In the exhibition , Czegledy explains, science, technology and art are brought together by artists who share a deep, contemporary sensitivity to nature.Ìę

The exhibition, featured in Kitchener, Ontario, included Aotearoa/New Zealand artists Caro McCaw and Vicki Smith’s collaborative work “Sounding”, which is concerned with the noise pollution that is increasingly disrupting the sonic environment of marine mammals. McCaw and Smith seek to draw attention to spaces of communication for whales and dolphins that we cannot see, in a blue, underwatery light where viewers listen to echolocation by whales and dolphins recorded in the Tasmanian Sea.

In her work “Spontaneous Generation”, Toronto-based artist Elaine Miller makes links between the melting of the polar ice caps and the emergence of viruses, including Ebola, but with obvious resonance for the current covid-19 pandemic. For her part, Kristine Diekman, creating from California, presents “Behold the Tilapia”, in a stop-motion image of the fish, which is known for its resiliency but that is now facing extinction in polluted waters, exacerbated by the stresses of increasing temperatures due to climate change. Both use mixed media, as Tingley describes, while Maayke Schurer, an artist from Victoria, British Columbia, plays with the idea of the sublime in “Spirits of Wasteland” which creates beautiful yet horrific imagery with plastic and other waste that pollutes our environment.Ìę

Along with other featured women artists from across Canada and around the world, Agents for Change: Facing the Anthropocene, seeks to “critically and poetically investigate our present, unpack the social and cultural impacts of environmental change, speculate about future realities, and suggest solutions for how we might approach life in the Anthropocene.” This demands that we acknowledge the ways that environmental change, including rising oceans and heat waves, affects all of us, both human and other animals and insects. 

In her work, Liz Miller’s project begins with the Lake Ontario shoreline, its histories and ecologies. Half of the world’s population lives by the coasts, which are densely populated and continue to develop, as Miller explains. Climate change means rising seas and storms that are increasingly affecting coastal areas. Miller’s work brings together engineers, educators, biologists, artists, and youth activists working across disciplines and across species. Through shared data sets, soundscapes, and more than forty short portraits of coastal communities from nine countries, this collaborative project considers the challenge of our collective survival.Ìę

In their different ways, each of these women artists invites us to consider the realities of living in the Anthropocene, an era in which human beings have irrevocably shaped the natural world, with devastating consequences for many species including our own. But these artists ask us to do more than witness. They invite us to engage with urgent ecological questions and to develop new relationships  -- and deep love -- for the ecoystems that sustain all of us. 

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“91ŃÇÉ« is delighted to see that professors Girard, Hyndman, Johnson, Petrowska Quilico and Heffernan have been recognized by the Royal Society of Canada,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “These exceptional researchers embody our vision to enhance our impact on the social, economic, culture and overall well-being of the communities we serve.”

Royal Society Fellows

Philip Girard
Osgoode Hall Law School

Philip Girard’s prize-winning work on the legal history of Canada has shaped the field and redefined its agenda for the 21st century. Tracing the roots of today’s legal pluralism to the historic encounter of two European empires with Indigenous peoples in northern North America, he stresses how this pluralism allowed Quebec civil law to flourish on a continent of common law and now creates space for the renaissance of Indigenous law.

Jennifer Hyndman
Centre for Refugee Studies
Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Jennifer Hyndman studies geographies of forced migration, ethnography of the international refugee regime, feminist geopolitics, critical refugee studies and extended exile. Her research addresses violence in relation to diaspora and displacement among Tamils and other people on the move, international humanitarianism in war zones, as well as refugee and migrant inclusion in Canada.

Michele Johnson
Department of History
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

An international leader in Black history, Michele Johnson is esteemed for rigorous and methodologically innovative studies of cultural production and performance, race and racialization, gender relations and labour among persons of African descent in the Caribbean and Canada. Equally committed to networking and communicating with multiple audiences, Johnson has employed her global prominence to benefit students and scholars around the world, and to promote wider community engagement with Black history.

Christina Petrowska QuilicoÌę°ä.ČŃ.
Department of Music
School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design

Appointed to the Order of Canada “for her celebrated career as a classical and contemporary pianist and for championing Canadian music,” Christina Petrowska Quilico, professor of musicology and piano performance at 91ŃÇÉ«, has opened the ears of students and audiences with numerous premieres of music of our time, featuring many women composers and repertoire ranging from baroque to the present in solos, chamber works, 45 concertos and on over 50 internationally acclaimed CDs.

RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Jane Heffernan
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Faculty of Science

Jane Heffernan is a recognized international leader in infectious disease modelling. Her Modelling Infection and Immunity Lab tackles important questions in mathematical epidemiology and in-host pathogen dynamics, using mathematical and computational modelling to ascertain key characteristics of pathogens, individual hosts, and populations that allow for disease spread and to determine public health and medical intervention strategies that will be needed to contain or eradicate an infectious disease.

These 91ŃÇÉ« faculty are among 89 new Fellows who have been elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement, and 51 new members of the RSC College. Recognition by the RSC for career achievement is the highest honour an individual can achieve in the arts, social sciences and sciences. The RSC College consists of mid-career leaders who provide the RSC with a multigenerational capacity to help Canada and the world address major challenges and seize new opportunities, including those identified in emerging fields.

“This year, the Royal Society of Canada welcomes an outstanding cohort of artists, scholars and scientists, all of whom have excelled in their respective disciplines and are a real credit to Canada,” says RSC President Jeremy McNeil.

On Friday, Nov. 19, the RSC will welcome the Class of 2021 new RSC Fellows and new members of the RSC College and present awards for outstanding research and scholarly achievement.

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The exhibition, titledÌęWetrospective, will run fromÌęSept. 2 to 26, with an opening party on Friday, Sept. 10 from 7 to 10 p.m. A signed and numbered artist multiple will be given to the first 200 visitors to the gallery.

"I’ve been thinking a lot about how to undo, redo, reimagine, represent, activate, upcycle the archive," says Dobkin. "For my purposes I’m not interested in the archive as presentation of historical documents. I am interested in how it can be performed. How it can be in conversation with the living present and also speak to the future."

Dobkin has been a working artist, curator, community activist, mentor and teacher for more than 25 years, creating and producing intimate solo theatre performances, large-scale public happenings, socially engaged interventions, and performance art workshops and lectures. With Wetrospective, Dobkin welcomes the public into 25 years of her playful and provocative practice with animated “litrine vitrines” (portable toilets) and a custom-designed augmented reality app.

“Dobkin upcycles her own archive of past performances in ways that constitute her concept of ‘bendy-time,’” says Chhangur. “This exhibition demands of archives what we expect from performance: the live encounter of experience in a ritual of transformation.”

The exhibition's Collective Effervescence Opening Party will feature an outdoor celebration with DJ Cozmic Cat, Nik Red, Sasha Van Bon Bon and John Caffery spinning archives of Toronto’s favourite parties, plus Jewish Performance Food Truck with Guillermina Buzio and Bar Bacan.

Ancillary events and activations

Jess Dobkin’s Wetrospective includes the following constellation of talks, tours and engagements featuring seminal cultural critic Ann Cvetkovich; artist and scholar Jehan L. Roberson; artist and archivist Joyce LeeAnn; and 91ŃÇÉ« Professor Laura Levin, associate dean of research in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD):

• You’re Welcome Wetro Tour with Emelie Chhangur and Jess Dobkin: Thursday, Sept. 9 at 3 p.m. at the AGYU.
• Portals, Potions and Archives with Jehan Roberson: Saturday, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. at the AGYU (and livestream).
• The Live Encounter Performative Gallery Tour with Laura Levin: Monday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. at the AGYU.
• Archival Alchemy with Joyce LeeAnn (in collaboration with the FADO Performance Art Centre): Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto (and livestream).
• Hemispheric Encounters with Performance Art Archivists – Roundtable Discussion: Thursday, Sept. 23, 3 to 4 p.m. via livestream.
• All the Feels with Ann Cvetkovich: Friday, Sept. 24 at 3 p.m. at the AGYU (and livestream).

Wetrospective was produced by the AGYU with the support of Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts and Technology at 91ŃÇÉ« and the AMPD Makerspace, along with the collaborative help of affiliated computational arts students who assisted in the conceptualization and development of the Wetrospective app.

For this exhibition, the AGYU will be open seven days a week from 12 to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. Pre-registration will be required to attend the exhibition and related events, and AGYU visitors will need to pre-screen before coming to 91ŃÇÉ«'s Keele Campus. For more information and to register, visit . For accessibility and accommodation assistance, email agyu@yorku.ca.

Note: This exhibition and related events contain mature content.

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Announced on Aug. 11 by Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the contribution comes from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) program, a tool designed to invest in state-of-the-art labs and equipment researchers need to turn their visions into reality.

At 91ŃÇÉ«, Professors Ali Asgary, Marcus Brubaker, Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, Liam Butler, Taylor Cleworth, Claire David, Shital Desai, Matthew Keough, Christine Le, Ozzy Mermut, Arturo Orellana, Enamul Prince, Jennifer Pybus and Emilie Roudier will receive funding totalling more than $1.5 million for their infrastructure projects.

“91ŃÇÉ« is delighted to have 14 academics receive the John R. Evans Leaders Fund,” said Vice-President Research and Innovation Amir Asif. “This vital funding helps ensure we attract and retain the very best researchers who are undertaking truly innovative work. From addiction vulnerability to critical data-literacy research, from age-related impairments to advancements in particle physics – these projects will make positive change for our students, our campuses and our local and global communities.”

The funded projects at 91ŃÇÉ« are:

Ali Asgary, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
DEXR LAB

CFI JELF award: $100,000

Asgary and DEXR Lab will conduct research and develop extended reality (XR) applications for public safety, public health and disaster-and-emergency management training, education and operations. DEXR Lab will be equipped with the latest XR hardware and software for developing XR applications for areas including structural firefighting, wildfire management, hospital-emergency-and-intensive-care units, first-responders' collision simulation, virus transmission and spread, train derailment and volcano eruption, among others. DEXR Lab will be supported by 91ŃÇÉ«'s  (ADERSIM) and will enhance Canada's share in the XR research and market – putting the country at the forefront of XR applications in the aforementioned areas.

Marcus Brubaker, Lassonde School of Engineering
Generative Modeling for CryoEM, Hyperspectral Imagery and Video

CFI JELF award: $140,000

Brubaker will develop novel artificial intelligence (AI) methods focused on applications where labelled-training data is limited or unavailable. The goal of this research is to enable learning from minimal amounts of data – dramatically reducing the amount of labelled data required and democratizing access to the technology. The methods developed could allow small companies, not-for-profit organizations or even individuals to effectively apply state-of-the-art AI methods, rather than only being available to large companies (which have either vast amounts of data already available or the resources to collect it). To reach this goal, Brubaker’s research will explore probabilistic-generative methods with specific applications in hyperspectral image analysis, video analysis and the processing of electron cryomicroscopy data.

Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, Lassonde School of Engineering
Machine Learning and Additive Manufacturing for the Development of Next Generation Materials

CFI JELF award: $140,000

For thousands of years since the advent of bronze, alloy development has involved diluting a single base element with small amounts of other elements. This approach is slow, expensive and requires a lot of effort with minimal increments in required material properties. A new idea where alloys have no single dominant element is gaining traction. These multi-principal element alloys, specifically, High Entropy Alloys (HEA), possess superior properties. Research lead by Boakye-Yiadom, along with Professors Marina Freire-Gormaly and Ruth Urner, will guide in the accelerated discovery and development of advanced HEAs and enhance our ability to detect and minimize defects during metal additive manufacturing. This includes innovative discoveries for advanced materials and process monitoring during manufacturing.

Liam Butler, Lassonde School of Engineering
The Climate-Data-Driven Design (CD3) Facility for Built Infrastructure

CFI JELF award: $140,000

The influence of climatic variations on Canada's vast infrastructure stock, valued at more than $850 billion, is largely ignored in infrastructure design. Variations in temperature, humidity and precipitation, along with increased frequency of extreme events will lead to cyclic factors that influence the behaviour of infrastructure materials. Mitigating these adverse effects starts with being able to reliably measure and to better understand the impact that climate variability has on infrastructure. Butler, along with Professors Usman Khan and Matthew Perras, will establish a unique field laboratory, where robust sensing, advanced AI-based data analytics and innovative infrastructure materials will be developed and validated. The vision is for the CD3 Facility to become Canada's leading research laboratory in climate-data-driven infrastructure design – providing immediate impact to regulators, asset managers and suppliers, and long-term benefits for all Canadians.

Taylor Cleworth, Faculty of Health
Neuro-mechanics of Balance Deficits During Dynamic Stance

CFI JELF award: $125,000

Falls and resulting injuries are a major health and economic concern for older adults, care providers and Canadians at large. Reducing fall rates can be challenging due to the multi-faceted nature of controlling upright stance. Cleworth will study the sensorimotor mechanisms underlying balance control and investigate possible avenues of treatment for balance deficits. The new infrastructure will provide the foundation for an innovative research program aimed at understanding the complex interaction of biomechanical and cortical mechanisms that contribute to human balance and mobility deficits, and to assess and improve the efficacy of balance-related interventions and fall prevention programs.

Claire David, Faculty of Science
Next generation of neutrino detectors for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)

CFI JELF award: $125,000

David, along with Professor Deborah Harris, will build a versatile cryogenic test bench to develop a prototype for the next generation of neutrino detectors. This modular system will have the ability to test two modules of the current state-of-the-art technology in the same cryostat – allowing direct comparison of different alternative readout systems. The modules will be paired with revolutionary electronics for light detection that other Canadian universities are developing. Ultimately, the optimized prototype will serve DUNE, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, an international effort hosted by Fermilab in the United States. This will enable David and Harris, also research scientists at Fermilab and part of the DUNE collaboration, to be at the forefront of detector development in experimental particle physics.

Shital Desai, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Social and Technological Systems lab

CFI JELF award: $50,000

Efforts to develop technologies for older adults is challenged by changing physical and cognitive abilities of older adults. Assistive technologies should adapt to the needs of older adults without them having to adjust settings, change versions or use hacks. Desai's research will investigate a generation of prompts in emerging technologies for people with dementia. Machine-learning techniques will be employed to learn about the user and make inferences regarding their state while using the technology. The research outcomes will be used to develop adaptive-assistive technology and drive pivotal advancements in the area of interactive design and adaptive technology for older adults. It will lead to development of deployable technologies in non-clinical settings, driving independence and social inclusion in older adults – advancing Canada's position as a leader in interactive-adaptive technology.

Matthew Keough, Faculty of Health
Center for Research on Addiction Vulnerability in Early Life

CFI JELF award: $50,000

Millions of Canadians struggle with co-occurring alcohol use and emotional disorders (e.g. anxiety) but very little is known about why alcohol use and emotional disorders co-occur so frequently, resulting in a lack of understanding of how to treat them effectively. Keough's innovative experimental research aims to uncover the biopsychosocial risk factors for alcohol use-emotional disorder comorbidity in emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 25). Keough will acquire state-of-the-art equipment for his Center for Research on Addiction Vulnerability in Early Life (CRAVE Lab). Using a simulated-bar-lab environment and innovative technology, his research will have the potential to improve treatments for alcohol use-emotional disorder comorbidity and improve the lives of many Canadians and their families.

Christine Le, Faculty of Science
Infrastructure for the Catalytic Synthesis of Medicinally Relevant Organofluorine Compounds

CFI JELF award: $160,000

Le’s research seeks to develop more efficient, cost-effective and greener methods for the synthesis of medicinally relevant fluorine-containing compounds. On average it takes 10 years for a newly discovered drug to reach the market due to the complexity of clinical trials, production and approval by government agencies. The synthetic methods targeted in this research will improve the efficiency of drug discovery and synthesis, allowing critical medicines to reach the market sooner. The research objectives and methodologies align with Canada's commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which include the efficient use of natural resources, the reduction of chemical waste and the development of essential medicines.

Ozzy Mermut, Faculty of Science
Biophotonics Diagnosis, Treatment and Dosimetry in Age-related Disorders and Human Diseases

CFI JELF award: $160,000

Personalized medicine will improve patient outcomes and limit health-care costs facing aging populations and consequent diseases. Globally, one billion people face vision impairment, with age-related macular degeneration affecting 245 million. Mermut’s research aims to identify tissue-specific biomarkers for early-stage diagnosis of vision disorders and other diseases, advancing the understanding of molecular pathogenesis. Photonic techniques will then be developed for targeted, minimally invasive phototherapy. A tissue model will be engineered, recapitulating natural, diseased tissues to study laser treatments and develop dosimetry that provides molecular information on initiated-cell responses. The ultimate goal is complete eradication of pathogenic cells that lead to debilitating diseases through absolute, precise laser therapy.

Arturo Orellana, Faculty of Science
Organic Synthesis for Development of Therapeutics

CFI JELF award: $107,000

Orellana’s research program will focus on developing enabling technologies for new therapeutics to address the healthcare needs of a large portion of the Canadian population. This program brings together multidisciplinary teams of experts from industry and academia to target difficult challenges in health care including diseases such as Alzheimer's, ovarian cancer and diabetes. The fundamental-science focus on design, synthesis and characterization of drug-like organic molecules will provide critical know-how to deliver cures for diseases affecting large patient populations, while establishing Canada as a leader in health and science research.

Enamul Prince, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Establishment of the Intelligent Visualization Laboratory

CFI JELF award: $114,726

Prince will establish the Intelligent Visualization Lab with an aim to make analytics more accessible by changing the way we interact with data. A diverse range of people with different levels of skills and backgrounds will perform analysis on large data-sets faster and more effectively through natural and fluid interactions. The lab will significantly improve the ability of professionals – ranging from data scientists to business analysts, to health-care analysts – to analyze data and make complex decisions, with the potential to unlock new markets and direct financial benefits for Canadian industry. The lab will also allow students to train for the high-demand fields of AI, data science and analytics.

Jennifer Pybus, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
The Centre for Public AI (CPAI)

CFI JELF award: $69,385

Pybus will establish the Centre for Public AI (CPAI) – Canada's preeminent centre for the interdisciplinary application of a more grounded, civically driven explainable approach to AI. It aims to foster an understanding of the diverse infrastructures that gather personal data on applications and platforms through the development of tools and participatory workshops. The research conducted will fill an important gap by contributing to a growing field of critical data-literacy studies to examine algorithmic practices impacting the lives of Canadians. New tools will facilitate academic and policy interventions related to algorithmic accountability from the perspective of non-expert users who experience the outcomes of machine-learning technologies.

Emilie Roudier, Faculty of Health
Microvascular Epigenetics of Physical Activity

CFI JELF award: $80,000 

Roudier's research aims to address how physical activity induces beneficial changes in the vascular epigenome. She will establish a specialized lab to study the interaction between physical activity and the vascular epigenome. Canadians are at high risk of vascular diseases due to unhealthy behaviours. Most researchers focus on finding and averting adverse epigenetic marks correlated with vascular diseases. This lab will take a counterpoint approach – aiming to define what a healthy vascular epigenome is. The discovery of beneficial epigenetic marks generated by this research will support the discovery of new biomarkers to assess environmental risk to vascular health and test the efficiency of lifestyle or preventive interventions aiming to boost vascular health.

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation

For more than 20 years, the CFI has been giving researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. Fostering a robust innovation system in Canada translates into jobs and new enterprises, better health, cleaner environments and, ultimately, vibrant communities. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada’s universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI also helps to attract and retain the world’s top talent, to train the next generation of researchers and to support world-class research that strengthens the economy and improves the quality of life for all Canadians.

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Karen O'Meara, department head of dramatic arts at Richmond Green Secondary School in Richmond Hill, Ont., was one such teacher. Determined to forge ahead with her combined Grade 11 and 12 musical theatre production, she reached out toÌę, professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre in 91ŃÇɫ’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, whom she had been collaborating with on workshops for drama teachers. They both decided that this was the perfect opportunity to combine forces in a new way.

“At the time,” explains O’Meara, “I was putting on a production, which I then had to translate into an online production. What ended up resulting from that conversation was a number of 91ŃÇÉ« theatre students saying, ‘Hey, we don’t have anything to do. It’s the pandemic and everything is locked down; we would love to help with your show.’ So those were the initial seeds of this project.”

With the help of those enthusiastic student volunteers, Richmond Green presented its first online production in spring 2020 – and it was a huge success. Heading into the next pandemic-impacted school year, Schweitzer decided to take the project one step further by officially incorporating it into 91ŃÇɫ’s theatre curriculum as a for-credit experiential education offering called the Independent Production Practicum.

The course kicked off in January of this year and the seven enrolled students – Isabella Liscio, Megan Keatings, Hannah Smith, Rachel D’Arpino, Dave Harack, Laura Nigro and Joshua Kilimnik â€“ jumped right into planning mode, joining O’Meara for a two-hour meeting on Zoom every Monday night. When the high-school semester began the following month, the 91ŃÇÉ« students took the high schoolers through a series of theatre workshops, which O’Meara says “set the bar high for the students and gave them a fantastic foundation to continue with creative exploration.”

Through breakout rooms on their weekly Zoom calls, the 91ŃÇÉ« students went on to provide mentorship in areas where they had passion and interest. There were rooms for choreography, vocals, directing, producing and script-writing, to name a few. They attended the high-school classes whenever they could, and provided leadership within the classroom setting – running scenes and coaching students on various aspects of the show. Their contributions did not go unnoticed.

“The 91ŃÇÉ« students were outstanding,” says O’Meara. “They had so much genuine enthusiasm for what our students were doing. They were always willing to offer their expertise, make suggestions and provide great feedback.”

One of the 91ŃÇÉ« theatre students, Liscio, who just finished her third year specializing in performance creation and research, started working with O’Meara in May 2020 as a volunteer to get classroom hours for her teachers college application. She has now helped Richmond Green put on three productions. “This experience has meant so much,” she says. “I want to be a drama teacher and I didn’t have much experience working with high-school students before. I got to learn and explore with them what this genre of online theatre is and work with them in the areas of acting, directing, marketing and production.”

Another third-year student, D’Arpino, who is majoring in performing arts and concurrent education, originally applied for the course thinking it was a volunteer opportunity that would serve her well as she pursues a future as a high-school drama teacher. She was thrilled to discover that it had become a for-credit course and she hopes to continue her involvement with the school. “Karen wants our opinion, asks us to help and gets everyone involved,” she says. “The kids are so immersed in everything, learning it all and putting it together from scratch. It has been such an amazing opportunity to give input and watch the whole experience come to life.”

Like the others, Harack, who will be heading into his third year of 91ŃÇɫ’s theatre production program in the fall, plans to attend teachers college post-graduation. He knows this experience with Richmond Green will help him thrive in that setting and in the industry at large. “Seeing the students take the lead has been really awesome,” he says. “To see them progress from an idea to filming scenes and then editing, it was a really rewarding experience.”

Putting on a large-scale production during pandemic times certainly had its challenges, though, requiring the students to adapt on the fly to the ever-changing restrictions. “We knew we were only going to get a very short time together in person and we had to take advantage of every minute,” says O’Meara. “Our biggest learning was that if you want to produce work virtually, you have to be very organized, have a solid plan and be flexible to change.”

And change they did. The 28-person high-school class was expecting to have two in-person blocks for filming, but when everything was shut down after the first block, they had to go back to the drawing board and rewrite the script accordingly. “But because we had such a good plan at the start and a very good scene-by-scene vision, that really helped guide us when we had to make a change,” says O’Meara.

The end result was "Out of Sync," a completely student-written musical that went live on the evening of June 23 via Zoom, of course. The show was about four high schools – one private, one public, one arts-focused and one sports-focused – competing against each other in a lip-sync battle. As the rival schools went from cut-throat saboteurs to considerate allies, the show left its audience with the feel-good takeaway that music has the power to unite people from all walks of life.

Understandably, signs of the pandemic were everywhere in the production – students in masks, physical distancing, scenes filmed in students’ homes, in parks, on Zoom and some spliced together to make it appear that the cast was in the same place when in reality they were not. And perhaps that was part of the show’s charm, serving as a sort of time capsule for the strange and surreal year that was.

No one yet knows what the next school year has in store, but one thing is certain: the educational experience gained from putting on this production in such turbulent times will have a lasting impact for all involved.

“I’m delighted that our students have had such an exciting opportunity to work closely with Ms. O’Meara and the students at Richmond Green on the development of a new musical,” says Schweitzer. “Through this collaboration, they’ve developed leadership and teaching skills that will enhance their careers, whether they decide to go on to become high-school drama teachers themselves or pursue other creative avenues. I look forward to seeing this kind of partnership grow in the future.”

By Lindsay MacAdam, communications officer,ÌęłÛč󟱱ô±đ

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Ìęhas worked as the facilities co-ordinator in 91ŃÇɫ’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design since completing his undergraduate degree at McMaster University four years ago. But his workday is far from over when he clocks out of his nine-to-five.

When he’s not spending his evening hours taking courses in 91ŃÇɫ’s Bachelor of Disaster and Emergency Management program, this tireless 29-year-old who describes himself as a "lifelong student" is slipping on his gardening gloves and taking care of business on his family farm in Kettleby, Ont., just north of Toronto.

Growing up in the nearby Holland Marsh, a wetland known for its agricultural riches, farming has been a part of Vander Kooi’s life for as long as he can remember. “But never with animals,” he explains. “It was more like vegetables and gardens and whatnot. I have always helped my parents with that and I used to have a summer job doing groundskeeping, so gardening has always been a hobby of mine.”

And there is plenty of gardening to be done at his farm. While lettuce, tomatoes and squash are the family’s primary crops of choice, they’re also trying a bit of corn this year despite past disappointments. “Raccoons tend to eat those right before they’re ready, so they never turn out too well,” says Vander Kooi. They also grow flowers for the family business, , run by his mother and sister.

The family dialled its hobby farming up a notch seven years ago when they moved to their current property, an old farm house with a barn perfect for raising animals. “After we moved here,” says Vander Kooi, “some friends of ours who moved out west had sheep they were trying to get rid of, so we adopted them and that’s how we started our little hobby farm. We also now have chickens and rabbits.”

Animals ended up being a very welcome addition to Vander Kooi’s life on the farm. He loves getting to see their individual personalities come out – especially the sheep, who he says all have different temperaments, from cuddly to skittish. “The guy who sheers them said he’s always amazed at how comfortable our sheep are around people, so I guess they’re spoiled and get lots of attention,” Vander Kooi says with a laugh.

But as fun as farming can be, it’s also a lot of responsibility. Vander Kooi estimates that around 20 hours a week are dedicated to keeping the farm going, but not from him alone. “It’s a big family effort,” he says, explaining that his parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and even his niece and nephew all contribute to the daily duties. And perhaps the key to it all? He doesn’t consider it work.

“It doesn’t really feel like a chore,” he insists. “It’s more of just something to do to get my mind off of things by focusing on the specific task of either gardening or taking care of the animals
. It’s nice to be in the country and to be outside spending time with the animals on the farm. It’s really good for your mental and physical health.”

And isn’t that exactly the kind of healthy outlet we have all been needing over the past year and a half, since the COVID-19 pandemic turned life as we know it upside down?

Vander Kooi certainly thinks so. But pandemic or not, farming is something he envisions as part of his life forever. And although property size limits how many more animals his family can bring into their little farm community, he does hope to add some smaller animals – maybe a dog, or some ducks – down the road.

By Lindsay MacAdam, communications officer, Communications & Public Affairs, 91ŃÇÉ«

Do you have a "secret life" or know someone else at 91ŃÇÉ« who does? Drop us a line atÌęyfile@yorku.caÌęwith a brief summary of what makes you shine, or nominate someone you know at 91ŃÇÉ«. Use the subject line “My Secret Life.”

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, associate professor of dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), was one of the conference speakers. He gave a presentation about using dance as a pedagogical tool. Alcedo is a dancer, dance ethnographer and documentary filmmaker who specializes in the folk dances of the Philippines.

In the audience for  was Faye Snodgress, an American education consultant and granddaughter of a man who taught English in the northern Philippines in the late 1800s.

Following the conference, Snodgress wrote to Alcedo to explain her family connection to the Philippines. She sent along photos of some cultural artifacts that her grandfather had brought home as mementos of his stay in the rural Philippines. Snodgress expressed a desire to donate them to a museum or an appreciative audience. She asked Alcedo if he had any ideas about a good home or any connections to someone who could assist her with the donation.

Alcedo, who hails from the central Philippines, immediately thought of a colleague at OCAD University, Lynne B. Milgram, who conducts research in the northern part of the Philippines. He got in touch with Milgram and she told him that a new museum, the , had opened in 2019 at the University of the Philippines. Milgram contacted the director of Museo Kordilyera and received an enthusiastic response: the museum would be delighted to add the artifacts to its collection.

“The artifacts are amazing,” said Alcedo. “There are wooden spoons with carvings of humans on the handle, for example, and a very rare bag that is used in a particular Philippine dance. Material objects are inextricably linked with Philippine dance; they are used as props. I used a similar bag when I was a dancer. These traditions still exist. The dance movements are specific, but they alone can’t signify the culture; the dances are so object-driven.”

The artifacts are now in Baguio, the city that houses the Museo Kordilyera.

Alcedo, who often travels to the area to conduct research on regional dances, is planning a visit to the collection once it is safe to travel again.

“Imagine, these artifacts came to North America 120 years ago,” he said. “It is such a generous thing to do to return them to a place where they will be treasured.

“In addition, it is fitting that these artifacts are being returned home during the Philippines’ quincentennial year so that the entire country can enjoy them,” added Alcedo, who was named by the Philippine Consulate as a recipient of a 2021 Quincentennial Award.

By Elaine Smith, special contributor

Courtesy of YFile.

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The November 2020 event brought together graduate students from across AMPD to share stories of transforming their research and creation projects in response to the COVID-19 restrictions.

“We want to think together across the arts,” said , AMPD’s associate dean of research, during her introductory remarks at the Creative Shifts event. “We feel this is vital for understanding the array of methods that this moment might be opening up. And we also want to think together about how we might support one another in this very unusual year.”

Despite the challenges of working alone with little opportunity for the usual cross-pollination that takes place in hallways, studios and around water coolers, these shifts led to fruitful research experiments and unexpected discoveries in artmaking.

The event, co-organized by Levin and Sunita Nigam, an AMPD postdoctoral researcher, offered wonderful stories and fascinating insights about creating.

A workshop reckoning and pivot

For Scott Christian, a master's student in music composition, the pandemic necessitated turning around a carful of actors and returning to Canada from a New 91ŃÇÉ« state park in mid-March.

His off-Broadway workshop of , co-created with director and lyricist Lezlie Wade, had been cancelled due to public health closures.

Christian then received funding to film 30 minutes of the piece and present it online. The video launched in October 2020 and has been seen by more than 2,000 people.

The camera as a dance partner

“If we were going to present a developmental workshop for an audience,” said Christian, “we might hit 100 people. So, the fact that we were able to create something that reached 2,000 people this year feels like a real victory.”

The camera also became a new collaborator for Meera Kanageswaran, a master of fine art student in dance, as she transitioned to a filmed version of her Bharatanatyam choreography, documenting this Southern Indian dance form.

“In Bharatanatyam,” said Kanageswaran, “we use facial expressions and movements of isolated body parts. The dancers adjusted pretty quickly to adjusting their respective cameras to focus different body parts – either their face, their feet, or their hands. I think the camera now has become a dancing partner, not just a documenting device, and that’s something I would like to retain in my practice.”

She notes the initial trouble of finding rehearsal space for each dancer to rehearse in, but reflected that this led to exploring other forms of physical expression. “Bharatanatyam uses strong footwork, which produced some unhappy neighbours. That resulted in us changing our choreography a little bit.”

Unintended basement collaborations 

Ella Dawn McGeough, a PhD student in visual arts, was nearly an unhappy neighbour when her landlord proposed turning their basement into an extra apartment amid the pandemic.

She notes the initial trouble of finding rehearsal space for each dancer to rehearse in, but reflected that this led to exploring other forms of physical expression. “Bharatanatyam uses strong footwork, which produced some unhappy neighbours. That resulted in us changing our choreography a little bit.”

Unintended basement collaborations 

Ella Dawn McGeough, a PhD student in visual arts, was nearly an unhappy neighbour when her landlord proposed turning their basement into an extra apartment amid the pandemic.

More than just a storage space, the basement was a generative place to create in the first few months of the pandemic before she returned to her studio at 91ŃÇÉ«.

“The basement’s floors had long been a feature of fascination,” said McGeough, “a chaotic mystery of poorly poured layers of uneven concrete, the buckle and bend and fragmented sections of exposed dirt.”

She could even spot 30-year-old paw prints from a resident cat, Charlie. The basement was never made into an apartment and these non-human entities that she discovered in her art spaces over the last year became, in her words, “unintended collaborators, but I was also thinking of them as viewers.”

Taking theatre to Zoom

For Lisa Marie DiLiberto, a PhD student in theatre and performance studies, these broader audiences have become a recent focus of her work engaging the imaginations and aspirations of young people in her role as artistic director of Theatre Direct.

“One of the questions I had at the beginning of this pandemic,” said DiLiberto, “was how can theatre help young people heal through this traumatic experience of living through the pandemic through these last few months?”

One of her answers was , a digitally touring and Zoom-produced show that touches on issues that young people are facing in the pandemic.

The show’s digital nature has led to a broader and more geographically diverse audience. “[We’ve] reached audiences across the country or internationally, whereas that might not have been such an easy possibility to begin with,” said DiLiberto.

Accessible code illuminates environmental content

Sarah Vollmer and Racelar Ho, PhD students in computational arts, have shifted original research-creation plans by expanding the participatory scope of their virtual reality project , which discusses the invisible erosions brought on by climate change.

Vollmer and Ho have used tools like Google Collab and Miro to make their code accessible and allow participants to submit their own environmental content to Luminiferous Funeral.

“The original point,” said Ho, “was to break through the privilege of museums and galleries, so we tried to make our work more digital and flexible so audiences could participate in our work as content generators.”

The two have found more time to write about their work, which led them to present on how they handled their constant flow of climate data and content at a conference on information and online environments.

“That work transfers immediately into the pandemic state,” said Vollmer. “So, we’ve been able to help in ways that we didn’t think we could.”

Using augmented reality to situate artifacts

After initial setbacks in her PhD work, Lia Tarachansky, a PhD student in cinema and media studies, developed her research interests through a newly created Mitacs grant supporting her Toronto-based augmented reality (AR) project in the historic St. John’s Ward. Archeologists uncovered the artifacts in 2015 and transported them to London, Ont. Tarachansky hoped to use AR to situate them back home.

COVID-19, though, has continued to alter the project. “Through a series of trial and error I was able to get a 3D scanner from [CMA professor] Dr. Caitlin Fisher,” said Tarachansky. She then scanned artifacts like a hat block (mould), a memorial plate of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and a children’s doll, which will allow her to place the digital copies in Toronto via AR.

The current social challenges are just as serious as the technical ones and have led to important discoveries about the nature of research, something that is all too often taken for granted as an autonomous endeavour.

“Without access to people, without the ability to interact and brainstorm together,” said Tarachansky, “working in isolation is bringing out the understanding of how collaborative academic research is, even when pre-COVID we used to think it was very isolated and self-driven.”

Levin agreed that events like this one aimed to bring makers and thinkers together to support each other. “Many of us are having conversations within our own disciplinary silos right now,” said the associate dean, “about how to wrestle with the conditions of distanced research, both intellectually, creatively, and in other modes.”

Judging by the lively discussion that followed the presentations, the event met its goal of sparking new connections across AMPD.

By Thomas Sayers, MA student in theatre & performance studies at AMPD

Courtesy of YFile.

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The best contemporary art can’t be pigeonholed into one genre because, more often than not, it combines a variety of approaches in new and innovative ways that press or even coerce the viewer/participant into considering their own reality. Simply put: It demands more of the viewer. This is the engaging terrain of 91ŃÇÉ« Professor and intermedia artist Freya Björg Olafson.

Premiering last year (Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, 2019) at the Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) in Winnipeg, Man., Olafson’s “MÆ – Motion Aftereffect” is an unforgettable interactive, multimedia experience. It successfully blends dance, video, audio and virtual reality (VR), blurring the lines between the real and the virtual.

ÌęŽÚ°ùŽÇłŸÌęÌęŽÇČÔÌę.

“The MÆ project is a new work that aims to catalyze conversations about contemporary culture and performance while imagining societies future with advances in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, 360 video and relatedÌętechnologies,” Olafson explains.

“Boldly, and with levity and humour, Freya’s imagination and craft gives us a playful window into a world that we can only begin to imagine,” says PTE’s Artistic Director, Thomas Morgan Jones.

Olafson’s work combines different genres in a whole new way

Olafson came to 91ŃÇÉ« just over two years ago. If one were to study her work over the years, to trace her evolution as an artist, it would be clear that she has embraced tremendous dexterity. She easily and naturally ventures into different media or genres, unfettered by conventional barriers.

Freya Björg Olafson

A dozen years ago, for example, Olafson was a bold figurative painter. In the photo below Olafson sits in front of herÌęNew Icelander SeriesÌę(2006). “In my early studio work, I based performances off of paintings and I created sets and props. This is before I started integrating video into my live works,” she explains.

Today, she is best known as an interdisciplinary artist and pioneering dancer/choreographer on the world stage. Between these two points in time, there have been many exciting developments in her work that drove the seamless shift from painting (a static, two-dimensional art form) to dance and VR – kinetic, three-dimensional art forms that engage viewers in wholly new ways.

Her most recent work centres around identity and the body informed by technology and the Internet, no doubt informed by her six years of classical training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. This new work considers what it means to be present in our contemporary screen-obsessed world and constructs an experience that interrogates the impact of technology on our bodies and psyches.

It’s not a heavy-handed delivery; Olafson’s performances are elegant, sophisticated. They feature evocative and multi-layered images with figures and shapes disappearing and re-emerging in a ghostly, elusive way. For audiences, the impact of these works is borne of the experience in its entirety.

“Motion Aftereffect” hones in on out-of-body experience

“Motion Aftereffect” is a body of work that comprises multiple short video works, this upcoming live performance and in the near future a VR installation for exhibition in galleries. Funded by the Manitoba Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, “MÆ – Motion Aftereffect” was developed, from 2017 to 2019, through residences in Montreal, Portland, Winnipeg and San Francisco.

The premiere in Winnipeg is the latest incarnation of the series.

Olafson explains what is going on and what the viewers would see: “Onstage, I am working with live digital painting with a green screen glitch effect. Often in my work, I aim to conflate the live body with projections of digital figures/avatars. I also work with found video footage of folks testing out their home motion capture systems. In a later section of the work I actually use the VR headset.”

This work asks viewers to consider their own reality, through VR technology, to effectively destabilize meaning(s) of the corporeal body.

As Olafson noted, the project references and uses a variety of Internet content – such as material from open source motion capture libraries, ready-made 3D human models and monologues of individuals recounting their experiences with VRÌęin live gameplay, explorative worlds and VR porn. “These texts and visuals combine with YouTube monologues aboutÌęout-of-body experiences and astral projection,” she explains.

In an out-of-body experience, a person perceives the world from a location outside of their physical body. Astral projection (sometimes called astral travel) describes a person’s intentional out-of-body experience. This assumes the existence of a soul or consciousness, called an ‘astral body,’ that is separate from the physical body and capable of travelling outside and far beyond it – in fact, throughout the universe.

The result is a one-of-a-kind experience for viewers.

What’s next for Olafson? Upcoming publications include a score/script of her performance workÌęas part of Canadian Playwrights Press’ 2021 anthology on Digital Theatre in Canada.

Funding acknowledgement: The development of “MÆ – Motion Aftereffect” was possible via the AR/VR Artist Research Residency Pilot organized by Oregon Story Board, Eyebeam and Upfor Gallery in Portland as well as the 13th annual MontrĂ©al Choreographic Workshop. In 2017, this work was developed through the CounterPulse (San Francisco) ‘Artist Residency Commissioning Program’ with lead support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the Ken Hempel Fund for the Arts.

To learn more about Olafson, visit herÌęÌęorÌę. To learn more about the show in Winnipeg, visit herÌęÌęor theÌę.

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91ŃÇÉ«, follow us atÌę; watch our newÌę, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see theÌę, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91ŃÇÉ«,Ìęmuellerm@yorku.ca

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Talk about legacy. In spring of last year, 91ŃÇÉ« Professor Emeritus Nancy Nicol, documentary filmmaker and activist in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance &ÌęDesign (AMPD), donated her collection to the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA). The archives then established the Nancy Nicol Collection.

Based in downtown Toronto, the CLGA maintains the world’s largest independent LGBTQ+ archives. Its acquisition of Nicol’s collection is part of a long-term strategy to become a more active resource for the Canadian and LGBTQ+ communities.

Nicol, a 91ŃÇÉ« alumna, describes her body of work, which documents a period of intense change in lesbian and gay rights in Canada between 1969-2009, as “a moving history, charged with optimism and resilience in the face of prejudice and ignorance.”

She hopes her contribution to the Archives will be a way of remembering and celebrating this history, will provide vital materials for queer history students and researchers and will inspire future generations.

Nicol’s work reflects 40 years of lesbian and gay movement in Canada

Nicol, active in visual arts, video art, participatory documentary, research and writing since the late 1970s, taught in the Visual Arts Department at 91ŃÇÉ« from 1989 to 2016. Here, she assisted in the founding of the University’s Sexuality Studies and the Community Art Certificate programs.

Her contribution to filmmaking and social activism is vast, and it digs deeply into issues of human rights, social justice and struggles for social change. In her compelling documentaries, she interviewed many human rights lawyers, activists and community leaders. As a result, her work brings to life four decades of the history of the lesbian and gay movement in Canada.

Began in 1980s with a series on pro-choice movement

Nicol’s first ground-breaking documentary series was The Struggle for Choice (1986), which depicted the history of the pro-choice movement in Canada. She followed this up with films on women and work, labour struggles, reproductive rights, migrant workers’ rights in Canada and human rights in Northern Ireland.

In the 1990s, Nicol began what became a long-term project that traced decades of lesbian and gay rights organizing in Canada from decriminalization (in 1969) through the battles for human rights, relationship recognition and equal marriage up to 2009.

Her influential work extends beyond the border of Canada. In 2011, Nicol led an international research and participatory documentary project, “Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights,” collaborating with 31 community partners based in Canada, Africa, the Caribbean and India.

The Envisioning project resulted in many outcomes, including publications and participatory documentaries. These works include No Easy Walk To Freedom (2014), which documents the struggle for decriminalization in India, as well as And Still We Rise (2015, co-directed with Richard Lusimbo) on resistance to the anti-homosexuality act in Uganda.

A forthcoming anthology, Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights: (Neo)colonialism, Neoliberalism, Resistance and Hope, will be launched in June, 2018. It is edited by N. Nicol, A. Jjuuko, R. Lusimbo, N. J. Mulé, S. Ursel, A. Wahab and P. Waugh, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

Collection features footage and interviews of From Criminality to Equality series

The Nancy Nicol Collection is compiled of the filmmaker’s work between 1994 and 2009, including uncut footage and full-length interviews that were used in several of her documentaries. The collection features the award-winning documentary series From Criminality to Equality, which is comprised of four films: Stand Together (2002), Politics of the Heart / La Politique du Coeur (2005), The End of Second Class (2006) and The Queer Nineties (2009).

The collection also offers shorts and excerpts from documentaries by Nicol, such as Gay Pride and Prejudice (1994), Proud Lives: George Hislop (2005), Making the Political Appear, Black Queer Histories of Organizing (2006), Proud Lives: Chris Bearchell (2007), From Russia, in Love (2009), One Summer in New Paltz, A Cautionary Tale (2008) and Dykes Planning Tykes: Queering the Family Tree (2011, co-directed by Nicol and M. J. Daniel).

Collection documents key moments in Canadian history

The Nancy Nicol Collection documents many watershed moments in the nation’s history, including:

• The birth of gay liberation in the 1970s;
• The struggle for human rights protection, provincially and nationally;
• The AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) crisis;
• Opposition to gay rights, spanning from the 1970s to the 1990s;
• The growth and increasing diversity of LGBT organizing;
• The labour movement’s role in queer rights;
• Struggles for relationship recognition including the Ontario’s Campaign for Equal Families and the Lesbian Mothers’ Association battle, in Quebec, for queer parenting rights; and
• Key Charter rights cases that sought to advance relationship recognition, same-sex marriage, parenting and pensions.

This collection will form a lasting legacy, for both the LGBTQ+ community and all Canadians.

To read a related article published by AMPD, visit the For more on the Nancy Nicol Collection, view the . To learn more about Nancy Nicol’s work, see her faculty profile. For more information on the “Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights” project, visit the . To learn more about the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, view the .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91ŃÇÉ«, follow us at , watch the and see the .

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91ŃÇÉ«, muellerm@yorku.ca

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