen our connection with both people and place?

Join us for September's DwD, with guest hosts Michael Jones and Michelle Holiday, as we delve further into an exploration of leadership based on an understanding of living systems.

Through stories, dialogue and music over the course of the evening, we will move together through four timeless patterns that shape all living, creative, expressive systems. As we engage with these patterns in our leadership work, important new insights and possibilities emerge, opening a path to leadership that is generative and even regenerative, healing what has been wounded in our communities and ourselves by the structures we have inherited.

Underlying these patterns is a deep connection with place.  Any living system is rooted in and nourished by the place where it grows, and we and our organizations and communities are no exception.  For this reason, our gathering will draw on our own stories of relationship with place and the urban ecology we live in, inviting us to craft new narratives of what is possible.

Finally, we will explore what practice grounds may offer the most fertile soil for these new possibilities to take root. What kind of greenhouse or Solarium do we need to create to cultivate regenerative leadership in ourselves and our communities?

In convening this evening, Michael and Michelle will draw from the work they have been engaged in within their own communities as well as from an article that has been published in the current issue of The Spanda Journal entitled Living Systems Theory and the Practice of Stewarding Change.

About the hosts

Michael Jones is a leadership educator, dialogue facilitator, writer and Juno-nominated pianist/composer.  His most recent book, The Soul of Place, is the third in a series on Re-imagining Leadership.  Others in the series include Artful Leadership and the award-winning  Creating an Imaginative Life.  Michael has also been a thought leader with the MIT Dialogue Project and Dialogos and other prominent leading edge universities and centres. He has co-chaired several place-based initiatives and spoken on the leader's emerging role as  placemaker in a variety of forums including The Authentic Leadership in Action Conferences (ALIA), The Society  for Organizational  Learning (SoL) and many others. As a pianist/composer Michael has composed and recorded fifteen CD's of his original piano compositions and performed as a solo pianist across North America  as well as Korea and Japan.  He has been integrating his music in his leadership and dialogue work for over twenty years. See www.pianoscapes.com to learn more about Michael and his work.

Michelle Holliday is a facilitator, organizational consultant, researcher and writer. Her work centers around “thrivability” — a set of perspectives, intentions and practices based on a view of organizations as living systems. To this end, she brings people together and helps them discover ways they can feel more alive, connect more meaningfully with each other, and serve life more powerfully through their work. This generally takes the form of designing and hosting transformative events, as well as delivering talks and workshops. Michelle also writes regularly, including a forthcoming book, The Age of Thrivability. Her research is summarized in a slideshow called Humanity 4.0, as well as in a TEDx presentation. 

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University  100 McCaul Street, Room 187  Toronto, ON M5T 1W1 Canada 
Website: 
http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dwd-9915-the-art-and-practice-of-regenerative-leadership-tickets-18281003975

re:Generation

Poster with illustration of two faces overlayed with a black circle and red text
Friday, August 7, 2015 - 4:00am to Sunday, August 9, 2015 - 4:00am

An exhibition of artworks by alumni, current Indigenous students, and students in the INVC program organized by the Indigenous Visual Culture Program at OCAD University.

Part of Planet Indigenus at Harbourfront Centre

Opening Reception: Friday, August 7, 7 to 10 p.m.

 

Venue & Address: 
Harbourfront Centre Marilyn Brewer Community Centre 235 Queens Quay West Opening Reception: Friday, August 7, 7 to 10 p.m.

OCAD University at Pride Toronto 2015!

Rainbow ferris wheel
OCAD University celebrates PRIDE
Friday, June 26, 2015 - 4:00am to Sunday, June 28, 2015 - 4:00am

On June 26, 27 and 28 OCAD U will be hosting The Swing Lounge at the 

Pride Street Fair in the Church-Wellesley Village!

Conceived and built by OCAD U students and recent alumni The Swing Lounge marks OCAD U’s presence at Toronto Pride this year. Unlike conventional booths in the Pride Street Fair, The Swing Lounge invites participants into a 10’x10’ installation space to engage with stories and experiences representing the diverse voices of members of LGBTQQI2SA communities at OCAD U.

 OCAD U community members can be a part of this project in two ways:

OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS AND VOLUNTEERS

for OCAD U students,former students, faculty, and staff!

  1. Volunteer with us to help us represent OCAD U at the Street Fair June 26th, 27th and 28th.

Join our team to welcome Pride Street Fair guests into our space and share your experiences about Pride and OCAD U. Drop by for an hour or swing with us for a whole day! We’ll provide you with an OCAD U t-shirt, keep you hydrated and make sure you have a lot of fun. Email  OCADUPride2015@gmail.com if you would like to join our team of OCAD U Pride 2015 volunteers.

  1. Submit a transcript and audio art work as part of The Swing Lounge

Have your voice heard at the OCAD U Pride installation!  We are inviting stories and audio clips from members of the OCAD U community. 

 What does “pride” mean for you, as an LGBTQQI2SA  person and/or ally? How has being LGBTQQI2SA  and/or an ally shaped your views about community and belonging? How has being LGBTQQI2SA  and/or an ally shaped how you see the world?  What inspires you and what sparks your creativity, as an LGBTQQI2SA  person and/or ally? Were there any LGBTQI2SA role models, while at OCADU or outside, who inspired you or affected how you think? If so, what would you like to say (or even sing) to them? How can LGBTQQI2SA  persons and/or allies create social change? How can we make a difference?

Website: 
http:// www.ocadu.ca/pride2015
Email: 
OCADUPride2015@gmail.com

The Queer Publishing Project: Consultation Sessions

hand holding bright publication covers
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - 7:00pm to Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 4:30pm

A student-led project, with support from academic staff, faculty and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Sustainability Initiatives

Envisioned by OCAD U Student Vicky Avramopoulos, Vicky is bringing together people from across campus alongside some of OCAD U’s most talented print-making students and alumni, including Eli Howey (2015 printmaking medal winner) and Taikun Kambashi (Printmaking, 2014), to help create a handbook on how faculty and peers can best support LGBTQQI2S students in classrooms and beyond. 

The handbook is being created based on 4 to 6 open consultation sessions that will be held inviting students and alumni to share their experiences, recommendations and best practices. The guide will break down basic vocabulary and concepts, along with vignettes of student experience and tips and strategies for inclusive and critical pedagogy in and beyond the classroom, as well as resources.

Most importantly, this project is imagined and led by students, and will feature content centring the voices of students.

Consultation sessions open to OCAD U students and alumni:

May 27, 3 to 5 p.m.
June 2, 1 to 3 p.m.
June 10, 3 to 5 p.m.
June 18, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This project was made possible by the OCAD U $1,500 Big Ideas Fund. Special shout outs to Anthea Black (Instructor, Faculty of Art), Nick Shick (Technician, Print-Making) & Mary Tremonte (Class Assistant, Print-Making) for on-going guidance and collaboration. 

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University 100 McCaul St. Room 187
Website: 
http://www.facebook.com/groups/324015924435696   

The Futurelab Concert

Array logo
Saturday, May 30, 2015 - 7:00pm

Futurelab: Arraymusic announces new support for its Young Composers' Workshop & Concert with OCAD University, RBC, and The McLean Foundation

Arraymusic celebrates five world premieres of electronic works written by emerging composers with original visuals for projection by OCAD University digital visual students as the culmination the 27th Annual YCWC

For the first time ever Arraymusic’s FUTURELAB: Young Composers’ Workshop and Concert (YCWC) combines contemporary music with video art thanks to a new initiative launched with the Ontario College of Art and Design University.
 
The five composers and six OCAD U students selected to participate as part of Array’s annual Call for Applications will work intensively with Array Ensemble percussionist/Workshop Leader Rick Sacks throughout May to create new works for a concert on Saturday, May 30th (3PM at The Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave., Toronto, ON).
 
This year, Array’s workshop concentrates on works for the MalletKat, a 4-octave midi mallet keyboard instrument. The OCAD U students will collaborate with the composers to create digital videos to accompany their music’s world premieres. Array’s workshop is designed to give composers the chance to experiment and try new things and opportunity to hear their works in progress, as well as to make changes in consultation with the performers and workshop director as they freely develop their work. Weekly seminars enable the composers to share their previous works, hear guest mentors speak about their work, and discuss all aspects of composition. This year, Rick Sacks gives an intensive percussion workshop.
 
About The Video Artists
 
Nicole Del Medico is an Integrated Media Student studying at OCAD U, currently entering her 5th year of study. Her interests include animation and interactive media, such as video games and sonic arts. “While my work can sometimes be very light hearted in nature and family friendly, I also produce works of art that are politically charged with the hope of making viewers contemplate the messages delivered to perhaps change their outlooks, behavior, or views. I have created numerous artworks that aim to raise awareness of serious mental issues such as PTSD as well as ‘cyber-bullying’ that occur in virtual spaces and the presence of the military in entertainment products such as video games. Conceptually, my artworks focus on creating narrative experiences that have no spoken dialogue, thus placing the creative restraint where animated characters can only express themselves through action and where audio and sound design becomes even more crucial.”
 
Nicole’s interests range from audio, animation, scriptwriting, programming, and video game design, processing and editing audio in Max/MSP, Adobe Audition, as well as Cubase.
 
“I am very familiar with the Adobe Suite and excel particularly with Photoshop, where I create traditional 2D animations as well as digital puppets, and After Effects, where I construct my animated scenes or rig and animate my digital puppets. I am also very familiar with 3D Studio Max and have created 3D animations with my own characters that I have created and rigged. Recently, I learned how to use various 2D and 3D video game engines such as Stencyl and Unity and learned the appropriate scripting languages associated with such game engines such as C# and Javascript. I am currently investigating the integration of Max/Msp and Unity in order to create a dynamic interactive musical game where musical instrumental input (MIDI or otherwise) influences the environment or perhaps even gameplay or gameplay mechanics in a virtual world created with the Unity game engine.”
 
Nathan Piquette-Miller plays guitar and piano and is knowledgeable in electronic music software and sound design. He interested in anything, which contains the moving image, illustration and animation. “I am hoping we can create a harmonious audiovisual experience that is clean, strong, and captivating. I am very excited to be working together with this team on the Arraymusic project. I find that the synthesis of audio and visual artwork creates an immersive artistic experience, and hopefully we can accomplish that in our design.”
 
Colin Rosati is a Toronto based multimedia artist. Colin’s mediums are painting, 3D modeling, Max MSP, and audio/video installations. He has studied at Ottawa School of Art for portfolio development program and currently going into 3rd year Integrated Media at OCAD U. He is well versed in Cinema 4D and 3D modelling, animating, and After Effects. Colin often uses Max MSP to interface with the body to interact with installations, engaging the physical body coupled with virtual extensions. Examples of some Max MSP software he has built: Tracking users’ body and placing customized 3D objects onto them; tracking the body and imprinting the position of the body to manipulate a digital screen; and tracking two hands making a 6 VST instrument where the position of a performer’s hands plays this instrument. Other skills Colin is proficient at include interfacing Max MSP, with mobile devices, Kinect camera, Wiimote, projection mapping and some arduino, as well as processing experience.       
 
His work often revolves around the tension between virtuality and physicality. He explores the line between the two and exploring the, sincerity in a digital context and absurdity of the inevitable transcoding that happens. In part documenting the contradictions as well as drawing attention to the complexity in defining either. He often plays with physical and virtual signifiers embedding these into text where the original context has lost its meaning.
 
Bronwen is a third year student in the digital painting and expanded animation program at OCADU. Interested mostly in video game development, Bronwen spends a lot of time making 2D and 3D games. Proficient with a good chunk of the Adobe suite, as well as several 3D modelling/animation programs, learning how to program, and can navigate Max and Unity. “I dabble in music/sound production using Ableton, Adobe Audition, Vocaloid, and Musagi. Basically, I make a lot of interactive art. I really appreciate the exponential progression of technology, and the unexplored potential it brings to art as we know it. The less traveled territory is interests me most!”
 
Seamus Patterson has just completed his first-year of study. He works with Ableton, Max and Premiere/ae. “Lately I've been interested in photogrammetry and manipulating those 3d models with jitter. Also interested in finding ways (other than midi) to control patches such as motion sensors, facial recognition, etc. “
 
Sofy Mesa lives in Toronto and started at OCAD University this past year majoring in Integrated Media.
“I am interested in the connection between sound and visuals because it creates a dynamic experience and am very excited to work on this project. I have recently have learned to use max/msp/jitter but know to use Adobe Audition, Adobe Premiere. I enjoy music, films, collages, drawings and colours.”

Venue & Address: 
The Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 2nd floor, Toronto, ON M6J 3W3  
Website: 
http://www.arraymusic.com
Phone: 
416.532.3019
Cost: 
$15/$10

Driving Desired Futures: Michael Shamiyeh

Michael Shamiyeh
Thursday, May 14, 2015 - 9:30pm to 11:30pm

Can the study of innovation lead to universal principals that apply across fields as diverse as architecture, automotive and media design?

Innovation thought leader Michael Shamiyeh will discuss insights from his broad base of practice and theory, including his collaboration with iconic automotive brand Porsche, ongoing work with Kodak, and selected work from his international research and consulting centre, DOM Research Lab (Design-Organisation-Media), whose recent publications include Creating Desired Futures and Driving Desired Futures. Join us for this intimate and interactive seminar. 

Michael Shamiyeh is founder and head professor of the Design Organization Media Research Lab (DOM) and CEO of Shamiyeh Associates, an operative unit for creating desired futures. He studied strategic management and architectural design (at Harvard and St. Gallen) and has published in many international journals, books, and popular media.The work of Michael and his team has won numerous awards including the World Intellectual Property Organization 2010 Gold Medal for Best Invention and the Austrian Ministry of Science 2009 Innovation Prize. Learn more on Michael at http://www.domresearchlab.com/profile/michael-shamiyeh 

Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab) is a centre for research and innovation at OCAD University. sLab integrates applied research, professional engagement, education and skills development to assist private, public, and not-for-profit organizations attain their goals. sLab trans-disciplinary teams draw on the growing SFI community of researchers and practitioners, design and business professionals, teachers and students, who are passionate about creative economies and sustainable futures

Venue & Address: 
Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab), OCAD University  205 Richmond St. West at Duncan St., Suite 410, Toronto
Website: 
http:// drivingdesiredfutures.eventbrite.ca
Cost: 
Free

Jammers! An Inclusive Game Jam Workshop

Jammers Logo
Saturday, May 16, 2015 - 2:30pm to 9:30pm

Twine is a radical game authorship tool harnessed by the independent games community for making expressive, experimental, and socially conscious text-based games. This inclusive Game Jam deploys Twine as an innovative method for interactive storytelling in a 7-hour, hands-on workshop. Jammers design interactive stories, choose-your-own adventure games, and e-poetry in order to explore digital game authorship as a creative medium of expression.

A Game Jam Story: Designing expressive games with Twine

Each jammer develops a game using the Twine 2.0 freeware. Participants will gain basic proficiency in the conceptual, aesthetic, and technical dimensions of text-based game authorship and its markup and scripting languages: HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Upon completion of games, jammers are invited to playtest each other’s games and upload and share their creations online. This workshop will accommodate the accessibility needs of jammers.

Game jam theme: Jammers are invited to interpret and creatively translate the game jam’s theme into their games: What strange world and untold coincidences.

Total workshop participants: 10

Experience level and requirements: No prior game development, programming or graphic design skills are required. We will supply laptops, unless you prefer to bring your own.

Facilitator: Sandra Danilovic, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto.

Learning outcomes:

  • Detailed understanding of text-based Twine game development including basic proficiency in HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
  • Basic proficiency in conceptual, aesthetic and technical dimensions of text-based game design and development (ex: game idea, interactive story, audio-visual design, game rules, player choices and outcomes, etc.) 
  • Fundamental Introduction to creative and procedural (rule-based) experimentation with text-based games. 
  • Introduction to the iterative and collaborative process of DIY game design and development.

IN Series is a series of public presentations, which promotes discussion and engagement on a wide variety of topics about inclusion – disability, accessibility, health, education, culture and the arts. IN Series is hosted by the Inclusive Design Institute (IDI) at OCAD University. The IDI is a hub of applied research that addresses the challenge of design that is inclusive of the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age, including users with disabilities, language needs and various cultural preferences. Through research, industry collaboration, education and civic engagement, the IDI fosters the goals of an innovative, creative and inclusive society.

Organizers: Gordon Waller and David Pereyra

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University 49 McCaul Street Participatory Inclusive Design Lab, Inclusive Design Institute, Room 4904,
Website: 
Email: 
Cost: 
$20.00 (lunch and refreshments are included). Subsidized by the Inclusive Design Research Center.

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

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