Members of the OCAD University community are taking part in this year’s Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF) from July 7 to 9 in Nathan Philips Square.
Since 1961, the fair has been instrumental in launching the careers of artists and bringing art into people’s everyday lives. More than 400 visual artists and makers participate in TOAF each year.
This year, 15 OCAD U emerging artists will be participating in the fair as part of a partnership between TOAF and the OCAD U RBC Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers (CEAD). These creatives are the 2023 recipients of the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair Career Launcher program, and selected artists from GradEx 108.
In addition, more than 50 OCAD U alums, faculty members and students are participating in the fair this year as part of their own projects.
Toronto Outdoor Art Fair Career Launcher program
Ten OCAD U students and alums will present multiple artworks in the Student Zone at the fair as part of the Career Launcher Program offered by the RBC CEAD.
Stephanie Camille (Interdisciplinary Master’s in Art, Media and Design)
Jhonathan Parra Diaz (BDes, Illustration)
Justine Yan Yee Fong (BDes, Material Art & Design)
Shinae Kim (BFA, Drawing and Painting)
Trinity Leon (BDes, Advertising)
Hyunsun Park(BDes, Illustration)
Yana Rzayeva (BFA, Drawing and Painting)
Jenny Su (BDes, Material Art & Design)
Hyun Young Yang (BFA, Drawing & Painting)
Lei (Yuna) Zhang (BDes, Material Art & Design)
GradEx 108 Pop-Up: Unveiling Perspectives
From GradEx 108 to TOAF, a curated selection of five student and alum artworks will be presented at the fair.
The development of this exhibition involved a curatorial collective of OCAD U students who were engaged in an experiential learning initiative, under the mentorship of TOAF and the RBC CEAD. Participating curators include: Talla El Senoussi, Aimee Galvez, Bernadette Lajtman, Jessica Lui, Jasmini Mangrue, Richie Mar, Eva Mero, Maariyah Mohiuddin, Aisha Rizwan and Camille Ubay.
Visit Booth 10, 15 and 16 for this selection of pieces celebrating the artists’ diverse relationships with culture.
Chris Canales-Cisneros (BFA, Drawing and Painting) will present 03 The Family Gossip: Stages of Rectification (2/3), made with ashes and oil on wood panel. His work is concerned with exploring issues of identity, which entails their heritage, sexuality, gender, and most importantly, the intersectionality of these fields.
Drawing and Painting student Rachel Del Bonocreated How Old Are You Now?, oil on canvas, which will be shown at the fair. Her work has been exhibited at Propeller Art Gallery (2022), Artscape Youngplace (2019), and Arts Etobicoke (2019), among others.
Prachi Dhase (BDes, Illustration) is an Indian-Canadian artist and illustrator based in Toronto. Most recently, she has been creating pieces based on her Indian culture and Hindu religious background, as this is the cultural context of her upbringing. Dhase’s painting Goddess Lakshmi Helps a Small Business will be on view at TOAF.
Japanese Canadian illustrator Kiki Hamazaki (BDes, Illustration) will present her digital artwork Happy Core at TOAF, from her series Core-ruption, which explores the toxicity of modern aesthetics.
Emma Martin is Anishinaabekwe from Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation, and a recent BFA graduate from the Photography program at OCAD U. At TOAF, visitors can experience Martin’s installation, Artificial Future, made using ambrotypes, tintypes and salt prints, based on social and environmental injustices.
Additional participating artists
Visitors will find more than 50 additional OCAD U alums, faculty members and students presenting their artworks at TOAF this year as part of their own projects.
The following are a few of the OCAD U community members who will be a part of the fair.
Explore 3D works including sculptures and installations by Environmental Design alum and Assistant Professor Paul Aloisi at Booth 261. These include Language Structure Accordion Hinge (2023) and Positive Roll – Scaled Bulge (2023).
At Booth 85, Illustration alum and Sessional Instructor Shevon Lewis will present a body of work where he uses traditional representational oil painting techniques, including his paintings Immersion into the Subconscious (2022) and Sealed Chamber (2022).
Olivia Mae Sinclair is an Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design alum, and a current Artist in Residence at Harbourfront Centre. She will present many of her textile books and artworks, such as BYE BI ERASURE (book) (2022) and PRIZED (book) (2021), at Booth 27.
Follow @ocadualumni on Instagram for more participating alums. And be sure to explore the full list of TOAF artists.