OCAD U Grad Studies

05/28/2026

03/27/2026

Join us for the Twelfth Interdisciplinary Forum!

We’re excited to invite you to the Twelfth Interdisciplinary Forum of the term, featuring Rodrigo Barrera.Talk title: Inversion: Andean Philosophy and Social Innovation in Times of Polarization

Brief Description of the talk: In this presentation I will reflect on my lived experiences, how these have shaped and informed my transition from communications design to a social innovation design practice. I will expand on the interdisciplinary nature of my current research, titled Andean Philosophy and Social Innovation in Times of Polarization, and speak to the challenges and opportunities the research process presents and how I am addressing them.

Speaker Bio: Rodrigo Barreda is a designer, community organizer and academic. He has led various development projects in the arts, cultural and social sectors, including co-founding the Latin American Canadian Art Projects organization (LACAP) and Sur Gallery. He is Senior Manager of Creative at United Way Greater Toronto, an Adjunct Professor in the Strategic Foresight and Innovation Master’s Program at OCAD University, and a PhD student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Urban Change at York University.

His research intersects the fields of Indigenous Studies and Social Innovation design and centers on Indigenous-led social innovation projects in the extractive frontier known as the lithium triangle, particularly in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

🗓️Date: Thursday, April 02.
🕢Time: 6:30 p.m.
📍Location: Room 115, 205 Richmond St. W.

Connect with fellow students, share ideas, and explore innovative perspectives across disciplines. All students are welcome–bring your creativity and curiosity!

03/23/2026

Dear Ms. Mararet by Sade Alexis

This exhibition is a dedication to my late grandmother through photo archive, drawing, and ancestral worship. Created to honour her legacy, and document my relationship with her as my ancestor.

Opening Celebration:
March 26
6 pm - 9 pm

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
Ada Slaight Gallery 100 McCaul Street, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M5T 1W1

03/23/2026

Graduate Thesis Exhibition by Yuting Zhou

In this performance-based weaving installation, I use a reverse loom and a squid-like yokai costume inspired by the bigfin squid to translate shifting bipolar emotions into cloth. Over repeated live weaving sessions, changes in density, colour, and structural materialize my fluctuating moods, turning the loom into both an emotional archive and a shared space for reflecting on mental health.

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
Ada Slaight Gallery 100 McCaul Street, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M5T 1W1

03/23/2026

Racial Melancholia by Maria Khan

This body of paintings explores racial melancholia as an ongoing emotional condition shaped by migration and incomplete belonging. Through quiet, everyday scenes set within Canadian public spaces, the work reflects the subtle weight immigrants carry in their bodies, gestures, and expressions long after arrival.

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
Ignite Gallery
100 McCaul St, Toronto, ON M5T 2W7

03/23/2026

Solo Exhibition by Inez Petrazzini

In this exhibition, the artist pays homage to her little sister-ancestor Kai (2005-2018). Informed by her Jamaican and Argentine cultural heritage, the artist draws on ancestral spiritual practices to create a space for life to be celebrated and grief to be shared and transformed across generations. This collection of paintings, sculptures, and engravings combines a range of mediums including herbs, leaves, shells, and reshaped textiles from Kai’s clothing.

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
Ignite Gallery
100 McCaul St, Toronto, ON M5T 2W7

03/23/2026

Graduate Thesis Exhibition by Saba Syed

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
Room 118,
205 Richmond St.W
Toronto, ON
M5V 0H4

03/23/2026

How can you tell me this story? By Eugene Mireku

*Trick* This work explores written and oral traditions and dialogues in picture making and sculpture. *Trick*

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
Experimental Media Space,
205 Richmond St.W
Toronto, ON
M5V 0H4

03/23/2026

All the Light Reveals by Vivienne Valladares

All the Light Reveals is an exhibition of immersive installations inviting viewers to reflect and revel in the light. Much of what we understand about the Universe emerges from collecting and interpreting information carried by light — a process that has shaped both scientific knowledge and our sense of place within the cosmos. The exhibition reflects on how these acts of interpretation reveal an interconnected universe, positioning the human subject within the expansive, intricate web of the Cosmos.

Gallery Hours:
March 25 - 29
1 pm - 6 pm

Location:
OCAD Graduate Gallery
205 Richmond St W, Toronto, ON
M5V 0H4