Current students, faculty, and staff
What drives creativity? For many, it’s shaped by culture, community, and lived experience.
To explore these questions, OCAD U partnered with Centro in Mexico City on
Economía Creativa: Creativity in Context to examine how creative expression emerges and transforms across cultural, social, and political landscapes.
The peer-reviewed journal features fresh perspectives on creative economies, social innovation, and design futures, to explore what drives creativity.
“This partnership celebrates Canada and Mexico’s longstanding and vibrant relationship, built on shared values such as inclusion and a commitment to innovation and cultural exchange,” says Jennie Suddick, Manager of International Programs and Collaboration at OCAD University and co-editor of this issue. “It also highlights how international collaborations can enrich creative practice, spark new ideas, and deepen understanding between our two countries.”
By contributing their creative expressions, several OCAD U community members—including faculty, staff, students, and alums—helped sustain this tradition of cross-border dialogue, showing how creativity thrives when diverse perspectives come together in these papers:
Title: The Art of Forgetting: Reading the 1974 Venice Biennale
By Madeline Collins (OCAD U alum)
Collins revisits the 1974 Venice Biennale, a rare moment of transnational solidarity in the art world, urging us to reconsider the narratives we preserve and the power of creative activism to shape collective memory. Research by Danielle Nadine Pierre into Canadian social cohesion shows how creativity operates within socio-political contexts, often in overlooked ways, and advocates for integrative, non-partisan approaches to foster more cohesive futures.
By Vice-Provost, International and Students, Deanne Fisher
Fisher examines how artists face sophisticated threats while amplifying protest, such as Iran’s “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, highlighting the urgent need for support systems to protect artistic freedom.
Title: Ut Pictura Poiesis
By Assistant Professor Dr. David Griffin
Dr. Griffin offers a meditation on drawing as a conceptual and spatial intervention, bridging art, science, and philosophy to reflect on the poetic power of creative acts.
By Myah Hofer, OCAD U alum
Hofer interrogates the intersection of film, pedagogy, and architecture, calling for a re-examination of narratives and teaching practices that shape creative disciplines and the built environment.
By Research Assistant Sara Maclure and Jennie Suddick, Manager of International Programs and Collaboration
The case study reveals how grassroots organizations across nine countries drive environmental change. It shows that collective locally rooted efforts can achieve meaningful transformation, mainly when Indigenous voices are centered.
Title: On the Horizon: a Creative Exploration of Contemporary Trends in Canadian Social Cohesion
By Danielle Nadine Pierre, Graduate Research Assistant and student in the SFI graduate program
Pierre examines how creativity manifests in strategic foresight and futures studies, particularly within socio-political contexts, highlighting often-overlooked creative practices that influence social cohesion and signal emerging creative economies and roles for creative professionals
Title: Fresh Air: Curating for Fluid Access
By Program Development Specialist, Admissions and Recruitment, Meichen Waxer
Waxer’s residency foregrounds accessibility and inclusivity in curatorial practice, challenging traditional models and opening new possibilities for participation.