Current students, faculty, and staff
When art student Emma Sambaer, at Michigan State University (MSU), was paired with OCAD University student Shiva Mohseni on a cross-border art project, she noticed how much they had in common despite being separated by a border.
Students from OCAD U and MSU were tasked with drawing portraits of each other to capture the likeness of their partner and explore their relationships and friendships across the Canadian-American Border.
But first, they had to get to know each other.
Over the past two months, the students connected in a virtual exchange, sharing their lives and stories through emails and virtual meetings to learn about one another’s lives. The artists also mailed each other photographs of themselves, and a collection of personal or creative materials that represented their personalities and their locations.
“Shiva is originally from Ahvaz [Iran]… so I knew I wanted to incorporate her connection to both places,” said Sambauer. “For her ephemera, she sent me a KitKat, a keychain with 'Canada' on it, a packet of tea, a leaf, and a coaster.”
Sambauer reflected on the significance of these objects, noting, “These items really showed me that across the border our lives aren’t so different in the grand scheme of things. There are borders created by people separating us because of one reason or another, but that doesn’t define who we are."
“It’s more important than ever for students to engage with and learn about their nation’s neighbours,” said Associate Professor Ilene Sova, who managed the Canadian component of the project. “The project was a valuable opportunity to build unique, personal, and positive relationships across borders while presenting an artistic challenge for the artists to translate a stranger’s presence into a work of art.”
OCAD U student Anna Tanner was inspired by the ephemera sent by her partner, Michigan State University student, Joe Jones. "Using the ephemera he provided, gems, scrap textiles, and a tree air freshener, I incorporated nods to these items into the background,” said Tanner. “Hearing about Joe’s artistic inspirations, precisely blending the urban decay of East Side Detroit with his love of French and Rococo art, I created my interpretation of this enmeshment."
The project culminated in an exhibition, Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project in Toronto at Stackt Market – North Hall Gallery (28 Bathurst St., Toronto, Unit 3-109), April 2 to 13. Curated by Museum Studies students at the State University of New York (SUNY), Geneseo, and under the direction of Dr. Alla Myzelev, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History at SUNY Geneseo, the exhibition featured the portraits created by the MSU and OCAD U students.
The exhibition will then travel to MSU and be displayed at SCENE Metrospace gallery in November 2025. A digital augmented reality exhibition curated by the Museum Studies students at the State University of New York, Geneseo, will launch this spring.
Students from the State University of New York (SUNY), Geneseo, worked on curatorial writing and a digital exhibition of the work.
This project was collaboratively designed and taught by Assistant Professor Candice Chovanec, MSU; Morgan Reneé Hill, graduate student from MSU; and Associate Professor Ilene Sova, OCAD University.
This unique Collaborative Online International Learning experience is supported by the International Programs & Collaborations Office and Faculty of Art Office at OCAD U, the Canadian Studies Centre at MSU and the Art History Department at SUNY Geneseo.
This project was initiated through the work of d’Ann de Simone, Professor of Studio Art at the Department of Art, Art History and Design, Michigan State University. De Simone received funding under the auspices of an International Strategic Partnership Grant from the MSU Canadian Studies Center and invaluable assistance from its Director, Dr. Rebecca Maloui.