## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/) 2. [News and Stories](/index%2Ephp/news) 3. [Announcing Penakee Das as the recipient of the 2026 Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS) Residency Career Launcher!](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/4382) 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.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_5_1_large/public/2025-04/TAIS-CL%20Banner.png.webp?itok=Khjb80Pm) rgb(255,255,255) 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!**](https://careerlaunchers.format.com/2026-tais) ![2026 TAIS Career Launcher recipient](/sites/default/files/2026-04/CL%20Recipient_TAIS%20%28square%29.png) **Penakee Das bio:** [**Penakee Das**](https://penakeedas.myportfolio.com/) 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 Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### OCAD U’s Global Centre for Climate Action and EU bring large-scale art to Toronto’s Canada Malting Silos The Light and Melting Temporalities transformed the waterfront into a canvas for climate reflection. October 6, 2026 ](/index%2Ephp/news/ocad-us-global-centre-climate-action-and-eu-bring-large-scale-art-torontos-canada-malting) [### Call for Project Participants: From Our Points of View Encounters with Artists A student-led year-long visiting artist project, under the mentorship of Governor General's Award winning artist Max Dean September 30, 2026 ](/news/call-project-participants-our-points-view-encounters-artists) Related Stories ## Related Stories [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### 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 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-curators) [### 2027 DesignTO Exhibition Stantec Window Gallery Call for Artists DesignTO, Stantec Window Gallery and the RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers are excited to announce a public window gallery exhibition Career Launcher. One (1) exhibition proposal will receive a total of $1,230 to show their work as part of the 2027 DesignTO Festival. September 20, 2026 ](/news/2027-designto-exhibition-stantec-window-gallery-call-artists)