February 10, 2025

OCAD U Welcomes Van Maltese as Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence

On the left, a headshot of Van Maltese. On the right, one their pieces (oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, acrylic paint, magnets)
Left: Photography by Brittany Carmichael. Right: Circling the drain, 2018. Images courtesy of Van Maltese.

 

 

THIRDSPACE: Emerging Artist Summer Intensive Program 2025

OCAD U announces new month-long residency designed for interdisciplinary emerging artists guided by OCAD U alum and Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence, Van Maltese. This immersive program offers a unique opportunity to develop new work, experiment with techniques, expand artistic practices, and showcase final projects. 

The 2025 residency theme, “Hypothesizing How We See,” invites artists to explore conflicts of perception as a means of reshaping understanding. Through play, experimentation, critical inquiry, and collaboration, participants will examine how ambiguity and fluidity can open new ways of thinking, seeing, and engaging with the world.

 

Residency Highlights:

  • Mentorship from our Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence
  • Dedicated studio space to develop and refine work
  • Access to specialized facilities (based on experience and technical skills)
  • Hands-on workshops designed to expand artistic practice
  • Reading discussions and guest talks with leading artists and thinkers
  • Cultural field trips to enrich creative perspectives
  • Final group exhibition showcasing work developed during the program

 

Key dates:  

  • Early bird deadline: Sunday, March 2, 2025 (Save $200 off program fee)
  • Final application deadline: Tuesday, May 13, 2025  
  • Program dates:  Monday, June 2 – Friday, June 27, 2025, with recommended arrival and departure dates are Sunday, June, 1 and Saturday, June 29, 2025. 

 

A collage picturing four studio spaces at OCAD U. Top and bottom left: Painting studios with easels. Top right: Screenprinting studio. Bottom right: Photography cove studio.

 

 

 

2025 Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence: Van Maltese

Van Maltese is an interdisciplinary artist whose work employs trickery, illusion, and associative play to deconstruct the experience of perception. Fascinated by pattern recognition, brain plasticity, and the fluidity of sight and sound, Maltese explores how perceptual conflicts can reshape thinking. Based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Maltese is an OCAD University alum (Class of 2010) and has received major recognitions, including the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competition national prize and the 2018 Glenfiddich Artist-in-Residence Canadian prize. Most recently, they served as the 2023 International Randall Chair in Painting at the School of Art and Design at Alfred University.

This summer, they will bring their expertise, curiosity, and mentorship to THIRDSPACE, guiding emerging artists through this immersive one-month residency and mentorship program. 

 

APPLY TO THIRDSPACE

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