THIRDSPACE Residency returns for second year

OCAD University is pleased to announce the return of THIRDSPACE: Emerging Artist Summer Residency. Now in its second year, THIRDSPACE welcomes 20 interdisciplinary emerging artists for an intensive month-long residency and public programming series from June 1 to July 31, led by summer artist and mentor in residence Erdem Taşdelen.  

This artist-led residency supports emerging artists through mentorship, interdisciplinary exchange, technical workshops, studio access, critical dialogue, and public engagement. Rooted in OCAD Us creative community, the program creates space for experimentation, collaboration, and professional development at a pivotal stage in participants’ careers. Toronto-based artist Erdem Taşdelen looks forward working alongside residency participants on OCAD U’s campus: “I can't wait to see how our incredible roster of selected artists will respond to the residency theme and explore the possibilities of narrative and staging in their diverse practices."

This year’s theme, Staging the Unseen, explores storytelling as a form of world-building across text, image, sound, and moving image. Through critiques, workshops, field research, and collective dialogue, participants will examine how narratives are constructed, obscured, performed, and transformed, challenging dominant frameworks while imagining new possibilities for representation and connection.  

Throughout June, residency participants will work from dedicated studio spaces at OCAD U while taking part in technical workshops, visiting artist talks, field trips, and one-on-one critiques. The residency culminates in a public exhibition at the OCAD U Graduate Gallery showcasing work developed during the program. 

In July, THIRDSPACE will expand into a series of public masterclasses and a final artist talk led by Taşdelen, offering broader community access to the residency’s themes and creative methodologies. Community members are invited to register for these here. 

Expanding Partnership with Toronto Arts Foundation  

The 2026 cohort includes artists from across Canada and internationally, representing a wide range of disciplines and lived experiences. This year also marks an expansion of OCAD U’s collaboration with Toronto Arts Foundation and its ArtWorksTO program, through a generous contribution of four scholarships awarded to emerging artists in the program.  

Toronto Arts Foundation’s ArtworksTO program is a partnership with OCAD U and the City of Toronto that supports emerging artists as they transition into professional practice. The program offers mentorship, paid opportunities, professional development, industry networking, and access to OCAD U’s School of Continuing Studies array of professional micro-credentials and certificates. Through a longstanding partnership, Toronto Arts Foundation and OCAD U continue to build on their shared commitment to supporting emerging artists and creatives across Toronto.  

The four participants from the ArtWorksTO program attending THIRDSPACE on scholarship are: Midyan Isak Samson, Prajj Rajawat, Rubiat Fusigboye and Can Deniz Atıcı. Congratulations to the scholarship recipients! 

Learn more about ArtWorksTO here.