On Oct. 4, the Canada Malting Silos became a stunning body of living water with an immersive large-scale projection and musical score, Dissolving Boundaries, co-presented by the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University and the European Union (EU), through its Delegation to Canada.
The 300-foot by 250-foot video artwork, which made its debut during Nuit Blanche on Toronto’s waterfront, was created by Alessandro Gisendi and Marco Noviello, co-founders of OOOPStudio in Albinea, Italy.
The artists used projection mapping, accompanied by an original music score they created, to animate the silos, revealing the movements of dancer Ivana Mastroviti that rippled across the concrete surface, creating waves that surged, dissolved and re-formed in an endless cycle.
“Dissolving Boundaries highlights our conviction that art and culture are powerful drivers of change and can play an important role in addressing today’s global challenges,” said Ambassador of the EU to Canada Geneviève Tuts.
The ongoing collaboration between OCAD U’s Global Centre for Climate Action and the EU reflects a shared belief in the power of art – and in the strength of global partnerships – to move people in ways data and science alone cannot, making cultural exchange a conduit for inspiring sustainable urban transformation. In fact, the large-scale projection didn’t just communicate the climate crisis; it made it felt through the dancer’s body movements, transforming emotion into a catalyst for action.
“Dissolving Boundaries invited people to reimagine water not merely as a resource, but as a living, intelligent force – a vital partner in our shared environment. This speaks to OCAD University’s vision of tackling some of the most complex challenges of our time like climate change through art and design,” said OCAD U President and Vice-Chancellor Ana Serrano.
Before the installation’s launch, OCAD U and the EU co-hosted an art opening and reception aboard a boat – an intentional setting that reflected our elemental connection to water.
The event included a panel conversation that explored how immersive works like Dissolving Boundaries – a powerful fusion of large-scale art, music and dance – can move audiences beyond awareness into collective urgency.
Among the panelists was artist Alessandro Gisendi who said he and Marco Noviello, who was also in attendance, “wanted to create a story that tells how human beings and natural elements are connected … that water is what drives our climate. Water has historically been the most important factor in establishing populations, cultures and communities in an area,” he said.
Panel members included Alice Xu, director of Policy, Planning and Program Enablement, Environment, Climate and Forestry Division at the City of Toronto; Akash Rastogi, an ocean innovation strategist at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster; Claude Schryer, a composer, activity and podcast producer in Canada; and Juan Erazo from Culturans, a Mexico/EU partner.
“Music and sound can be a very powerful way to transform climate awareness into action, and of course, art history tells us that artists have always been involved in social change, upheaval and transformation; however, our current challenges are unique because of the amount of damage that has been baked into our ecological systems,” said Schryer who co-founded the Sectoral Climate Arts Leadership for the Emergency organization, also known as SCALE.
Rastogi said that oceans play a central role in our climate and that the sustainable development “of our ocean is one of the most important opportunities of our time.” And that is the vision of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, accelerating solutions to address global ocean opportunities, building a strong Canadian economy and a healthier planet.
When it comes to encouraging climate action, Rastogi said: “We need to transform from being passive to active. You have to trigger an emotional response, be it fear or hope and what better way to do this than through art,” he said.
PARTNERS
Both OCAD U and the EU Delegation thank AVA Animation and FutureTalk for their contributions as partners, and to Panasonic.
Delegation of the EU to Canada
The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Canada, established in 1976 in Ottawa, is the EU’s diplomatic mission with a mandate to strengthens EU-Canada ties, covering all bilateral policy areas. The EU is at the forefront of global efforts to combat climate change, implementing ambitious policies and legally binding targets aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The EU also promotes cultural diplomacy and effective multilateralism, fostering cooperation and understanding between Canadians and Europeans.
OOOPStudio
OOOPStudio, founded in 2010, by Alessandro Grisendi and Marco Noviello, explores the boundary between natural and digital realms. Their video-based work deconstructs and reimagines reality, revealing hidden connections between nature, technology and urban life. Natural elements are not symbolic but present as raw essential forces – fragile yet powerful. Rejecting ideological frameworks, they use digital media as a flexible tool for both storytelling and expression, creating visual narratives that reflect and challenge our contemporary relationship with the world around us.
Global Centre for Climate Action
Affiliated with OCAD University, the Global Centre for Climate Action is a research-creation centre at Canada’s Malting Silos that brings together artists, designers and researchers from around the world to host public events, exhibitions and programs, that engage people in creative action and dialogue towards a renewed climate future.
