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OCAD University

Call for Workshop Participants | Ryan Gander: A Melted Snowman research workshop

July 14, 2022
A photo of Ryan Gander wearing glasses, hat and blue jacket. Courtesy Ryan Gander Studio; Photograph by Philip Sinden

OCAD U’s Faculty of Art is pleased to announce a paid opportunity for up to 6 artists/designers to participate in the research workshop A Melted Snowman led by the acclaimed British artist, Ryan Gander. The workshop will focus on urban explorations and the production of interventions within the neighbourhoods surrounding the OCAD U campus and is scheduled to run between Wed. September 21 to Tues. September 27, 2022.

The call is open to senior-level OCAD U undergrad students (3rd and 4th-year level), current graduate students and recent alumni (up to 1 year after graduation), and all are invited to apply. We are seeking up to six participants. Upon completion, participants will each receive $500 ($450 fee plus $50 materials budget).
 

APPLY


QUALIFICATIONS

  • Be a current 3rd or 4th year undergraduate student, a current grad student, or recent alumni (up to one year after graduation) 
  • Be interested in urban exploration, public spaces, conceptual approaches to making and/or ephemeral & modest public interventions. 
  • Expect to make themselves available for around 20 hours of in-person work during the workshop’s run (Sept 21 to 27) this will include some scheduled meetings (TBC closer to the date, with some accommodation of participants’ schedules), as well as one-on-one and independent work (individual or small teams).  
  • Be energetic, collaborative, & curious   
     

APPLICATION DEADLINE

  • August 9th, 2022 at 11:59 PM ET 
     

WORKSHOP DATES

  • September 21 to 27, 2022  
     

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS 

  • Full contact information (Name, phone, and email) 
  • A brief statement/bio that introduces you and your creative practice (150 words)  
  • A written statement describing your interest in the workshop, what you think you will bring to the team, and how you feel this opportunity will contribute to your own development (250 words max) 
     

Gander describes the A Melted Snowman workshop: 

 “Traditionally, semiotics categorises signs into two different categories: The Natural Sign and the Conventional Sign. A Natural Sign is something that communicates to you without the intention of communicating to you, much like a clue. Footsteps in the sand, a discarded shopping list, or desire lines in a landscape are all Natural Signs. A Conventional Sign is something that communicates to you with the intention of communicating to you, much like an advert. A traffic light, a painting, or a book are all Conventional Signs. Almost all art is a conventional sign, but what of art in public space, hidden art, outsider art, art that is quiet, subtle, silent, or just so seamlessly part of the fabric of a city or system that it doesn’t make itself easily visible? This is the art I am interested in. The art of ‘Parcours’, the art of ‘Treasure Hunts’ and the art that risks being missed. Not the art that is handed to us on a silver plate, but is searched for, uncovered, worked for and discovered. The art that crosses and escapes the traditional categorisation of signs. The art that is both Conventional and Natural in its language at the very same time. The art or the sign that is: A Melted Snowman.  

During the workshop we will identify interesting spaces and sign systems in a square mile of the city, producing physical encounters and signifiers in the city as well as a map and tour of these interventions, with foresight into finding new ways for defining ‘Art For The Public’ in public space, as opposed to the traditional equations associated with ‘Public Art’ as we know it. We will focus closely on artworks and interventions that crossover or stand between the ‘Natural’ and ‘Conventional' definitions, attempting to form a new system by which to categorise sign types; marrying up examples we find in the city with categories we invent, with the intention and possibility of collating the research and experiments in the form of a publication. A new Sign System for the outside world. 

Participants will require lots of energy, a week of intense dedication, a natural curiosity in the seemingly invisible, the ability to see ordinary things from diverse perspectives, and to know how to avoid procrastination.” 

 

This workshop is sponsored by Lanterra Developments, who has commissioned Gander to produce a permanent public artwork for their new Artists Alley development at 234 Simcoe Street. 
 

QUESTIONS?
Email: Derek Sullivan, Associate Professor, Tenured, Faculty of Art
dsullivan@ocadu.ca