Art Museum

A new art installation inside the University of Toronto’s Simcoe Hall is shining a spotlight on some of Canada’s most respected Indigenous artists while giving the community an opportunity to reimagine the concept of public space.

The exhibition, acknowledging the land, honours Indigenous continuity, resilience and self-determination. The long-term installation occupies space previously reserved for paintings of U of T leaders who have shaped the university over its 196-year history – a gesture acknowledging the importance of making space for Indigenous voices and presence.

Artist Katherine Takpannie's work is featured in a new art installation at U of T’s Simcoe Hall (photo by Polina Teif)

Artist Katherine Takpannie said her mother – a residential school survivor who was born in Apex Hill, Nvt., before being taken away at age six – was in tears when she learned her daughter’s work would be featured at the exhibit.

“It was impactful for her because her life and what happened to Indigenous Peoples has been swept under the rug for so long,” said Takpannie, who was born in Montreal.

Artist Katherine Takpannie's portrait titled All Eyes on Mik’Ma’Ki (Ma Myriah) is displayed (photo by Polina Teif)

Takpannie’s portrait is of Inuk/L’nu/Scottish grassroots activist Ma Myriah Peace. It recognizes Peace’s frontline work in support of Mi’Kmaq fishers’ rights and pays homage to her role as a determined and dedicated community organizer.

Other artists whose work is featured include: Rebecca Belmore, Catherine Blackburn, Lori Blondeau, Dana Claxton, Caroline Monnet and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory with Jamie Griffiths.

Under the leadership of the President’s Office, and through wide-ranging conversations with Indigenous artists, curators, faculty members and staff, the installation was produced by the Art Museum with the generous support of U of T’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives.

“It was an honour to support this exhibit and see the reimagining of the walls of Simcoe Hall come to life,” said Shannon Simpson, senior director of the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.

“This is an incredible example of prioritizing Indigenous space while showcasing Indigenous excellence and resiliency.”

Those who wish to view the artwork at Simcoe Hall can register for a guided visit through Eventbrite. While the Dec. 13 visit is already fully booked, there are visits scheduled for Jan. 10 and Feb. 14 at 3:30 p.m. Those who can’t make the listed dates can contact Melody Lu, operations assistant at U of T’s Art Museum (mel.lu@utoronto.ca) to plan group tours.

A launch to celebrate the exhibit was recently held inside U of T’s Governing Council chambers.

Artist Dana Claxton’s portrait titled Headdress is displayed (photo by Polina Teif)

U of T President Meric Gertler said the portraits invite the public to “hear voices of courage, resilience and solidarity that for so long have been ignored or silenced.”

He added that the installation is among several actions taken by U of T in response to Wecheehetowin, the final report of the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto’s Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of Canada, and will serve as a reminder to the university community that the work of reconciliation is ongoing and must remain a priority.

Barbara Fischer, executive director and chief curator of the Art Museum at U of T, said the discussions around the role of traditional leadership portraits in public-facing spaces inside Simcoe Hall began years ago, but the “clincher came in 2020.”

“There were rising questions about public art and monuments prompted by the Black Lives Matter movement – why are there permanent monuments which tell of histories that exclude others? It was such an intensive time to rethink public space at every level, and it continues to be vitally important today” said Fischer, who is an associate professor, teaching stream, at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Barbara Fischer is the executive director and chief curator of the Art Museum at U of T (photo by Polina Teif)

She added that wide-ranging conversations with Indigenous artists, curators, faculty members and staff led to the installation becoming a reality.

“The voices of Indigenous artists are critical to confronting colonial history and relations with the land; their works attest to the amazing flourishing of Indigenous art and artists all across the country,” she said.

“We are super proud that the artists agreed to be presented in this context with their works.”

Rose Patten, U of T’s chancellor, said she continues to be in awe of the artwork in the exhibit.

“Let me add my thanks to the artists represented in it and to the staff responsible for all of this,” she told those gathered at the launch. “You have made a very impactful contribution to our academic mission as an institution dedicated to inclusive excellence.”

Artist Catherine Blackburn stands in front of her portrait that’s featured inside U of T’s Simcoe Hall (photo by Polina Teif)

Blackburn, a multidisciplinary artist and jeweller who spoke at the event alongside Takpannie, said she feels honoured to be featured alongside some of her favourite artists – but that the installation comes with its challenges.

“I’m addressing the effects of a settler institution, in a settler institution” she said. “To have this work celebrated alongside these powerful women is beautiful, and intense. This exhibition is a powerful intervention bound through love, land, resurgence and relationality, and that is worth celebrating.”

Artist Catherine Blackburn’s portrait titled But there’s no scar? II is displayed (photo by Polina Teif)

Blackburn’s artwork, titled “But there’s no scar? II,” depicts a kneeling figure, with long, braided hair, who faces away from the viewer and wears a cream-coloured, unsmoked deer hide bearing a bruise stitched in iridescent beadwork.

“The original textile work is two-thread applied beadwork, which is the same technique my grandmother would have used when making her garment work,” Blackburn said, adding that beading inspired her to reconnect with her cultural identity.

Born in Patuanak, Sask., and a member of the English River First Nation, Blackburn’s work addresses complexities of memory, history and identity connected to her personal narrative.

“I speak to personal and familial [trauma] rooted in the residential school system,” she said.

“I’m always aware of the tension within my work, constantly interrogating whose voices are present as to avoid generalization because our cultures are so unique.”

'An international hero': Design unveiled for Terry Fox mural on U of T's Rehabilitation Sciences Building

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:03:38 +0000

'An international hero': Design unveiled for Terry Fox mural on U of T's Rehabilitation Sciences Building

geoff.vendeville Fri, 02/18/2022 - 15:03

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(Illustration courtesy of Alexander Bacon and Que Rock, City of Toronto)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

City & Culture

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute

University Health Network

The design for a Terry Fox mural that will grace the University of Toronto's Rehabilitation Sciences Building has been selected by a panel that includes the Canadian hero’s younger brother and niece.

The winning submission, by Toronto artists Alexander Bacon and Que Rock, depicts Fox smiling and waving. The mural's colours symbolize the different types of cancer research supported by the Terry Fox Foundation, while an image of a bison pays homage to Fox's Métis heritage. The word “hope” emblazoned vertically in block letters references his cross-country “Marathon of Hope” to raise money for cancer research.

“We are honoured to have had our design concept selected by the Advisory Committee for this landmark commission,” the artists said in a statement. “Terry Fox is an international hero, a timeless symbol of selflessness and resilience against all odds. We are so proud to celebrate this global icon through our mural.”

To be painted this summer at 500 University Avenue, the mural is expected to be eight storeys tall and will overlook part of the route Fox took through downtown Toronto more than 40 years ago. Upon his arrival in Toronto, he told the Globe and Mail that being a patient in a cancer ward was tougher than running across the country. "People I saw who had cancer set an example. I've got to be strong, I can't give up," he told the paper.

Fox ran 5,373 kilometres with an artificial right leg over 143 days until illness forced him to cut his journey short outside Thunder Bay, Ont.

“The University of Toronto is pleased to collaborate with the City of Toronto and The Legacy Art Project to commemorate Terry Fox’s brave journey and his legacy of inspiration and support for advanced research to fight cancer,” U of T President Meric Gertler said in a statement. “This project will enhance Toronto’s public space and provide our city with an uplifting public art installation in the heart of our city’s hospital and health care corridor.”

The Legacy Art Project is part of the ArtworxTO initiative.

The selection committee included Fox's brother, Darrell, and niece Jessie Adler. In a statement, they thanked the five artists who submitted designs and noted that “Alexander Bacon and Que Rock truly captured the euphoria and power of Terry running down University Avenue to Nathan Phillips Square on July 11, 1980.”

Mayor John Tory, a U of T alumnus, similarly thanked the artists who submitted designs.

“Each design was inspiring and powerful and honoured the legacy of Terry Fox in remarkable ways,” he said. “Congratulations to the artists for their winning design, which will be a wonderful tribute in downtown Toronto to the legacy of a great Canadian.”

Terry Fox to be celebrated on U of T’s Rehabilitation Sciences Building with one of five mural designs

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 15:54:07 +0000

Terry Fox to be celebrated on U of T’s Rehabilitation Sciences Building with one of five mural designs

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 10/20/2021 - 11:54

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Five proposals for a mural on the Rehabilitation Sciences Building feature art, as seen in this composite, by: Alexander Bacon and Que Rock; Emmanuel Jarus; Keitha Keeshig-Tobias Biizindam; Christiano De Araujo; and Jason Pinney.

Scott Anderson

Topic

City & Culture

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Mount Sinai Hospital

Occupational Therapy

Research & Innovation

University Health Network

The University of Toronto has teamed up with the City of Toronto and the Legacy Art Project to commemorate Terry Fox, the Canadian hero who – with one leg amputated due to cancer – embarked on a quest to run across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research.

The city recently unveiled five shortlisted designs – submitted by local artists – for a giant mural of Fox on the north side of the university’s Rehabilitation Sciences Building at 500 University Avenue.

When it’s finished, the mural will overlook part of the route where people gathered to cheer on Fox as he made his way to Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto on July 11, 1980.

Darrell Fox, senior adviser to the Terry Fox Research Institute and Terry’s younger brother, says the Fox family was especially pleased to find a location for the mural on University Avenue with a connection to the university.

“It was Terry’s vision to support cancer research,” Fox told U of T News. “So, a University of Toronto building is a fitting place for it.”

Fox added that his older brother probably would have felt sheepish about the towering mural of himself.

Artists participating in the mural project, including (from left) Alexander Bacon, Que Rock, Christiano De Araujo and Jason Pinney, as well as representatives for Keitha Keeshig-Tobias Biizindam and Emmanuel Jarus, pose for a picture with Darrell Fox (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Terry would be quite embarrassed and uncomfortable with the recognition. He was always about raising one more dollar [for research]. But the mural will be in a location – on University Avenue and on a University of Toronto building where research is happening – that will inspire others. He would have been happy about that.”

Barbara Fischer, executive director and chief curator of the U of T Art Centre and a member of the mural advisory committee, echoed Fox’s comments, noting that the mural’s location among several U of T partner hospitals “underscores and perhaps makes newly visible the role that hospitals, research centres and universities play in research that is very much at the heart of Terry Fox’s heroic achievement.”

Fischer, who is also a professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, added that the mural will be “a wonderful marker … of the university’s dedication to contribute to and improve the health and well-being of the city and region.”

Jim Woodgett, the president and scientific director of the Terry Fox Research Institute, says raising funds for cancer research continues to be a priority since one in four Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes – half of whom will die from it.

Over the past decade, the institute has provided tens of millions of dollars to support cancer research at the University Health Network and U of T – primarily to collaborations among small groups of scientists that other funding agencies don’t typically support.

Woodgett, himself a cancer researcher and a professor of medical biophysics at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a senior investigator at Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, says progress is incremental but new cancer therapies are becoming available thanks to ongoing research.

Toronto Mayor John Tory, who spoke at the event, commended the city’s partnership with the Legacy Art Project and U of T – part of the ArtworxTO initiative – as an example of how to bring together people and inspire them through public art.

“What Terry Fox did was so extraordinary, so courageous, so inspirational and so important,” said Tory, adding that the story of a heroic Canadian is an apt subject for a mural.

Mayor John Tory speaks at an event showcasing the mural project at U of T’s Rehabilitation Sciences Building on University Aveneue (Photo by Johnny Guatto)

In addition to the mural, U of T has worked with the city and other partners on a number of projects for ArtworxTO. They include an Indigenous public art installation on tree-protection hoardings in the Hart House Commons; exhibitions and programming at the U of T Art Museum on the St. George campus and at U of T Scarborough; and student-led research through U of T’s School of Cities to evaluate the Year of Public Art initiative that’s currently underway.

Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope in 1980, with the goal of crossing the country from east to west by running at least 42 km a day and raising one dollar from every Canadian to support cancer research. He had completed 143 days and reached as far as Thunder Bay, Ont., when the spread of his cancer forced him to end his quest.

He died in 1981, from cancer, at the age of 22. Since then, Fox’s legacy has inspired millions of Canadians and others around the world to give to the Terry Fox Foundation, which has raised more than $850 million for cancer research.

Katrina Jang, who is pursuing a master’s degree in occupational therapy at U of T, spoke about how Fox’s hope and determination had inspired her.

“I want to be able to help, support and advocate for my future patients of all ages and abilities to engage in activities that are meaningful to them – even in the face of challenge and adversity,” she said at the event. “Terry’s values are something I’ll try to channel.”

The Toronto-based artists who were invited to submit mural designs are: Alexander Bacon and Que Rock, Christiano De Araujo, Keitha Keeshig-Tobias Biizindam, Emmanuel Jarus and Jason Pinney.

Pinney shared his own experience of being treated for childhood cancer at Sick Kids Hospital. “My family and I are grateful to Terry Fox for helping to normalize the conversation about cancer and the importance of early diagnosis,” he said at the event. “We’re grateful for the money he raised for research that helped save my life and so many others through research that continues to save lives today.”

Members of the public can view the mural concepts and share feedback until Oct. 31. A selection committee that includes Darrell Fox, Fischer and Jang will review the designs and consider feedback from the public before selecting a winner.

The mural is scheduled to be painted in the summer of 2022.

Alumni of U of T's museum studies program on the importance of internships

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Alumni of U of T's museum studies program on the importance of internships

noreen.rasbach Thu, 09/26/2019 - 00:00

Cutline

Alumna Louise Skidmore's work at the Imperial War Museums has taken her to Afghanistan. She continues to use contacts she met in her internship (photo by Richard Ash/IWM)

Topic

Faculty of Information

Global

Internships

Museum Studies

As the head of contemporary conflict at the Imperial War Museums in London, England, Louise Skidmore has a job description that sounds more like a daring foreign correspondent than a curator toiling away in the backrooms of a museum. Her work has taken her to Afghanistan to collect artifacts and stories from the height of wartime.

Although she had already worked at the Art Gallery of Ontario and gained professional museum experience before completing her museum studies degree at the University of Toronto, Skidmore’s four-month internship at the International Center of Photography in New York City remains a program highlight for her. It’s also a contact she continues to use in her work – for example, when she recently put her curators in touch with her old bosses for a project on photojournalist Tim Hetherington, who was killed in Libya in 2011.

Skidmore’s time in New York was made possible in part by the Vivian and David Campbell Family Foundation Summer Training Fellowship, established in 1998. She is one of dozens of museum studies students to benefit from the Campbell fellowships and the similar Rebanks Family Fellowship, which subsidizes internships at smaller-sized museums, galleries and historic sites. The success of these awards convinced the museum studies program’s 50^th-anniversary committee to make increasing support of paid internships one of their goals for this year’s celebrations.

“While museum studies internships offer students important opportunities to test out what they learn in the classroom, most of them are unpaid, which adds to the financial challenge many students already face,” said the program’s director, Associate Professor Cara Krmpotich. “This is why we wanted to put paid internships at the centre of our 50^th-anniversary fundraising efforts. With the Campbell and Rebanks fellowships, the results are very clear.”

As the Faculty of Information, home to museum studies since 2006, has reconnected with the program’s 800-plus alumni over the past year, many of them raised the importance of their internships. Megan Richardson, the director of the Virtual Museum of Canada, a federally funded investment program managed by the Canadian Museum of History, gained entry to the Ottawa museum world through her museum studies internship at the National Gallery of Canada in 1989 after her first year in the program.

Based on that experience, she focused her final year’s major research paper on ways to create new interpretive materials for children to use at the gallery. “When I finished my degree, they hired me to develop a series of self-guides for teenagers. It was directly related to what I had researched,” she says. “I was basically hired to put my money where my mouth was.”

Class of 2019 alumna Erica Chi credits her internship with landing her a full-time job as an art administrator at the TD Bank Corporate Art Collection, one of Canada’s largest company collections, known for its Gallery of Inuit Art in the bank’s south tower in downtown Toronto as well as its works by artists like Lawren Harris and Jean-Paul Riopelle.

Chi had interned at U of T’s Art Museum, where her work focused on its “Art on Campus” initiative, arranging art loans to different university departments and buildings. At TD, she works under a senior curator on a variety of tasks, including art moves across the enterprise and co-operating with partner organizations on exhibits.

Unlike a public gallery where five to 10 per cent of the art is on display with the majority in storage, Chi says a corporate collection intentionally inverts that ratio. “Having art in your work environment or in client-facing areas, it becomes a conversation point and can help build relationships. It both enhances the setting and your experience of going to work,” she says.

In fact it was the late David Campbell’s love of art that led to his donation to the museum studies program in the first place. As collectors and philanthropists, he and his wife Vivian Campbell were particularly interested in the training of future generations of museum and art gallery curators, educators and administrators.

David Campbell participated in a series of casual lunches with students to learn more about them and to answer questions about the role of private collectors. A relationship developed that eventually led to the creation of the fellowships, which now fund five students per year.

As alumni like Skidmore make clear, the Campbells’ generous donation ended up doing just what its benefactors intended.

With a file from Ann Brocklehurst

Cherry blossoms and black holes: Check out these May events

Romi Levine — Wed, 01 May 2019 16:14:22 +0000

Cherry blossoms and black holes: Check out these May events

Romi Levine Wed, 05/01/2019 - 12:14

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Cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom outside of Robarts Library (photo by Noreen Ahmed-Ullah)

Romi Levine

Topic

City & Culture

Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

School of Cities

Art Museum

Cherry Blossoms

Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Faculty of Arts & Science

Rotman School of Management

Science Rendezvous

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

April showers have brought May flowers as the cherry blossoms outside Robarts Library begin to bloom. But the Instagram-worthy foliage isn’t the only event getting people excited at the University of Toronto this month.

May is full of fascinating events – from city-wide science, architecture and photography festivals to talks by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and a researcher on the team who captured the first-ever image of a black hole.

Here is a selection of events taking place on all three campuses this month:

May 2

Kids can learn about what it’s like to work and study at U of T at Bring Our Children to Work Day. The annual event invites appointed faculty, librarians and staff to bring children in Grades 4 to 7 for an exciting day of activities. Registration is now closed but you can find out more about the events on the downtown Toronto, Scarborough and Mississauga campuses.

Faculty and students from U of T, York, Ryerson and OCAD have been working together on a research project exploring affordable student housing in Toronto. The group will be presenting some of their findings at StudentDwell+: Reimagining Student Housing, a two-day symposium held at York University.

Donna Strickland, Nobel Prize in Physics recipient for 2018, will be delivering the Welsh Lecture in Physics at U of T. She’ll be talking about her award-winning work on ultrashort optical pulses.

Hear from Harvard University’s Peter Galison, a member of the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, about what went into capturing the historic image of a black hole, at an event presented by U of T’s Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.

May 3

Exciting news for the Robarts Library expansion – crews have begun to drill the concrete to connect the library with the new Robarts Common structure. Studying at Robarts may be a little loud, but you can ask staff at the ground floor information desk and second-floor Ask Us desk for earplugs.

Shutterbugs rejoice – Toronto’s Contact photography festival is back, with captivating exhibitions taking place on U of T campuses:

See the world through the eyes of an engineer at Ambition, Innovation, and Excellence: A Decade at Skule, which will feature photographs from current students and alumni, providing an intimate look at the faculty.
Director of the International Human Rights Program in the Faculty of Law, Samer Muscati, will be showcasing photographs from his visits to Rwanda 15 and 25 years after the genocide at Hart House and at U of T Scarborough. An event to commemorate the 25^thanniversary of the genocide will be taking place at U of T Scarborough this afternoon.

May 4

American artist Carrie Mae Weems will be speaking at U of T as part of the Contact festival. The MacArthur grant recipient, whose work has been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, will also be presenting her work at U of T’s Art Museum and at locations across the city. Her lecture is sold out but you can join the waitlist.

May 5

Roll up your sleeves and join the U of T Trash Team for the annual Clean up the Don event, where you can do your part for the environment by picking up litter along the Don River watershed.

May 8

What makes a successful city? U of T’s School of Cities is hosting an event that will explore the challenges and opportunities faced by big cities around the world for the book launch of Perfect City: An Urban Fixer’s Global Search for Magic in the Modern Metropolis, by Joe Berridge, one of the world’s leading urban planners.

Ahead of the G20 summit in Japan, the Centre for the Study of Global Japan and the G20 Research Group of U of T are hosting a one-day symposium to discuss the evolving agenda of the annual meeting of global leaders. Officials and scholars from around the world will be attending the event held at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, including Takako Ito, consulate-general of Japan in Toronto.

May 11

Glowing bacteria, mutant flies, scavenger hunts and virtual reality tours are just a few of the displays and activities at this year’s Science Rendezvous, the annual family-friendly festival. Here’s what’s happening on the downtown Toronto, Scarborough and Mississauga campuses.

May 13

This is the last week to see the work of some of U of T’s talented artists at the Master of Visual Studies graduate exhibition and the Shelley Peterson art exhibition at U of T’s Art Museum.

May 14

Listen to captivating stories told by members of Toronto’s medical community at the department of medicine’s annual Story Slam, in partnership with the Annals of Internal Medicine.

May 25

Explore some of U of T’s most fascinating spaces at this year’s Doors Open Toronto. It’s your chance to admire the architecture in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, explore One Spadina, and check out the new Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which will be hosting lightning lectures and interactive activities for kids.

May 28

Join urban thought leaders, policy-makers, planners, community advocates and business leaders to exchange ideas on ways to meet the challenges of governing cities in the midst of change at the Governing Cities in the 21st Century symposium. The event will feature experts including Michelynn Laflèche, vice-president of United Way Greater Toronto, Bill Peduto, mayor of Pittsburgh, and Richard Florida, University Professor at the Rotman School of Management. You can learn more and register here or watch the livestream.

May 30

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic will be at the Rotman School of Management to discuss his new book, Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How To Fix It), which explores the flaws in a system that rewards arrogance and loudness over humility and wisdom.

Craft beer and basketball stars: Check out these August events

Romi Levine — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 18:37:15 +0000

Craft beer and basketball stars: Check out these August events

Romi Levine Wed, 08/01/2018 - 14:37

Cutline

U of T alumni-turned-brewers Matthew Reiner and Mohan Pandit represented Rorschach Brewing Company at last year's Hart House beer fest (photo by Romi Levine)

Topic

Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Hart House

Student Life

Varsity Blues

August is upon us. And while the new term starts in just over a month, there are a handful of events taking place at the University of Toronto that are worth a brief return to campus before you hit the books – including a massive beer fest and a track and field competition. Or join U of T community members for events taking place across the GTA, from a storytelling walk on the Danforth to a basketball game between U of T and U.S. powerhouse Duke.

Here’s what’s happening on and off campus this month:

August 2

After the shooting on the Danforth that killed two people and injured 13 others, Torontonians grappled with how to make this city’s streets safer. A group of city builders are gathering on the Danforth to talk about how to improve public safety by lending their experience and expertise to the conversation for the Safe + Connected Streets story-based public walk. The event is sponsored by U of T’s Centre for Community Partnerships.

Grab your tickets for Hart House’s annual Craft Beer Festival and BBQ soon because there are only a limited number of tickets still available. Your ticket includes eight beer samples, a reusable take-home sampling glass and an unlimited barbecue feast.

August 3

Catch the Island[s] exhibition at U of T’s Art Museum until Aug. 18. Artists interpret the concept of “islands” – as physical spaces, but also their history, memories and stories – through a variety of media including poetry, drawing and video.

August 7

Coming to U of T in the fall? Participate in Student Life’s Facebook Live Q&A session on how to excel academically at U of T. You’ll hear from Jonathan Vandor, a learning strategist with the Academic Success office, who will be answering questions about the tools you’ll need to navigate your first year of classes.

Grad students: Tighten your laces and head to the Athletic Centre for a game of dodgeball as part of the Grad Escape activity series. No experience required but pro dodgers are welcome.

August 10-12

Cheer on Team Canada as they compete at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships event Track and Field in the 6ix, taking place at Varsity Stadium. Thirty-one countries are competing – plus you’ll have the chance to meet some of Canada’s Olympic medal-winning stars, including sprinter Andre De Grasse.

August 17

U of T’s Varsity Blues basketball team will be facing off against Duke University’s Blue Devils during the U.S. team’s first trip to Canada. Duke has captured headlines this summer for having three of college basketball's most anticipated freshmen players, including Canadian R.J. Barrett. Catch the game at Mississauga’s Hershey Centre or on TSN.

Want to chat about the cosmos over a craft beer? U of T’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics is hosting its regular Astronomy on Tap T.O. event at the Great Hall on Queen Street West. There will be space talks from U of T astronomers, games and prizes galore.

August 28

While researching a book in Ukraine, Anna Shternshis, associate professor of Yiddish studies and the director of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, discovered a trove of Yiddish songs written by Soviet Jews during the Second World War. Yiddish Glory brings together world-renowned artists who will be performing those songs, which were thought to have been lost during the Holocaust, at Koerner Hall.

U of T Art Museum exhibit serves as a ‘State of the Nation on sleep’: Globe and Mail

Romi Levine — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 17:13:11 +0000

U of T Art Museum exhibit serves as a ‘State of the Nation on sleep’: Globe and Mail

Romi Levine Fri, 02/16/2018 - 12:13

Cutline

Old Woman in Bed, a sculpture by Ron Mueck on display at the Art Museum (photo by Romi Levine)

Topic

City & Culture

Art Museum

Cities

CEOs who start their day at 3:30 a.m. and people with precarious jobs who work at all hours of the night are shifting the way we think about sleep.

The art world has something to say about that, writes Chris Hampton for The Globe and Mail, referring to Figures of Sleep, the University of Toronto Art Museum’s current exhibit.

“Figures of Sleep arrives as a new awareness around self-care has many better attuned to – and worried about – the maintenance of our physical and mental well-being,” writes Hampton.

The exhibit brings together artists from Canada and around the world to explore the ideas of sleep in the context of our highly globalized world.

It’s an act that can be political and can even be a form of protest, says Hampton.

Read about the exhibit and U of T's all-night art party

Curated by Sarah Robayo Sheridan, Figures of Sleep features a video by Toronto artist Jon Sasaki, where a dancer emulates poses in photos of endurance dance marathons during the Depression era. It’s an exploration of exhaustion and failure, says Hampton.

“The gloomy and vogueish workplace ethos comes to mind: Do more with less,” he says.

Hampton is most affected by a video based on a performance piece by Taiwanese-American artist Tehching Hsieh, who punched a time clock every hour for a whole year.

“The hyperbolic vision of shift work appears prophetic now that we're never truly ‘off the clock’ … as work stress permanently occupies some chamber of our mental engine, and as the e-mails roll steadily in right through the devil's hour and on to the morning alarm,” he says.

Read the article in the Globe and Mail

U of T's all-night art party: The Night of Ideas in photos

vzaretski — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 22:02:02 +0000

U of T's all-night art party: The Night of Ideas in photos

vzaretski Fri, 01/26/2018 - 17:02

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Sarah Barrable-Tishauer, also known as DJ Me Time and Liberty Van Zandt on Degrassi: The Next Generation (all photos by Veronica Zaretski)

Topic

An all-night international art party at the University of Toronto, Night of Ideas brought together pyjama-clad artists, faculty, staff, students and community members from Toronto and around the world. On the agenda: dance performances, a midnight swim, the Figures of Sleep exhibition at the Art Museum, and much more.

U of T was one of the first Canadian institutions to take part in the global all-night event, which takes place in more than 50 cities.

In case you couldn’t make it out and find yourself experiencing FOMO, we put together highlights from the night, in photos.

Beatriz Colomina of Princeton University explored how social media affects our behaviour, including sleep. “The line between what is public and private has been radically blurred,” said Colomina in her talk, “The Bed in the Age of Social Media.”

Hart House and the Art Museum were filled with pyjama-clad attendees, like Sarah Barrable-Tishauer, who we caught up with at the entrance of Hart House. Barrable-Tishauer goes by DJ Me Time, but fans also know her as Liberty Van Zandt from Degrassi: The Next Generation.

“My dad told me about the event,” said Barrable-Tishauer, who attended with her father. “Ever since I started exploring the idea of me time and the idea of being an extroverted introvert, I became really interested in private spaces and me time: What we do in private spaces, and how important that is for self-care and self-development,” she said.

Next door, in the Reading Room, students and community members were busy connecting and crafting in the Get Crafty: Sleep Mask workshop.

Alexia Christie (below, right) and Viola Baker (below, left) said they really enjoyed the talks at the event. “[Colomina] spoke a lot about how these days, art is often made to fit social media instead of just fitting the artist’s vision, which was really interesting,” said Christie, before dashing off to the pyjama pageant.

The pageant began with pyjama-clad attendees dancing down a runaway to Madonna’s Vogue.

And ended with a group selfie.

Hart House Warden John Monahan and Kelly Schnurr, senior project manager of the 100th anniversary of Hart House, also took a moment to strike a pose before getting ready for the next panel discussion,“To Think or Not to Think.”

Over at the Art Museum, meanwhile, attendees reflected on the cultural anxieties of sleep in Figures of Sleep, an exhibition that asks, “Is sleep in a crisis?”

Below, Ron Mueck's Old Woman In Bed. Be sure to check out the Figures of Sleep exhibition at U of T's Art Museum. It is open until March 3.

Learn more about the joint event between U of T’s Art Museum, Hart House and the Cultural Service of the French Embassy of Canada

U of T in videos: The best of 2017

vzaretski — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 05:00:00 +0000

U of T in videos: The best of 2017

vzaretski Thu, 12/14/2017 - 00:00

Cutline

Richard Marsella, executive director of the Regent Park School of Music and U of T PhD student, was featured this year in an episode of the On Location series (photo by Romi Levine)

Veronica Zaretski

Topic

City & Culture

Art Museum

Centre for Medieval Studies

Undergraduate Students

Throughout 2017, we shared with you how members of the U of T community pushed boundaries, innovated and made the year a little more fun and inspiring for the rest of us. As the year winds down, we look back on some of the best U of T stories from the year – in videos.

The people of #UofTGrad17

Convocation ceremonies bring an atmosphere of celebration to U of T – and a couple of musicians brought a melodic spin to this year’s spring convocation.

Michael Bridge started playing the accordion when he was five years old. He completed his undergraduate degree at U of T and graduated with a master's degree in accordion performance during this year’s spring convocation. Now, he is continuing his education at U of T with a PhD in accordion performance.

In the video above, he plays the accordion and tells us about the complexity of the instrument and his love for it. “My experience at U of T has changed my understanding of what the accordion can do,” he tells videographer Lisa Lightbourn.

During spring convocation, we went behind the scenes with another musician at U of T: Roy Lee, U of T alumnus, Carillonneur, and the man behind the bells at Soldier’s Tower.

Precilla Veigas moved everyone with her indomitable spirit. After facing many challenges, including immigrating twice and rebuilding her credentials after arriving in Canada in 2005, Veigas found out that she had terminal cancer halfway through her PhD degree.

Veigas completed her PhD program, contributing research that could help save future emergency room patients who require blood transfusions. She died in October.

“I feel I’ve accomplished what I wanted to do,” said Veigas back in the spring, when she received her PhD in a private degree-presentation ceremony. “Cancer didn’t prevent me from doing that.”

On Location

In the On Location series, U of T News reporter Romi Levine explores the impact of U of T experts and their research on the city.

Levine and Lightbourn-Lay head to different neighbourhoods in Toronto, and speak with experts on topics ranging from forensic sciences to architecture and installation art.

The episode above takes viewers to Regent Park, to explore a collaboration between U of T Faculty of Music researchers, Regent Park School of Music and Turning Point Youth Services, a housing facility for young men who have been involved with the youth criminal justice system.

The collaboration brings youth from the housing facilities to Regent Park to learn how to play an instrument of their choice. “It brings people together 100 per cent and mends a lot of relationships,” says one of the participants about the initiative.

Truth and Reconciliation

Crowds of visitors came to see artist Kent Monkman’s art at U of T’s Art Museum last winter as Canada was getting ready to mark its 150th year. “At this moment in time it’s important to have a critical perspective on Canada,” Monkman said. His large-scale paintings, explored in the video above by Lightbourn-Lay, subvert a classical style while challenging the history of colonialism in Canada.

Art Museum Director Barbara Fischer asked Monkman in 2014 to put something together for Canada 150, part of an effort by the Canadian Museums Association to reflect on how museums have framed Canadian history.

“What is the function of art and what is the purpose of art?” Monkman asks in the video above. “Is it only to show beauty or pleasure? I don’t believe so. Art has to be challenging, and sometimes it has to take us to dark places or challenging places.”

A dictionary of very old words

What does Old English sound like? Turns out, not a whole lot like English.

Robert Getz and Stephen Pelle are the drafting editors of the Dictionary of Old English, a project that various scholars at the Centre for Medieval Studies have been working on since the 1970s.

The dictionary maps around 35,000 words of the oldest period of the English language (from the middle of the 7th century to 1150).

In the video above, the two take us behind the world of old English, where rain is described as “heaven’s showers," and share the meaning behind their favourite words, like heolop-helm (helmet of invisibility) and wite-hus (house of punishment).

Back to school

NerdyAndQuirky (a.k.a. YouTube superstar and U of T student Sabrina Cruz) gave first-year students five tips to survive their first year. “Participate, make friends with people as lost and confused as you are,” says the popular Cruz.

The working life at U of T

Photographer Ken Jones has worked at U of T Scarborough for 36 years and has spent 24 as staff photographer, capturing countless memories in unforgettable photographs.

In the video above, the man behind the camera is finally in front of it, explaining his work, which also happens to be his passion.

And then there's Terry Gardiner. A former ballet dancer with a life-long commitment to serving communities, Gardiner pivoted his career after graduating with a master’s degree in social work from the university. He is now the manager of diversity, equity and student experience at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

In the video above, he takes us to Regent Park, where he volunteers as a ballet teacher at the Coleman Lemieux dance school.

A new chapter for U of T Mississauga

When Ulli Krull was installed as U of T Mississauga’s ninth principal, the renowned chemist and judoka described his vision to build on U of T Mississauga’s record of excellence, and performed his signature fingertip push-ups.

He also advised students to open their minds and ask themselves, “with what I have learned, what can I do next?”

The holidays are around the corner

Krull took a different approach to chemistry in this recent video celebrating the holiday season at U of T Mississauga.

And to mark the end of 2017, U of T President Meric Gertler looks back on everything we have to celebrate during this holiday season.

“It’s about innovation and discovery, striving for excellence and standing up for what’s right: As a community we greet neighbours and friends and turn vision into reality,” says Gertler in the video above.

From everyone at U of T News: Enjoy this holiday season and Happy 2018.

2017 in focus: 13 of our favourite photos

geoff.vendeville — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 05:00:00 +0000

2017 in focus: 13 of our favourite photos

geoff.vendeville Thu, 12/14/2017 - 00:00

Cutline

This lucky squirrel made off with a good haul near Sir Daniel Wilson Residence (photo by Laura Pedersen)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

From server rooms to squirrels, selfies to swimmers – University of Toronto photographers captured them all in pixels

Here is a selection of some of our favourite pictures in what was another big year for the university:

University Professor and Google researcher Geoffrey Hinton, a.k.a. “the godfather of deep learning,” strikes a relaxed pose in the server room of the machine learning group, in U of T's department of computer science. Photo by Johnny Guatto.

Swimmer Vithusha Coomaran in action at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. Photo by U of T Scarborough staff photographer Ken Jones.

Before hitting the books, U of T Scarborough students hit the streets for orientation. Ken Jones used a wide angle lens to capture the excitement. “This is a rare situation where I think the distortion lends something to the picture,” he says. “It gives it a more dynamic feel.”

Convocation is a time for flowers, smiles and, of course, selfies. Photo by Ken Jones.

One of the many perks of studying at U of T Mississauga? Spotting white-tailed deer. Photo by Arjun Yadav.

Richard Marsella is the executive director of the Regent Park School of Music and a PhD candidate in music education at U of T. The school, U of T faculty and Turning Point Youth Services run a program to help kids in detention learn to play an instrument and discover music. Photo by Romi Levine.

The 150^th anniversary of Confederation was not just a cause for celebration. For Cree artist Kent Monkman, it was time to think critically about Canada's history of colonialism and the country's future. Staff photographer/videographer Lisa Lightbourn portrayed the artist at work before his exhibit at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto.

One of the qualities that sets U of T apart from many other universities is its location at the centre of a vibrant, cosmopolitan city. Nothing says that better than staff photographer/videographer Laura Pedersen's image of the CN Tower reflected in the doors of University College.

Noura Al-Jizawi was in the thick of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from the start. She organized pro-democracy protests, ran a subversive blog and posted pictures of victims of repression. She came to U of T this year through Scholars at Risk, a program for graduate students and academics fleeing war or persecution. Photo by Laura Pedersen.

While taking part in an annoucement with Sidewalk Labs about a new mixed-use, connected community on Toronto’s eastern waterfront, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with 20 girls in Grades 4 to 6, all aspiring engineers, who were designing the neighbourhood of the future at a workshop held by U of T Engineering's outreach program. Trudeau made several trips to U of T in 2017. Photo by Roberta Baker.

After it was announced that Bernie Sanders would give a speech a U of T's Convocation Hall, tickets sold out almost immediately. But the folksy senator from Vermont didn't leave his fans disappointed. He and U of T President Meric Gertler (first from left) greeted students in the rush line before Sanders took the podium. Photo by Geoffrey Vendeville.

After six people were killed in a Quebec City mosque in January, U of T responded to the tragedy by coming together in front of University College to remember the victims and denounce Islamophobia in all its forms. Photo by Geoffrey Vendeville.