STORYING

APRIL 15 – JUNE 1, 2020

View the online exhibition here

Over the winter semester 2020, OCAD U faculty Penelope Smart and Pam Patterson and 25 students of CROS 2002 Contemporary Issues: Art Today met on Thursday afternoons to explore the concept of identity — the solid, evaporating, congealing, fractured, token, sincere question of Who am I? within contemporary art practices. Our inquiry took on many forms: personal writings and responses on issues of representation and difference, memory and imagination, and the mediation of the world through technologies. Together, we mapped frameworks of the self through readings, peer discussions. presentations and gallery visits, working toward a fluid, unscripted, collective expression of our findings: a group exhibition of individual works that speak to identity as a myriad of stories we tell ourselves (or are told) about who we are.

“Storying”-as-exhibit was set to open in the Learning Zone on April 2nd, 2020. As Covid-19 became a reality for the OCADU community and across the globe, we pivoted to OCAD U’s digital platform. It is exciting and meaningful for us to share these works — as self-expression in the here and now — with online audiences during this extraordinary time. It has never been more important to stay connected and curious about other people. How do our personal experiences, histories, creative talents, and daily hopes and fears work to both keep us apart and bring us closer?

This website serves as an online exhibition and creative portfolio of the course. Please explore the multidisciplinary works — spanning painting, drawing, textile, sculpture, animation, music, AI tech and video — of students by clicking the names in the menu on the left. You can also read short artist statements including poems, lyrics and creative texts, which accompany and illuminate each work.

Thank you for visiting.
— Penelope Smart, curator and tutorial leader

Exhibition Statement: “Storying” is an exhibition by students in CROS 2002 Contemporary Issues: Art Today. Individual works spanning a variety of media query identity as a creative act — a thing to be made, re-made, told, written, erased, re-written, documented and performed. Works consider how questions of authorship and authority shape the stories we tell about who we are.

Exhibiting Artists: Anam Feerasta, Bernobayobaylee/ Lee Reid, Carla Sierra Suarez, Carmen Mahave, Chris Mullrooney, Emily Flynn, Esther Liang, Fabina Germain, Fuyu Liu, Jerry Zhou, Kaia Fortis Scott, Lou Davis, Lucas Kim, Madison Burke, Philberta Mak, Raf Dan McEwan, Tony Leung, Violet Liepins, Zhenhao Sun

Professor: Pam Patterson
Project curator: Penelope Smart, Tutorial Leader
Assistant curator: Temple Marucci-Campbell
Web design: Marta Chudolinska

A special thank you to Marta Chudolinska, of the OCADU Learning Zone, for her positivity, helpfulness and technical and administrative knowledge and support.

On Tuesday March 10th we hosted the Geometry and Design Workshop led by the very talented Nabeela Malik. Nabeela, last joined us in the Learning Zone in 2017 when she led a hands-on Arabic Calligraphy Workshop .

Students at work from the Arabic Calligraphy Workshop

At this March 10th workshop, Nabeela explored geometry in art and design following 2D geometry based from Islamic geometric art.

This workshop was designed for students to learn 2D geometry based from Islamic geometric art. Students learned  artistic and mathematical aspects of geometry, and how geometry can be implemented in art and design. Nabeela demonstrated methods and techniques using two simple tools: a compass to draw circles and a ruler to make lines. Starting with a circle as the starting point for precisely creating other shapes with multiple sides. It was a fun workshop exploring building and overlaying of shapes to create complex geometric compositions.

Thank you Nabeela, for leading this amazing workshop and teaching new and creative skills to compliment any students’ practice!

Visit www.nmcustomart.com to check out Nabeela’s portfolio!

Student-Led workshops are funded by the Ontario Post-Secondary Access and Inclusion Program (OPAIP) administered by the Writing & Learning Centre. These workshops are free, including materials, and are open to all current students.

Zain Bhanapatel

An Assortment

Feb 24 – Mar 18, 2020

This photographic series explores identity and personal narrative using the symbolic representation of fruit and the human body.

The work parallels the representation of the feminine form with fruit through structural and symbolic similarities.

Zain Bhanapatel, is an OCAD U Photography student and multi-media artist producing work that is personal and that draws on self-exploratory narratives, feminine form and sexuality, through the camera lens.

This exhibition captures the raw energy behind zines – self-published works from zine creators with unique perspectives and diverse voices. The DIY culture embodies freedom of expression unlimited to stories, poetry, drawings, collages, comics and perzines while delving head on into current and contemporary political issues.

Zines are artistic in nature driven by a do-it-yourself (DIY) ethos of handmade or photocopied; zines fit comfortably in an exhibition space as an artifact of voices with a growing urgency to be heard.

FREEDOM-HI! An Exhibition of Zines and Documentation from Hong Kong’s Civil Movements

Atom C and Jason Li from Zine Coop installed the Freedom-Hi! exhibition featuring zines and documentation from 2019 Hong Kong’s protests that began over the controversial extradition bill that could send Hong Kong residents to Mainland China to be tried in court.

The passing of this extradition bill, The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019, would violate the constitutional principle “One Country, Two Systems” which the Chinese government had promised to uphold for 50 years following the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997.

This situation, far from being resolved, has created uncertainties and unrests within Hong Kong which are reflected in this exhibition, and the introduction of new zines being added weekly present real time documentation and preservation.

In response, this exhibition highlights and investigates the current social and political climate of Hong Kong. It offers a glimpse into DIY publishing as a vehicle for information dissemination, self expression and creative resistance.

Salam // Wai : Resistance Beyond Borders

Salam // Wai : Resistance Beyond Borders curated by Diaspora Express and Hong Kong Gong draws parallels between Salam// Wai : Resistance Beyond Borders and  Freedom-Hi! April 6, 2019 mark the start of pro-democracy protests in Sudan. A political crisis erupted since the removal of the long-serving ruler, Omar al-Bashir.

…how can we hold space for one another, when our own homes are under attack?

The curators seek to answer this question with bringing both the Sudan and Hong Kong community together with art, zines and family photos.

This is a scaled version of the exhibition that ran at Tea Base in August. A collection of art and zines from two communities sharing parallel experiences. On at the OCAD U Zine Library until October 7.

Download the  Salam//Wai Exhibition Statement by Diaspora Express and Hong Kong Gong

Zine Coop is an indie publishing artist collective that promotes zine culture in Hong Kong. It provides support on zine making and distribution, connecting artists with book fairs while serving as a bridge between distress and potential readers.

www.zinecoop.org / FB: zinecoop / IG: zine_coop