DesignTO Festival features many OCAD U creators

Interactive piece in Dying.exhibit 2023. Cairn (1907) by Sandra Gregson. Image courtesy of Dying.exhibit via DesignTO website.

The DesignTO Festival, Canada’s leading and largest annual design festival, returns to the city from Jan. 19 to 28, 2024. Celebrating design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making, the festival features more than 100 free exhibitions and events, including dozens of works by OCAD University students, faculty, staff and alums.

A range of exhibitions, talks, workshops and installations will immerse attendees in the world of design in all its forms. There are many opportunities to check out exhibitions, talks and installations by OCAD U community members for the duration of the festival.

All Eyes on You
Jan. 19 to Feb. 2 at Boxcar Social Riverside, 4 Boulton Ave.

‘All Eyes On You’ by Environmental Design grad Anna Pogossyan is a thought-provoking mirror installation that explores the profound connection between self-reflection, perception and the human experience.

AND I KNOW YOU’LL NEVER SEE THIS
Jan. 19 to 28 at The Combine, 225 Wellington St. W.

Instructor Olivia Mae Sinclair will present the installation ‘AND I KNOW YOU’LL NEVER SEE THIS’, an inverted progression, mirroring the evolution from “DREAD” to “DREAM.” 

Art Intelligence: The Near Future of Art in Canada
Jan. 18 to 28 at Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen St. W.
Opening reception Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Instructor Dr. Chris Kim is an organizer and speaker for this exhibition, on behalf the online art marketplace Partial, a bootstrapped start-up currently in collaboration with RBC CEAD.

‘Art Intelligence’, presented by Partial, celebrates the near future of art in Canada, featuring original artworks by the next wave of artists. The exhibition includes artwork from Graphic Design alum Jason Zante.

BLOOD, WATER & BATHURST STREET
Jan. 19 to 29 at STACKT Market, North Hall Gallery, 28 Bathurst St.
Opening reception Jan. 20 at 6 p.m.

Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design (IAMD) grad Naomi Daryn Boyd’s participatory, textile-based mapping project explores the histories, communities, and journeys that have shaped these lands. 

Coffee Culture: Ritual Comforts and Kōhī Coat
Jan. 11 to Feb. 1 at Hamers Coffee, 870 Dundas St. W.

‘Coffee Culture’ is an ongoing body of work by Jennifer Coghill experimenting with a specific set of cast-off materials: used tea bags, coffee filters and discarded coffee bags. Coghill is a graduate of the Graphic Design program.
 

Connect & Collaborate: A Design Salon
Jan. 27 at Staples Studio Corktown, 517 Richmond St. E., Second Floor

Join Strategic Foresight and Innovation alums Milena Tasic and Elizabeth Lane at Staples Studio Corktown for ‘Connect & Collaborate’, a salon-style, in-person gathering where the focus is on getting to know others in the Toronto design scene, fostering creativity, and sparking innovation. 

Circular Living Lab
Jan. 19 to 28 at the Circular Living Lab, 165 Niagara St.
Opening reception Jan. 20 at 4:30 p.m.

Associate Professor Ranee Lee will be co-exhibiting a piece of furniture at the Circular Living Lab.

The Lab will feature an integrated art installation that reveals the beauty and craftsmanship of undervalued building materials. It will also include an exhibit featuring transformed and upcycled products and furniture sourced from the deconstruction and salvage of a 9,000 sq.ft. home in Erin, Ontario, which yielded wood, rosso levanto marble, copper sheeting, and more.

DesignTO Talks: Dematerialized
Jan. 24 and 25 online

Adjunct Professor Dr. Lynne Heller will speak at this free online symposium on Jan. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. Speakers will cover such topics as the future of digital artifacts, the ecological impact of computation, spaces for Indigenous self-determination, walking as an immaterial urban practice, material representation in digital environments and more.

Dying.exhibit 2024
Jan. 19 to 28 at OCAD U, 100 McCaul St.
Opening reception Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.

Associate Professor and Director of the Health Design Studio Dr. Kate Sellen is one of the founders of the Dying.series. Dr. Sellen is a co-curator of ‘Dying.exhibit’, a group exhibit on end of life, inviting participants to think about their relationship with life and death through art and design.

From Theory to Practice: A Caring Design Lab
Jan. 22 to 27 at DESIGNwith, 220 Yonge St. (Level 2, North Corridor next to Marks and Canadian Tire)
Opening reception Jan. 22 at 5 p.m.

Associate Professor Ranee Lee is the founder of DESIGNwith, which is opening its doors to share its latest innovative soft goods line in collaboration with the Regent Park Sewing Studio to reveal design for inclusion beyond products — the co-design methodology.

Future Matters
Jan. 19 to Apr. 28 at Gallery 235, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
Opening reception on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.

‘Future Matters’ is a group exhibition featuring the work of eight local and international artists and designers exploring themes related to material expression, innovation, and environmental sustainability, including Assistant Professor Julia Rose Sutherland.

ILLUMINATE at Harbourfront Centre
Jan. 19 to Apr. 28 at the Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.

Harbourfront Centre presents a series of exhibitions that will brighten up your January, including artwork by Instructor Olivia Mae Sinclair.

Interior Design Show
Jan. 18 to 21 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building, 255 Front St. W.

Associate Professor and founder of DESIGNwith Ranee Lee will be speaking at the Interior Design Show on Jan. 18, the day before the DesignTO Festival begins.

Instructor Bernhard Dietz is the founder of ZEEDLIGHT, which will be exhibiting state of the art lighting at the Interior Design Show. 

Introducing: The Biodiversity+ Design Toolkit
Jan. 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. at OCAD U, 100 McCaul St., MCA 190

Dr. Kathy Moscou, Interim Dean, Faculty of Design, will co-lead this panel with Karel Vredenburg, Global VP of UX Research and Head of Canada Studios for IBM. They will speak to the value of biodiversity to inform various aspects of design and contribute to the betterment of humanity and a greener future.

Lotte Reiniger: Out of the Shadows
Jan. 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Goethe-Institut Toronto. 100 University Ave., North Tower, Second Floor

Goethe, OCAD U, and the Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) present a free expert panel discussion revisiting the paper art and animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger, her early design and moving image innovation–inspired by German Scherenschnitte and the ancient Chinese art of paper cutting–from Berlin to her work at the National Film Board of Canada. Philippe Blanchard, Chair, Experimental Animation will be speaking at this event.

NEVER ENOUGH, ALWAYS TOO MUCH
Jan. 19 to 28 in the Collective Arts Toronto Taproom, 777 Dundas St. W.

Instructor Olivia Mae Sinclair’s window installation ‘NEVER ENOUGH, ALWAYS TOO MUCH’ encourages audience members to reflect and consider areas in their own lives where this dichotomy and balance is displaced.

This side or that side
Jan. 20 to 27 at STACKT Market, Unit 2-101, 28 Bathurst St.
Opening reception Jan. 20 at 6 p.m.

Using classic folding beach chairs to set the stage, this interactive exhibition by Environmental Design alum Frances Hahn explores transition and identity. 

Tribute
Jan. 19 to 28 at Stantec Window Gallery, 401 Wellington St. W., #100

‘Tribute’ is a large-scale textile installation by Material Art & Design student Omar Tarek Zayed and Environmental Design grad Linjuan Dai that investigates Toronto’s lost river networks. This installation was realized through the RBC CEAD Career Launcher program.

SHEEEP Radio: DesignTO Festival Edition
Jan. 27 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at HomeCourt, 178R Ossington Ave.

This is a live episode recording, featuring recent grad adé abegunde, and Assistant Professor Michael Lee Poy.

More OCAD U involvement in the DesignTO Festival

Instructor Anthony Campea and his studio, aftermodern.lab inc., are behind the design of the DesignTO Festival and the Annual Print. This year, the featured artists are OCAD U students Amir Khoshnevis and Aryaan Pashine, led by alum Hwa-jin Jun. 

If you are a member of the OCAD U community and your DesignTO project is not listed above, please contact csharma@ocadu.ca.