Alumna Novka Ćosović (MArch 2013) takes part in this year’s line up for Nuit Blanche with a large-scale art installation that reminds us how media representations of trauma have become a background subject to daily life.

Entitled The Museum, the piece is closely linked to her graduate thesis of the same name. Accoring to Ćosović (and as described in an earlier article on her work):

Acts of violence and trauma captured in the media have one common denominator: their backgrounds. Prisoners of war have been held in school gymnasiums; dead bodies have been piled high in swimming pools; bathrooms have been turned into slaughter houses. The backgrounds in each setting include tiles, wallpaper, curtains — the architecture of our everyday lives. Normally benign settings, ‘domestic-institutional-communal spaces’ become perverted by war and violence.

At Nuit Blanche, Ćosović will present her idea of “perverted spaces” through an installation that appears to be a typical swimming pool. This pool, however, represents one that was once used as a morgue during the Yugoslavian war. Visitors are invited to lounge within her makeshift “pool” as they watch news clips of warfare played out within highly domesticated and communal backgrounds/spaces in places such as the former Yugoslavia, East Timor, Rwanda, and Syria.

Ćosović is an MArch graduate and currently splits her time between working for Community and writing for Site Magazine. The Museum can be viewed at Artscape Youngplace on the night of Nuit Blanche this October 1st.

After serving a three-year tenure as Artistic Director at Trinity Square Video, Master of Visual Studies, Curatorial graduate John G. Hampton (MVS 2014) has been announced as the Executive Director for the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba (AGSM).

“I am humbled and honoured to be trusted with the leadership of the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, an institution that holds such a vital position within its community,” said Hampton in a press release. “The AGSM has long impressed me with the strength of its programming, and its forward looking commitment to the ethics of exhibition and display.”

In addition to this new position, Hampton is a member of the Aboriginal Education Council at OCAD University, and an outgoing board member for Mercer Union in Toronto. During his time at Trinity Square Video, Hampton also acted as the Aboriginal Curator in Residence at the Art Museum at U of T, and has previously served as a board member for Queer City Cinema and Holophon Sound Art Collective in Regina, SK.

AGSM Board of Directors Chair Marnie Evans said about Hampton: “We are excited to have him on the team and we are confident that he will continue to advance the AGSM’s mission of leading and inspiring community engagement through contemporary art exhibitions, education, and events.”

While Hampton was still enrolled in the MVS program, he was profiled by Now magazine for its monthly education and career training feature "Class Action" about his experience as a student.

Says Hampton:

The program helps with the intellectual aspects of being a curator. A big part of the job is framing contemporary artwork through writing and how you speak about it. The university is well suited to train you for that. Access to the various departments at the University of Toronto – the program is interdisciplinary – means you can seek out the types of advisers you need. I’m taking classes in the philosophy department and in museum studies to gain administrative-type skills.
 

For the full article, visit Now’s website.

Alumna Monica Adair (MArch 2005) was recently profiled in the Toronto Star as one of two emerging architects who are “turning heads in the profession.” The article highlights the difficulty that talented practicing architects under 40 have in winning large, prestigious projects, compared to year's past.

“Richard Sommer, dean of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at U of T, says a pervasive risk aversion has set in among institutional clients and their banking backers in this country,” writes Joseph Hall. “That attitude sends most Habitat or Science-Centre-scale works to rock star architects or established, major firms.”

Adair discussed similar issues in an interview with Daily Commercial News last month after serving as a presenter at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's 2016 Festival of Architecture in Nanaimo, B.C.

Earlier this year, Adair and partner Stephen Kopp (MArch 2005) were featured in an article in Huddle about balancing both work and home life. Adair admits that sometimes it’s not always possible to achieve a balance, so she and Kopp changed their perspective on their experience with an overwhelming workload.

“If we don’t think of life as a balance but think of it as a timeline of what you want to remember in this world; we’re trying to focus on making sure that those things are fulfilled and important and we’ll find ways around that to make that happen,” Adair told Cara Smith.

Two weeks ago, an group of architects and artists came together for the Building Museums: Building Cities (Part 2) panel discussion at the Art Museum; among them were Daniels Faculty alumni Adrian Blackwell (MUD 2002) and Shirley Blumberg (BArch 1976), as well as Dean Richard Sommer. Other panelists included French architect Eric Lapierre, Charles Renfro of New York-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Paris-based writer and critic Philippe Trétiack. The panel was introduced by Associate Professor Barbara Fischer.

The discussion centred on the changing museum culture in light of international development and its effect on urban renewal and gentrification. Part 1 of the Building Museums: Building Cities events, which took place last year, considered Toronto’s recent cultural building revival, the surge of large capital projects, and the renewals of museum spaces currently developing across Canada.

This year’s event was recently covered by U of T News: “Imagine Toronto without the Royal Ontario Museum or the Art Gallery of Ontario,” writes Romi Levine. “The ROM’s Lee-Chin Crystal and Frank Gehry’s long glass and wood façade at the AGO have reached iconic status in the city – and Toronto would feel emptier without them. The buildings themselves have become as important as the artifacts they house.”

As Levine writes, attendees of the event included students, alumni, and professionals in the architecture and curatorial fields. “For attendee Cynthia Roberts, who holds a Masters of Museum Studies from U of T, the event highlighted the importance of talking about art and architecture so that decision makers are aware of its importance and the need for funding."

The event was organized by Fischer and the staff of the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, and was a joint initiative between the Art Museum and the French Consulate of Toronto with additional support by the Institut français.

For the full article, visit the U of T News website.

Earlier this year, alumna Victoria Taylor (MLA 2008) co-founded and co-curated ====\\DeRAIL Platform for Art and Architecture with designer and public art curator, Gelareh Saadapajouh. ====\\DeRAIL is a curated program of site-specific exhibitions, events, competitions, and publications with a mission to foster, support, interpret, celebrate, and expand public understanding around placemaking, landscape, and urbanism. It aims to provide an alternative platform for dialogue and collaboration across disciplinary, geographical, and ideological boundaries at the intersection of contemporary art and architecture. Taylor and Saadapajouh’s vision for the program is to inspire Toronto to expand the public dialogue around contemporary art, placemaking, landscape, and urbanism.

For its inaugural commission in Spring 2016, ====\\DeRAIL presented the installation titled MOBILE INK FACTORY by Jason Logan of Toronto Ink Company. Through the Doors Open weekend, Logan led participants along a section of the West Toronto Railpath park to learn about the unique character of this urban ecosystem, and then invited participants to make ink from the natural and handmade elements collected during the exploratory walks. The bottles of ink were kept as a souvenir of place, time, and experience. Educational, playful and participatory, MOBILE INK FACTORY drew attention to biodiversity and the inherent colours of the West Toronto Railpath park to celebrate new ways of understanding a familiar place beyond its usual functionality. For photos of the event, click here.

Taylor was recently interviewed by Metro News Toronto for her work with Landscape Punctures – a project that encourages residents to make their laneways greener by using “crack mix.” The special horticultural blend contains durable plant seeds that can grow with little maintenance.

“Through the Laneway Puncture, community volunteers get together and dig punctures in the middle of a laneway, where they place the plants,” writes Gilbert Ngabo for Metro News Toronto. “As many as 250 km of laneways will be part of the project.”

Several faculty and alumni will be recognized at the Ontario Association of Architects annual OAA Awards, presented May 13th. 

The OAA Awards offers the Ontario architectural profession an annual opportunity to present its work to a public and professional audience. It advertises the excellence of both individual award winners and the profession as a whole, and it fosters a greater appreciation of architecture and architects among all levels of society, professional and non-professional.

The Daniels Faculty would like to extend its congratulations to alumni and faculty members recognized this year.

The Design Excellence category recognized the “innovative skills of Ontario architects in creating spaces, buildings and communities that respect and enhance the environment an enrich human activity.”

• Harbord Towns by Superkül Inc. — the firm of Daniels Faculty Instructor Meg Graham
   
• Prince Arthur’s Landing, Thunder Bay Waterfront by Brook McIlroy Inc. — the firm of Anne McIlroy (BArch 1986) and Calvin Brook (BArch 1982)
   
• Richard Ivey Building, Western University by Hariri Pontarini Architects — the firm of David Pontarini (BArch 1983)
   
• Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, University of British Columbia by KPMB Architects — the firm of Bruce Kuwabara (BArch 1972) and Shirley Blumberg (BArch 1976) — and HCMA Architecture + Design in a joint venture
   
• Toronto Public Library Scarborough Civic Centre Branch by LGA Architectural Partners Ltd. — the firm of Janna Levitt (BArch 1986) and Dean Goodman (BArch 1983) — and Phillip H. Carter, Architect in joint venture

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The Concepts category recognized the “clarity and uniqueness of expression of an architectural idea as well as promoting the involvement of individuals in the areas of design presentation, art and other design related endeavors.”

• Dominique Cheng (MArch 2007): Planespotting

The Landmark Designation category recognized the “buildings that demonstrate architecture’s beauty, endurance and lasting contribution to community and society.”

• 299 Queen Street West renovation by Quadrangle Architects — the firm of Sheldon Levitt (BArch 1980)
   
• St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church by John Stefura (BArch 1953) and Carl Skerl (BArch 1958), Townend Stefura Baleshta and Pfister Architects

Additionally, Professor Emeritus George Baird received the Lifetime Design Achievement Award for his career-long contribution to Architectural Design Excellence. William N. Greer (BArch 1948) received the Order of da Vinci for his significant and meaningful contribution to the profession of architecture. Finally, Douglas Cumming Johnson (BArch 1950) was included in the OAA Honour Roll, a category that recognizes prominent members of the architectural profession who are now deceased.

The final three awards (the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Design Excellence in Architecture, the Michael V. and Wanda Plachta Award, and the People’s Choice Award) will be announced at the Celebration of Excellence on May 13th as part of the OAA Conference 2016 being held in Toronto.

Alumna Erika DeFreitas (MVS 2008) is the recipient of the $5000 Finalist Artist Prize from the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts (TFVA).

“It is such an honor to be a finalist among so many inspiring cultural producers,” says DeFreitas of the announcement.

As a Toronto-based multidisciplinary conceptual artist, DeFreitas explores the influence of language, loss and culture on the formation of identity through public intervention, textile-based works, and performative actions that are photographed, placing an emphasis on process, gesture and documentation. Her work was included in the recent exhibition Rehearsal for Objects Lie on a Table at UofT’s Art Museum.

Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1998. The organization gives financial support to the visual arts in the greater Toronto area and provides an educational program for its members. TFVA has now given $555,000 to the GTA arts community since its inception. This year, TFVA also awarded artists Miai Sutnik, vsvsvs (a seven person collective), Bridget Moser, Zun Lee, Showroom (an exhibition at the Art Museum), Chroma Lives (an exhibition and research project by Erin Alexa Freedman and Lili Huston-Herterich), and Vtape (an arts space co-founded by Professor Lisa Steele and Associate Professor Kim Tomczak).