150 Years of Impact.
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In 1876, just nine years after Confederation, we opened as the Ontario School of Art. Canada was still a young country, searching for its identity. Our founders believed artists and designers could help shape that future. They were right.
For 150 years, OCAD University has grown alongside Canada. As the country changed, so did we. From paintbrushes to pixels, from canvases to complex systems and video games, our tools have evolved, but creativity and innovation has remained at the heart of everything we do.
As Canada searched for its first visual identity, OCAD U helped shape it.
Most members of the Group of Seven taught or studied here, helping create the bold visual language that introduced Canada's landscapes to the world. Over the decades, OCAD U- community artists and designers also helped create or influence some of the country's most familiar symbols̶ from the Government of Canada wordmark to the CN and CBC logos, the Tim Hortons logo, the loonie and dime, and the identities of many iconic Canadian brands.
As Canada embraced new technologies, OCAD U embraced new ways of creating.
Artists who studied or taught at OCAD U have made significant contributions to Canadian and international art and culture. Michael Snow became one of the world's most influential experimental artists. George Dunning directed the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine. David Rokeby helped shape interactive digital art long before it entered the mainstream. Today, researchers and entrepreneurs continue that spirit of innovation by creating more inclusive and sustainable technologies and exploring the creative possibilities of artificial intelligence.
As Canada became more diverse, OCAD U broadened whose stories were told̶ and who got to tell them.
Suzy Lake, Richard Fung, Shelley Niro, Bonnie Devine, Michael Belmore, Floria Sigismondi and many more, challenged assumptions, expanded artistic boundaries and helped redefine Canadian culture. Along the way, OCAD U emerged as an internationally recognized leader in Indigenous art and design education.
Today, as Canada enters an era shaped by AI and rapidly changing technologies, OCAD U continues to evolve alongside it.
From a small art school with just 14 students to Canada's largest and oldest art and design university, our students now create everything from paintings and public spaces to artificial intelligence, complex systems, video games and ventures that haven't been imagined yet. Whatever the medium, they continue shaping Canada's future through creativity.
For 150 years, OCAD University has reflected the changing story of Canada while helping shape it.
Join us from the fall of 2026 to summer, 2027 as we celebrate the impact of the extraordinarily creative vision of our students, faculty and alumni.