The Learning Zone

Come visit and browse a collection of over 2500 zines, from uniquely handmade multiples, minicomics, poetry chapbooks, perzines, and much more! We will have a special display of recent acquisitions with a focus on Indigenous voices, decolonization and multilingual publications.

When? Tuesday July 10, 10 am to 6 pm at the Learning Zone located at 122 St. Patrick Street, Level 1, also accessible from 113 McCaul Street.

This event is part of Art Book Week, a week-long series of events and activities that parallels the Toronto Art Book Fair. Art Book Week 2018 takes place from July 4 – 11 at various locations across the city. The goal of Art Book Week is to celebrate the unique artists’ book community in Toronto, as well as increase the visibility of new and exciting projects, spaces, and artists. www.torontoartbookfair.com/art-book-week-2018

We enjoyed Integrated Media student Nikole’s energy and passion while she worked here at the Learning Zone for the last two years. This energy and passion also extended into her artwork that can be viewed on her Vimeo channel.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and the art you create.

I am Nikole Hildago McGregor, I come from Peru. I am a feminist and a Mestizo woman. I make video work that is connected with both my identity and my political views, views that are also related with social change.

How long have you been interested in art? How long have you known that this is something that you wanted to pursue as a career?

When I was growing up I was really good at math and sciences. I really like to do crafts but I never saw that as something I wanted to do for a living and dedicate myself to. I studied biology for 5 years but I honestly did not like it. So, moving to Canada was an opportunity to take over a different route with something that I would actually enjoy and do not hate every single second. I took a design certificate program and worked with a team designing a logo for a minor hockey team. I really like designing and doing art direction but wanted more creative freedom. So, I look for a place where I could do this thing that I was craving, that was art and developing my skills. I learnt of the Integrated Media program at OCAD U, that offered me the opportunity to work with computers, animation, film and design, a program that brings art and technology together.

Where does your inspiration come from?

As I mentioned, I am feminist and Mestizo Latino woman from Peru, which is still a chauvinist country with older views about the roles of women in society, and still dealing with issues like ownership of the female body – as if it’s not her own. These kind of themes are really important to me.

My work always turns the eyes towards the current situation in Peru, but that is also present in the first world, like the United States, were Planned Parenthood centers are being closed because of how politics move in order to control women. I find that most of my work tries to make reference to what inspires me the most. When I work on in a project I want to communicate my ideas and feelings. I avoid using narration because I speak Spanish and English, but I want my pieces to be understood by everyone. I try to make points about the feelings and insecurities and the internal struggles that women face.

Which two art supplies could you not live without?

I love paper.  Even with my stop motion animation, I made the whole wardrove and custom designs are made out of paper. I adore the different weights and textures. Also, for my own creative process, I can’t live without clay, it is a substrate of my craft, and I consider it enriches my creative process

When you came to OCAD you knew that you were going to be involved with film/video making, but did you always have a love for animation or was that something that developed later?

It developed afterwards. I did not have any kind of artistic instruction previously. I did not know how to grab a pen or pencil for drawing, it was so weird. You need to at least know a little bit about drawing for animation. When I applied to Integrated Media, I said yes I can design in a different way, like for making film because you follow the same principles of design, colour, repetition within the screen,  so obviously I started taking more film courses. But little by little I realized that I like the power of creating everything by yourself. You need a team for making a film but for animation there is a certain flexibility about it and you can do it by yourself.  Of course, it will take all of the time in the world! It was quite a discovery, and I learned to carve, to paint, to draw, because of animation. I am really keen on aesthetics, so I would spend weeks learning the skills before getting into the animation process. Animation is a great tool for talking about really difficult and painful subject matters. You can be really symbolic about it without having blood and death directly full on your face.  You can be subtle and say deep, sad stuff in a really beautiful way and that’s a power that I wanted to be able to wield.

What did you enjoy the most about Integrated Media program?

I find that Integrated Media allowed me to discover myself in a way that other programs would not have been able to—it gave me so many options to strengthen the skills that I already had, and it also opened doors for discovering new ways of making art. All the instructors that I had were amazing, inspiring artists, great professionals, practicing artists. I don’t know if I was lucky but everything about the program allowed me the possibility to call myself an artist today. I find it such a complex word, what does it even mean to be an artist?, to me its the ability to grab different tools and create something that is meaningful to today’s society.

How would you describe yourself as an artist?

When I talk about myself, I say that I’m a filmmaker and animator, and I know that there are a lot of nuances on those two terms. My practice is media based but what I present on the screen is informed by all the tools I find around me. An artist should not be limited, and if you have the opportunity to really explore other substrate then why not, it will just enrich the final practice. Communication is also important to me, so I try to portrait the subject matter in meaningful, lingering ways making use of the visuals. I believe I am capable of highlighting important issues with the art direction of a short.

Is there any artist from the past or present that you appreciate a lot?

Jan Švankmajer. He works with film and animation. He makes gigantic puppets, sometimes he does puppetry, stop motion animation, and he works with clay and wood. He writes a lot and I like the way he describes his work—he does not make objects come to life but he listens to the objects telling the stories that the objects want to tell. It’s so rich. I find his work inspiring and connects a lot with my art practice.

What are your plans when you graduate?

I would love to keep doing what I do. I have had the incredible honour to show my pieces around the world. I’ve been showing in Europe, South America and here in Canada. I have been invited to the La Truca Film Festival in Colombia in the middle of the year because they have a special panel with female empowered filmmakers, and my film is also showing in that festival.

Is there anything else you want to share with us, any final thoughts?

If you are a student, take advantage of that because you can create pieces that are really important and meaningful to you, and you have the opportunity to have the feedback from your instructors and that feedback is invaluable.

In April, we had a chance to speak with 4th year Graphic Design student Aicha Niazy who was busy putting final touches on her thesis project.

Aicha’s personal style has been very much influenced by her culture, religion and background stemming from her wanting to know more about these things

I would not say art school is what influenced my style but it’s other factors that influenced my artwork and graphic design style, like my culture, my religion, my background. I wanted to know more about these things about my culture and my background and questions in life in general so looking into these things has in a way suddenly or indirectly directed the type of work I do. For example, if you look at my thesis it’s all related to that, my culture, background and history.

LZ: Hi Aicha, it’s nice to meet with you again. Our last interview was in 2015, you were in your first year at OCAD University. This year you are graduating from the university with a BDes in Graphic Design.

AN: Yes, I am, hopefully

What did you enjoy most about studying graphic design at OCAD University?

I enjoyed some of the approaches that some of my profs had. Some of the courses were very interesting because I probably had a different expectation of what the course was going to look like, but then it was very different from what I was thinking. It was something new so, I enjoyed that although I can’t say it for all the courses. When I look back from first year to now, I see the progress and even those profs also see my progress.

 Is there another medium you would like to work with?

Yes, textiles. I think in my first interview I mentioned that small business that my mom, my sister and I started. That is what I want to focus on when I graduate. It’s mostly in textiles but I also have to do a lot of graphic design in branding and corporate identity work related to that but it’s very nice to merge the two together. I like creating pattern design, this is something I’m interested in, and surface design whether it’s for textiles, wall paper, or it could be for anything really.

Have you seen an evolution of your design practice from first year at OCAD U to present?

I feel like there is definitely, like I said before from first year to now, I have learned so much but even say that not just since the first year at OCAD but the first year at UTM. I went in not knowing how to use any of the software but that is what I learned and when I came into OCAD, it was even further into the practice itself, it was learning more about graphic design, but it was not like oh here this how you have to design something—it goes here and goes there—no it was not like any of this so it was a very good exploration and direction from the profs so you end up developing your own style in your work that is different from someone else but you are both learning but everyone ends up doing something—the style differs based on a lot of other things—everyone has their own influences—things whether they are aware of or not influence their work the way they are thinking so I absolutely do see a progression first year to now.

You have an assuredness in what you are doing and are very confident, you are open to learn more…

Absolutely, I’m open to learn more, always, forever—also that confidence comes after the very, very end after I’ve done my research, I begin with lots of questions, lots of confusion, lots of, I don’t know where I’m going a lot of my projects are hugely very open at the beginning, very broad, where do I  even begin, then slowly when I’m done, not done, its not ever done when I do a lot research and look into everything, then I’m okay, I know what I’m doing.

Is there anything else you want to share with us, any final thoughts?

I enjoyed my time at OCAD!

For the last two years, it has been a great privilege to have Environmental Design student Aruvi Rajasingham working in the Learning Zone as a Student Monitor. Many of you most likely have encountered Aruvi across campus either as a long-serving Student Peer Mentor for Campus Life, or busy with environmental design installations for GradEx.

Aruvi has been interested in the design process, ever since studying technological and industrial design in High School where she learned about making wallets out of duct-tape, and paper airplane making.

LZ: What influenced your decision to major in Environmental Design?

AR: This program offered me the opportunity to explore with many different types of materials and 3D design. I really enjoy the design process of experimenting, prototyping and making 3D objects, that was my interest in the design field, specifically environmental design. It was something new to me and I wanted to give it a try.

What did you enjoy most about your program?

I enjoyed the flexibility in the approaches towards your work. It is not a definitive answer in what you have to produce. You can be explorative in the project that you are given and creative with materials and design thinking.

I would say the people too, especially when I started to engage more in group projects. It was fun to work with different people.

Why did you choose OCAD University?

I choose OCAD because after researching other programs at universities I was excited that I could make things (studio environment). OCAD offered a hands-on experience and studio access. I could make things in an environment that allowed me to be experimental.

Through researching, I was looking for what other programs interested me, I knew that it had to be hands on. I found OCAD and it had this program. If offered me hands-on and studio. It excited me a lot that I could make things. I only applied to Toronto schools, so that I could commute from home. For financial reasons.

Where are you most productive? Tell us a bit about your creative space?

 I like working near a window with natural daylight.

I’ve noticed that you have been involved in many collaborative projects at OCAD U. Do you think that collaboration goes hand in hand with innovation?

Yes, it does. It makes a fun way of learning. Everyone has a diverse set of skills. They have knowledge about something that you do not know about. Working in a team already puts you in a situation with many different people, and a lot of ideas that can come from that.

Working with the Steam collective on the Steam Canoe Installation, I did not know a lot about building but by being part of the process you learn things – seeing things and being there.

The Steam Canoe, Beaches Winter Stations Installation (Winter 2016)

Any final thoughts that you would like to share with us?

It’s always nice to get involved around the community in something you are interested in. It’s a fun way to meet new friends and learn, even if it’s volunteering.