Concert-goers party with Block Heads at WayHome festival

 

Friday, July 31, 2015 - 4:00am

A whimsical, experiential and interactive installation by five OCAD University students and alumni provided hugs, photo-ops and more than a few laughs to the 35,000 concert-goers at the inaugural WayHome Art & Music festival on July 24 to 26.

The installation, called The Block Heads, consisted of nine quirky characters some three metres tall with floppy arms, hair, fur and scales. Faculty of Design students and alumni, Ashley Mauerhofer, Kristin Ryan, Maeve Wallace, Sarah Eldershaw and Zeynep Sen, won first place in a joint Faculty of Design and Faculty of Art competition for their concept, receiving a prize of $5,000 and a budget of $18,000 to build the installation.

Set in the farmlands of Ontario’s Oro-Medonte township, WayHome featured 72 bands and musicians, including Neil Young, St. Vincent, Future Islands and Alt-J, alongside 15 visual artists.

Organizers say the festival will return in 2016 from July 22 to 24.

 

Sarah Tranum, "CleanCube Project" Poster
The Office of Research & Innovation is excited to launch of the fourth iteration of the "This is Research" campaign to raise awareness about research at OCAD University.
Rendering of black industrial structure against black background
The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair and The Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers are excited to announce Andre Baynes as the 2020 Recipient of the Artist Project Career Launcher.
The OCAD U Print Shop will be closing at 6:00pm on Monday, January 27th due to illness. We apologize for any and all inconvenience.   
Photo of two large landscape collages with wood frame door in middle
The Gladstone Hotel and the Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2020 Come Up To My Room Career Launcher, Maxwell Lander and Aaron Jones.
The OCAD University community is deeply saddened by the news of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash that claimed the lives of 176 people near Tehran yesterday. 
DesignTO bus advertisement rendering.
This year, DesignTO partnered with OCAD University’s Design4 program to create look and feel of the festival’s 10th Anniversary.
OCAD University mourns death of Jeremy Vincent Urbina, student in the Faculty of Art
Abid Virani and Aliwar Pillai, co-founders, Fable Tech Labs (photo courtesy: Forbes)
OCAD U alumni, Alwar Pillai and Abid Virani, co-founders of Fable Tech Labs, were named in Forbes Magazine’s latest Top 30 under 30 list.
Block Head figure with fish tail
Blue Block Head character
Person taking photo of installation
Man hugging green blockhead
Yellow-haired Block Head
Block Heads installation
Friday, July 31, 2015 - 4:00am

A whimsical, experiential and interactive installation by five OCAD University students and alumni provided hugs, photo-ops and more than a few laughs to the 35,000 concert-goers at the inaugural WayHome Art & Music festival on July 24 to 26.

The installation, called The Block Heads, consisted of nine quirky characters some three metres tall with floppy arms, hair, fur and scales. Faculty of Design students and alumni, Ashley Mauerhofer, Kristin Ryan, Maeve Wallace, Sarah Eldershaw and Zeynep Sen, won first place in a joint Faculty of Design and Faculty of Art competition for their concept, receiving a prize of $5,000 and a budget of $18,000 to build the installation.

Set in the farmlands of Ontario’s Oro-Medonte township, WayHome featured 72 bands and musicians, including Neil Young, St. Vincent, Future Islands and Alt-J, alongside 15 visual artists.

Organizers say the festival will return in 2016 from July 22 to 24.