April 24, 2026

Announcing Penakee Das as the recipient of the 2026 Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) Residency Career Launcher!

TAIS studios with computer and animation gear.

OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers is excited to announce Penakee Das as the recipient of the 2026 Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) Residency Career Launcher!

2026 TAIS Career Launcher recipient

Penakee Das bio:

Penakee Das is multi-disciplinary artist who is focused on researching the link between art and pedagogy. To him visual arts is another way of communication that allows deeper meanings and emotions to become tangible. His background before exploring Art as a career was in education for special demographics including; the elderly, the very young, and kids with learning disabilities or behavioral issues. In his personal experience working into those fields he experienced first hand how important visual language can be to communicate with those with barriers.  

Penakee’s interest in animation stems from the idea that animation is not one singular work but multiple chances to display the same concept over and over. His primary forms of animation are in stop motion and compositing. Many of his films focus on abstract sensory experience, utilizing real life textures and compositing them over each other to create the hyperreal. This visual experience not only shows a physical object or texture but actualizes the spiritual essence of the physical. 

Other Recent News

2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Curators

OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create the CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. One (1) emerging Curator will receive $1,700 to curate a single channel, projection-based screening program of work from the OCAD U community. The Projections Program will be displayed at the CDCC for six-weeks in March 2027.

September 27, 2026

Call for Applicants: Future Enterprise Lab

Future Enterprise Lab is an 8-week venture design program for OCAD U students and alumni interested in entrepreneurship, creativity, and future thinking. Combining speculative fiction, strategic forecasting, and venture design, this program invites participants to imagine possible futures for Toronto and explore what kinds of businesses, collectives, nonprofits, creative practices, and community initiatives might be needed in the decades ahead. Through guided readings, collaborative workshops, horizon scanning, scenario planning, and venture development activities, participants will explore emerging social, technological, economic, environmental, and cultural trends and develop enterprise concepts designed for a changing city.

September 10, 2026

Related Stories

2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Curators

OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create the CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. One (1) emerging Curator will receive $1,700 to curate a single channel, projection-based screening program of work from the OCAD U community. The Projections Program will be displayed at the CDCC for six-weeks in March 2027.

September 27, 2026

Call for Applicants: Future Enterprise Lab

Future Enterprise Lab is an 8-week venture design program for OCAD U students and alumni interested in entrepreneurship, creativity, and future thinking. Combining speculative fiction, strategic forecasting, and venture design, this program invites participants to imagine possible futures for Toronto and explore what kinds of businesses, collectives, nonprofits, creative practices, and community initiatives might be needed in the decades ahead. Through guided readings, collaborative workshops, horizon scanning, scenario planning, and venture development activities, participants will explore emerging social, technological, economic, environmental, and cultural trends and develop enterprise concepts designed for a changing city.

September 10, 2026