OCAD on Queen

http://www.ocad.ca/students/articles_campus_life/20090324_ocad_on_queen.htm

OCAD's downtown location and close proximity to a plethora of art galleries is a source of inspiration for students; it also offers them the opportunity to become deeply involved in the local arts community. OCAD on Queen — a series of seven exhibitions featuring the multimedia works of this year's fourth-year Sculpture/Installation thesis students — takes full advantage of the vibrant scene surrounding the university. InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, the galleries Lennox Contemporary and Board of Directors, as well as Gallery 1313, will be displaying the students' works from March 5 to April 26.

Over the two-month period, four of the exhibits will take place at Board of Directors with one each at InterAcess, Lennox Contemporary and Gallery 1313. While the exhibits at Board of Directors are shorter, running for ten days each, they are also solo or duo shows. The exhibits at the other three galleries are group shows featuring the work of several students.

OCAD on Queen is a product of the collaborative efforts of faculty, students and galleries, and it presents Sculpture/Installation thesis students with the opportunity to gain experience installing their works in a professional space. Because the exhibits take place off campus, students must seriously consider location and site-specificity in relation to their work. This is particularly pertinent to sculpture and installation, which tends to be informed by the context of presentation. One of the biggest challenges is to make work that is complicit with a pre-existing gallery space.

Although all Sculpture/Installation thesis students are required to participate in OCAD on Queen, many students had to submit an application and approach the gallery with a visual portfolio and statement. This is not unlike the process they’ll undertake as professional artists. “We wanted it to be as close to a professional exhibition experience as possible,” says Faculty of Art Associate Professor Ginette Legaré, who oversees the event. “Important players in the community are interested in collaborating with us because of the quality Sculpture & Installation students achieve in their fourth-year thesis. This event allows the transition between being a student and a professional artist happen in a more supportive manner.”

Denise Morazé, a thesis student whose work will be displayed at Lennox Contemporary, had a positive experience participating in the event. “It was a very democratic, consultative process,” says Morazé. “Students were able to contribute ideas based on their own experiences and backgrounds. I’m a mature student and I’ve worked in public relations, so I was in charge of the promotion of the event. Nicholas Carlino took care of the liquor licences, Christina Kostoff put up posters, Marie-Josée Pirri picked up supplies at Gallery 1313. There were designated coordinators for different tasks and students were able to make some sound suggestions.”

One thing that makes OCAD on Queen different from the thesis presentations of other, similar programs is the fact that the students’ final critiques take place in a gallery space rather than at the university. A panel composed of two faculty members and one external panel member comes to the gallery and participates in an hour-long discussion about the students’ work. As thesis student Sophia Zheshui Lin explains, “Our thesis papers are due one week before the critique, and the panel comes and asks questions on the basis of our papers and exhibits.” It’s clear that having the event off campus is the right thing to do. “The whole experience is an important opportunity to show our work in a proper space.”

Displaying the Sculpture/Installation students' work on Queen Street is sure to generate publicity for the program as well as the university. "It’s a very special crowd on Queen Street," says Lin. “I find that at school we’re often protected by the academic environment, but on Queen there are people who are educated about art as well as those who stroll in [to the gallery] accidentally, without necessarily knowing what we do at OCAD."

The students’ works will displayed until April 26th. Please see the Events Calendar for a detailed schedule or visit www.ocad.ca/ocadonqueen. This series of seven exhibitions is made possible through the generous support of the Nora Vaughn Bequest to the Sculpture/Installation program at OCAD.

By Veronika Lukacs, third-year Criticism & Curatorial Practice student at OCAD.

http://www.ocad.ca/students/articles_campus_life/20090324_ocad_on_queen.htm