The University of Toronto Art Centre is pleased to exhibit the thesis projects of the 2015 Master of Visual Studies graduate students: Roya Akbari, Jesse Boles, Ali El-Darsa, and Claudia Zloteanu.

Opening Reception: Friday, March 20, 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the University of Toronto Art Centre.

Roya Akbari was born in Tehran and has lived in Canada for more than a decade. She is a visual artist and the director of two short films: Dancing Mania (2012) and Only Image Remains (2014). Rooted in documentary as a form, her work creates resonances between visual art and cinema. Her interdisciplinary practice has been presented in both gallery and cinema settings. Recent screenings include Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland, Bristol Radical Film Festival in UK, Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland, University of California (UCLA) in US, and TIFF Cinematheque in Toronto. As part of her Master’s degree, Akbari received the David Buller Scholarship in Visual Studies Department at the University of Toronto. Other awards include Media President Award for the best video installation at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Jesse Boles is a Toronto based photo artist and educator. Born in Mongolia Ontario, he lived throughout York Region before moving to Toronto in 1997. He studied architecture at the University of Toronto and photography at Ryerson University. His work focuses on traces of human activity on landscapes, juxtaposing the subject matter with stylistic references to the traditions of 19th century landscape painters in large format prints. He is represented by the Edward Day Gallery in Toronto. His most recent work has been shot in and around Berlin. He most recently exhibited at the AGO in the exhibition "Songs of the future".

Ali El-Darsa, Beirut-born, is a Montreal/Toronto-based artist working in video, performance and installation. Stressing electronic media’s crucial part in creating networked, mediated memories and narratives, his recent work examines the notion of selfhood in the global context of present-day society, which involves confronting one’s self not only with temporal, but also with physical, political, affective, and ideological displacement. Recent solo exhibitions and performances include: 25/09/2001–Present at Espace Cercle Carré (Montreal); Entr’acte at Hart House co-presented by SAVAC (Toronto); Standing Still at Darling Foundry (Montreal). Group exhibitions and screenings include: No Place: Queer Geographies at Small Projects Gallery (Norway); Brooklyn Film Festival (New York); We Can’t Compete at University of Lethbridge Art Gallery (Calgary); Lite Side Festival (Amsterdam); (In)formal disclosures at Access Gallery (Vancouver);  Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen (Montpellier); Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival (Toronto); Galerie Sans Nom (Moncton); Festival Les Ecrans Documentaires, (Arcueil); III Festival Internacional de Videoarte Camaguey (Cuba); Theatre Centre (Toronto). He recently undertook a fellowship with Beirut-based artist, Akram Zaatari.

Claudia Zloteanu is currently a graduate student in Visual Studies at the University of Toronto and holds a MFA from the University of Fine Arts, Bucharest, Romania. In August 2014 she was an artist in residency at YYZ Artist Outlet, Toronto. Between 2010 and 2012 she was an artist in residency in Rome, Italy. Her work includes sculptures, drawings, and photography. Recent group exhibitions include Default Programming, North York Centre for the Arts, Toronto(2015), Spazi Aperti X, Romanian Academy, Rome (2012), The Dark side of the Soul, Museo Magma, Roccamonfina, Italy (2012), Edgardo Manucci, Arcevia, Italy (2010), and Body, Caminul Artei Gallery, Romania (2009). Zloteanu currently lives in Aurora, Ontario.

For more information, visit http://utac.utoronto.ca/index.php/future-exhibitions/290-2015-universit…

Other upcoming MVS exhibitions include:

You Speak / I Dance, curated by Nam-In Kim at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus.

Image Coming Soon #1, curated by Liora Belford at the Justina M Barnicke Gallery.

Cover image courtesy of Ali El-Darsa, Untitled (video still), 2015. Video.