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 2026/2027 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 2026/2027 Visual Studies Public Lecture Series is curated by Assistant Professor Haseeb Ahmed. All events take place in Main Hall (DA170) at the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent unless otherwise noted. Registration is encouraged, but not required.

Fall 2026

Thursday, September 17
4:00-5:30pm, Daniels Building DA330 
Maria Lind, Curator, Giron/Kiruna, Sweden
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Tuesday, September 29
6:30-8:30pm
Harlan Levey, Gallerist, Brussels, Belgium
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Tuesday, October 13
6:30-8:30pm
Rhayne Vermette, Filmmaker in Residence, Winnipeg, Canada
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Tuesday, November 3
6:30-8:30pm
Flaka Haliti, Artist in Residence, Munich, Germany, Pristina, Kosovo, and Vienna, Austria 
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Thursday, November 19
6:30-8:00pm
Adrien Lucca, Artist, Brussels, Belgium
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In collaboration with the Daniels Public Program: Understories

Forthcoming - Date TBA
DA170 Daniels
Rouzbeh Akhbari, Artist 
In collaboration with Mercer Union, Toronto and the Toronto Biennial of Art

Winter 2027

To be announced. 

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.