## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/) 2. [News and Stories](/index%2Ephp/news) 3. [OCAD U Welcomes Van Maltese as Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/3048) February 10, 2025 # OCAD U Welcomes Van Maltese as Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence ![On the left, a headshot of Van Maltese. On the right, one their pieces (oil on panel, powder coated steel, wood, acrylic paint, magnets)](/sites/default/files/styles/1_5_1_large/public/2025-02/Thirdspace_Van_Artwork.png.webp?itok=Pd2LVV2e) Left: Photography by Brittany Carmichael. Right: Circling the drain, 2018. Images courtesy of Van Maltese. **THIRDSPACE: Emerging Artist Summer Intensive Program 2025** OCAD U announces new month-long residency designed for interdisciplinary emerging artists guided by OCAD U alum and Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence, Van Maltese. This immersive program offers a unique opportunity to develop new work, experiment with techniques, expand artistic practices, and showcase final projects. The 2025 residency theme, **“Hypothesizing How We See,”** invites artists to explore conflicts of perception as a means of reshaping understanding. Through play, experimentation, critical inquiry, and collaboration, participants will examine how ambiguity and fluidity can open new ways of thinking, seeing, and engaging with the world. **Residency Highlights:** - Mentorship from our Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence - Dedicated studio space to develop and refine work - Access to specialized facilities (based on experience and technical skills) - Hands-on workshops designed to expand artistic practice - Reading discussions and guest talks with leading artists and thinkers - Cultural field trips to enrich creative perspectives - Final group exhibition showcasing work developed during the program **Key dates:** - **Early bird deadline:** Sunday, March 2, 2025 (Save $200 off program fee) - **Final application deadline:** Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - **Program dates:** Monday, June 2 – Friday, June 27, 2025, with recommended arrival and departure dates are Sunday, June, 1 and Saturday, June 29, 2025. ![A collage picturing four studio spaces at OCAD U. Top and bottom left: Painting studios with easels. Top right: Screenprinting studio. Bottom right: Photography cove studio.](/sites/default/files/2025-02/Thirdspace_StudioSpaces.png) **2025 Summer Artist & Mentor-in-Residence: Van Maltese** Van Maltese is an interdisciplinary artist whose work employs trickery, illusion, and associative play to deconstruct the experience of perception. Fascinated by pattern recognition, brain plasticity, and the fluidity of sight and sound, Maltese explores how perceptual conflicts can reshape thinking. Based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Maltese is an OCAD University alum (Class of 2010) and has received major recognitions, including the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competition national prize and the 2018 Glenfiddich Artist-in-Residence Canadian prize. Most recently, they served as the 2023 International Randall Chair in Painting at the School of Art and Design at Alfred University. This summer, they will bring their expertise, curiosity, and mentorship to THIRDSPACE, guiding emerging artists through this immersive one-month residency and mentorship program. [ APPLY TO THIRDSPACE .arrow-link-long { fill: #000; } ](https://apply.ocadu.ca/register/thirdspace) ## 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) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026) [### 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 ](/news/ocad-us-global-centre-climate-action-and-eu-bring-large-scale-art-torontos-canada-malting) Related Stories ## Related Stories [### OCAD U Opens Applications for THIRDSPACE: Emerging Artist Summer Residency 2026 OCAD University announces the 2026 edition of THIRDSPACE: Emerging Artist Summer Residency, led by Erdem Taşdelen. December 3, 2025 ](/index%2Ephp/news/ocad-u-opens-applications-thirdspace-emerging-artist-summer-residency-2026) [### Successful OCAD U grads giving back to students and alums Photo above (from left to right): Ahmad El Sarraff, founder of A77 Inc., arts/cultural sector expert Sagan MacIsaac and Tiah Khuu, a partner and creative direct October 17, 2024 ](/index%2Ephp/news/successful-ocad-u-grads-giving-back-students-and-alums)