The annual Visual Studies Public Lecture Series (MVS Proseminar) at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design offers graduate students in curatorial studies and studio art the opportunity to connect and exchange with field-leading international and local artists, curators, writers, theorists and other scholarly practitioners and researchers.   

The 2025/2026 Visual Studies Public Lecture Series examines how contemporary art intersects with societal contexts, from exploring identity and cultural memory to challenging conventional narratives. Through studio visits, masterclasses and workshops with our students, alongside public evening lectures, our invited practitioners spark interdisciplinary dialogue and prompt inquiry among our community.  

The 2025/2026 Visual Studies Public Lecture Series is curated by Assistant Professor Gareth Long, Director of the Faculty's Visual Studies Programs. All events take place in Main Hall at the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent. Registration is encouraged, but not required.

Winter 2026

All events take place at 6:30 p.m. in Main Hall at the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent.

Register

January 20, 6:30pm ET
Allison Glenn
Curator (2026 Toronto Biennial of Art)

January 27, 6:30pm ET
Liam Gillick
Artist

February 25, 6:30pm ET 
Aimée Zito Lema* 
Artist 
*This event takes place in the Mediatheque (DA200) a the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent

March 3, 6:30pm ET
CANCELLED Defne Ayas
Curator, Director of the Van Abbemuseum

March 10, 6:30pm ET
Lucy Raven
Artist
In partnership with The Vega Foundation and The Power Plant

March 24, 6:30pm ET
Juliet Kothe
Curator
In partnership with OCAD University

March 31, 6:30pm ET
Alexandre Singh
Artist and Filmmaker

Fall 2025 

Friday, November 14
Juana Berrío

Tuesday, November 25
Peter Morin

About the Master of Visual Studies (MVS) Program

The Master of Visual Studies (MVS) is an intimate, two-year program in either Studio Art or Curatorial Studies. These two streams of study operate at a field-leading intersection of liberal-arts academic research, studio and curatorial professional practices and methodologies, and a unique program identity grounded in a critical approach to discursive practices in exhibition. 

The artistic research and scholarship that emerges from both program pathways reflects increasingly complex modes of art and exhibition-making, filtered through philosophy, cultural theory, criticism and diverse material practices. Situated within one of the world’s leading research institutions, the MVS programs focus on art and its presentation as research, fostering interdisciplinary exchange within the greater Daniels Faculty and across the University of Toronto.