OCAD U Professor Emerit co-launches inspiring new book

Faculty of Art Professor Emerit Peter Sramek is launching the new book, Modelling International Collaborations in Art Education, alongside co-authors and alums Giselle Mira-Diaz and Charisse Fung, on August 29.

The book launch and public symposium will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon in MCA 240 at 100 McCaul St.

The session includes presentations by Sramek, Mira-Diaz (Indiana University NW), Sofia Sienra (Universidad Autonoma del Estado de México), Walter Bergmoser (University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Berlin) and a panel of alums from the International Art Collaborations Network (INTAC) program. OCAD U has been a core member of the INTAC program since its inception in 2010.

“Much of the contents of the book are based on the experience of the INTAC program, through which we in the Photography program have led a diverse range of OCAD U students in since 2010,” says Sramek.

“The programs covered in the book primarily have art students meet online, form small groups and develop collaborative art projects around a general theme,” he continues. “They work together independently with guidance from the professor team, learning communication and leadership skills. Each cycle the projects culminate in an exhibition, generally hosted by one of the member universities.”

Copies of the book will be available for sale with a 30 per cent discount at a table outside the auditorium at 100 McCaul St., on August 28 and at the August 29th book launch and symposium event.

About Modelling International Collaborations in Art Education

Modelling International Collaborations in Art Education is based on over a decade of collective teaching and learning by the authors and contributors. The volume explores the hybrid use of online and in-person collaboration as a means of offering international experience to university-level arts students.

The book covers topics ranging from forms of inter-institutional programming to pedagogical motivations and institutional advantages and barriers. Chapters consider issues of thematic focus and responding to diversity of global contexts, cultures and languages.

The book also documents the student experience through illustrated artworks, alum interviews and collected feedback from those who have participated over the years. The dynamics of designing, facilitating and participating in international art collaborations are elucidated in depth, along with an analysis of the online environments and tools available to support them.