Philip Leonard Ocampo

What Program did you graduate from and when?

I graduated from OCAD U’s Integrated Media program with a specialization in Digital Painting and Expanded Animation (DPXA) in 2018.

What is your current title or role? (e.g. freelance designer, art practitioner, etc.)

I’m an Arts Practitioner and Curator currently working as one of the Programming Coordinators of Xpace Cultural Centre and a Founding Co-director of Hearth, a new artist-run space in Toronto alongside Rowan Lynch, Sameen Mahboubi and Benjamin de Boer. In addition to this, I also have a studio practice that I’ve been developing simultaneously.

Why did you choose to attend OCAD U?

OCAD U’s Integrated Media program appealed to me because of its flexibility. Students in the program were encouraged to work in multi-disciplinary processes, and at the time I had no prior education in the arts. The prospect of trying out new things was exciting and allowed me to think about ways in which my (then) interest in animation could work dually within commercial and fine art contexts.

Please briefly describe your current job/practice.

My practice primarily involves sculpture, installation, and public programming. In both my curatorial and studio practice, my work usually explores phenomenon, magic, and memory, using the extraordinary to reconcile and better understand personal and collective experiences, often through a diasporic focus. I’m interested in the allure of the unknown, and through this curiosity, seek to access aspects of existence that are invisible, intangible, or inhuman in nature.

My roles at Hearth and Xpace Cultural demonstrate an interest in community through facilitating arts projects. Each space is interested in offering a range of emerging collaborators professional opportunities in the arts, giving them a platform to develop, workshop and execute new ideas from the ground up. While there is a dynamic of pedagogy and mentorship at play (e.g. Xpace often shows newer artists with less experience), there is also an emphasis on knowledge and skill sharing, so I’ve been fortunate to also learn so much from all the talented artists, writers, designers and curators we work with.

How did you get started in your career?

I curated an exhibition featuring work from a few close friends back in 2016, and found that the process of working curatorially was a medium of artmaking in itself that felt relational and collaborative, and overall really satisfying! From there I sought out experience doing internships and volunteer work with a couple of artist-run centres and artist-run initiatives to get a sense of what working professionally in arts administration looks like while also continuing to develop a studio practice on the side.

What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work?

A lot of my personal stances on internships, volunteering and paid work stem from seeing what the precarity of the arts looks like from experiences being on different sides of the table. From working with an artist-run centre that is fortunate enough to have funding (Xpace) to running a space that does not currently receive any external funding (Hearth) to my experiences as an artist and curator working within both these types of spaces, I’m really aware of the how difficult it is for artists in the city (and beyond) to work in this field. It’s a given that arts practitioners and facilitators should be paid for their labour, but I am also interested in skill sharing, resource sharing, space usage and other forms of equitable exchange when I know the people that I’m collaborating with are also working in financial precarity. If I’m working with an institution or space that I know can pay me for my work, then adequate monetary compensation for the work I do is essential. It’s all about context!     

What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

I’d say that the balancing of personal/professional relationships is both what I enjoy most but also what I find to be the most challenging. As an emerging artist/curator myself, across the board, I’m so fortunate to always be working with collaborators who are oftentimes friends and peers as well. I’m working directly within my communities and I find that dynamic to be super rewarding.

But when challenges arise, I find it difficult to fully separate myself from my personal relationships when addressing them, which results in a lot of unseen emotional labour that just wouldn’t be as present in jobs in other fields.

What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently?

Working alongside so many other talented artists and a handful of amazing instructors laid out the groundwork for finding and maintaining community after graduating. I really benefited from the feedback, love, and care that we sought to give to each other while trying to figure ourselves out in school.

When I was at OCAD U I really was only thinking about developing a studio practice, but I really think I could have totally benefitted from investing more time in lecture/seminar courses and studies related to curatorial studies. I’ve learned a lot by doing over the years, but I always wonder how investing more time in this focus could have affected my practice.       

What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice?

As a queer Filipino artist, curator, and sentient being on this earth I’m often told who I am, who I can be what my work must look like as someone who identifies as such, so it’s important to me that in the work I make and the curatorial projects I endeavor to execute that I claim my own agency in deciding these things for myself. And though my studio practice is currently really introspective, curatorial projects allow me to gather folx to think through these ideas together.

What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years?

I’d like to see Hearth become more sustainable down the road in addition to continuing to work and show in regards to my practice as a maker. I’ve also been thinking about graduate studies!