For Fernanda de Carvalho Nunes, an architect and urban planner who recently completed the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the Daniels Faculty, city building today falls short unless it also encompasses sustainability, resilience and inclusivity. 

The new alumna’s education and designs, consequently, focus as much on fostering social justice and ecological balance as they do on planning problems. 

Her MLA thesis project—which was recognized with the Faculty’s John E. (Jack) Irving Prize, established by the Isles Foundation to support thesis projects that achieve integration between the fields of landscape architecture and ecology—addresses the preservation and expansion of climate-resilient mangroves in Florianópolis, Brazil, an island city grappling with, as de Carvalho Nunes puts it, “the tension between development and environmental conservation.”

In this struggle, she has written, “mangroves [in Brazil] often fall victim to private interests,” despite “their immense cultural and ecological value.”

This trend, she points out, “mirrors a global decline; between 1990 and 2020, mangrove areas shrank by 1.04 million hectares.”

By advocating for a paradigm shift—i.e., the integration of ecological preservation into urban planning as a rule—de Carvalho Nunes (pictured below) prioritizes the long-term health of natural landscapes over profit-driven development, going beyond the conservation of mangroves to create a blueprint for sustainable urbanization that can be replicated in other regions facing similar challenges. 

The strategic interventions she proposes, such as stormwater management and cultural preservation, aim to maximize ecological potential while fostering a harmonious relationship between urbanization and the natural environment.

Her work is also a testament to what can be achieved when passionate individuals are supported by those who have faith in their potential. 

“I believe that progress signifies the continuous journey toward a more just world,” de Carvalho Nunes says.

“For me, that means embarking on a career shaping inclusive urban environments that prioritize social equity and environmental stewardship.”  

Banner image: Recent Master of Landscape Architecture graduate Fernanda de Carvalho Nunes’s research into mangrove expansion in Brazil focuses on a specific infill site spontaneously colonized by mangrove species in the city of Florianópolis.

From reimagining suburbia in Ontario to rekindling heritage in Punjab, rethinking symbiosis in Outer Space to recollecting coastal villages in rural China, the creative work of thesis students in the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) program is a richly diverse array spanning issues and geographies.

A new website showcases a sampling of these projects, done by 2023-2024 students in the program’s three Specialist Streams: Design, Technology, and History and Theory: academic.daniels.utoronto.ca/architectural-studies-thesis-2024

Thesis is a year-long endeavour at the Daniels Faculty. At the end of the third year in the undergraduate program, students in the Specialist Streams are eligible to apply for thesis, which takes place during the fourth and final year of the program. Once selected, all BAAS thesis students take a Senior Research Seminar led by one of three Daniels Faculty members who continue as advisors throughout the year. This year's advisors were Petros Babasikas, Nicholas Hoban and Laura Miller.

During the fall term, students work to develop individual thesis proposals, pursuing their research through reading, writing, design, fabrication and case study analysis as well as discussion and debate. Then in the winter term’s Senior Thesis Design Studio, students further develop their research, extending into design projects. Final Thesis Reviews, the culmination of a year’s work, are held at the end of April.

View the thesis projects online and learn more about the BAAS program.

Student work featured in banner image:

1. Shirin Al Asmi
2. Ariel Clipperton
3. Cameron Manore
4. Adrian Yu
5. Jana Rumjanceva
6. Tej Dhillon

Congratulations on your admission to the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design—an unparalleled centre for learning and research offering graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, forestry, urban design and visual studies, as well as unique undergraduate programs that use architecture and design as bases for pursuing a broader education.     

When you choose to join us at Daniels, you’ll be a part of and have access to:  

•   The No. 1 university in Canada, the most sustainable university in the world, plus the fourth-best public university in North America and 12th worldwide 
• A dynamic downtown campus in the heart of Canada’s largest and most diverse city 
• Unparalleled extracurricular opportunities, including varsity athletics, clubs, international exchange programs and leadership/mentorship  
• Canada’s No. 1 university for graduate employability and top 20 globally 
• The highest scholarship and financial funding amongst all Canadian universities 

At the Daniels Faculty, the environment in which our students learn and congregate is as unique as our program offerings. Our hub at 1 Spadina Crescent—the Daniels Building—is a bold work of architecture and landscape on a prominent urban site between U of T’s St. George campus and the vibrant centre of Toronto. Across Spadina Crescent, the North and South Borden buildings (home to our visual studies programs) and the Earth Sciences Centre (HQ for forestry studies) complete the Faculty’s trifecta of sites. 

Whether you’re travelling to Canada to begin your studies, navigating a move to Toronto, or choosing our Faculty to continue your academic journey—we’re here to support you in all the steps ahead.   

So, what comes next?

Visit the Newly Admitted Students section of the Daniels website for resources, key contacts and important dates. 

• New Undergraduate Students (BAAS, BAVS) 
• New Graduate Students (MARC, MLA, MFC, MUD, MVS) 
• New Research Stream Students (MScF and PhD programs)

Have a question? Get in touch with us!

Please feel free to contact the Office of the Registrar and Student Services.

• undergraduate@daniels.utoronto.ca
• graduate@daniels.utoronto.ca
• researchstream@daniels.utoronto.ca

Currently on display across all three floors of the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent, the 2023/24 End of Year Show spotlights student work from each of the degree programs at the Daniels Faculty, including graduate and undergraduate studies in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Forestry, Urban Design and Visual Studies.

On view until the end of June, the annual exhibition this year encompasses “three-dimensional, two-dimensional, audio and digital projects,” say Brandon Bergem and Jeffrey Garcia, co-curators of the 2023/24 Show.

Both are sessional lecturers at the Faculty as well as the co-founders of the interdisciplinary design practice Office In Search Of (OISO).

“Our best approximation,” they say, “is that 300-plus students are represented [in the show], with contributions ranging from…a four-foot-by-four-foot orthographic drawing [and] a collection of gifs on a monitor [to] a three-foot-long section drawing and a handcrafted wooden lounge chair.”

According to the curators, the selection and organization of the vast body of student submissions was based largely on two guiding principles.

“The first was how to celebrate the immense collective creative output produced by students at the Faculty and not focus on individual students or prioritize any course or program. The second was how to best represent the projects optimally without compromising the integrity of the work.”

For example, they say, “students in the Forestry program produce exceptional research, and Visual Studies students often display work in formats that require different consideration than what we are accustomed to in studio reviews.”

As a whole, the exhibition offers a comprehensive and revealing survey of the wide-ranging yet synergistic study taking place at the school right now.

Still, say Bergem and Garcia, how to exhibit the breadth of this work presented no small challenge.

“The layout of an entire exhibition catalogue was spread across every pin-up panel in the main-floor hallway. In the second-floor hallway, each pin-up panel was dedicated to specific drawing types (site plans, sections, elevations, etc.), then covered in a wallpaper of black and white drawings from students’ projects, assembled like puzzle pieces. 

“On the second floor, we devised a continuous 16-foot strip composed of collages and renderings that were mounted on the walls in one of the rooms that projected into the space by wrapping around the columns. In another, tree-based objects like mallets, chairs and a memorial sculpture were staged like a tableau in the centre of the room, with research graphics attached to the walls.

“In a room on the third floor, most of the 2D material was suspended rather than pinned to the walls and the 3D objects were placed on a clustered field of plinths and light tables.”

Through these various entry points, visitors are consequently invited “to discern the themes based on commonalities and differences—for example, how can design be used as a method to advocate for biodiversity and the prevention of environmental degradation? How can the intersection of urbanism, architecture and social equity be used to inspire a higher quality of living? [And] how can the concept of a building site transcend physical location to be inclusive of cultural, historical and ecological influences?"

At the same time, questions based on medium and methodology—such as the effectiveness of orthographic drawings in communicating design intent and organization or the degree to which unconventional two- and three-dimensional forms challenge expectations of how design is interpreted—are also posed in the show.

The End of Year Show in its current building-wide incarnation will be on view at 1 Spadina until the end of June. A curated selection will then be installed in the Larry Wayne Richards Gallery and the Commons until early September. 

The Daniels Building is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every weekday, with fob access only on Saturdays and Sundays.

All photographs by Adrian Yu + Office In Search Of

The SHIFT* Collective, a student-run publishing group based within the Daniels Faculty, will be hosting a launch event this week to celebrate the first edition of its new digital and print publication, called Scaffold* Journal.

The launch will take place on Friday, May 31, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Student Commons at 1 Spadina Crescent. Remarks will be made by the editorial team, accompanied by refreshments and a complimentary zine. No tickets are required, and all interested students, faculty and members of the public are invited to attend.

Focusing on the various methodologies of design research and visual inquiry used by students, scholars and practitioners, the first edition of Scaffold* includes the work of 21 contributors, as well as interviews with six emerging scholars and practitioners, plus visual contributions.

As noted in the call for submissions in December, the journal “intends to demystify the research process and present researchers with the opportunity to curiously and critically reflect upon their own creative and design processes.”

To that end, a diverse range of published works has been assembled, deconstructing methods from the use of interviews and ethnography in the design process to architectural reconstruction and speculative fabulation. Contributions include essays, drawings and mixed-media works spanning architecture, landscape architecture, visual studies and urban design, with projects and ideas from students at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels.

Drawing on the legacy of the previous journal SHIFT* as a risograph publication, the collective will release an exclusive zine that reflects on the inspirations behind the new journal and its formation over the past months. Three commissions from undergraduate and graduate students also reflect on the process of “what it means to scaffold a project,” from the role of social media in curating precedence to self-scaffolding and the ongoing projects of SHIFT* team members.

In addition, the team has designed a small installation detailing the works behind the publication, displayed on the ground level of the Daniels Building (pictured at top).

The SHIFT* Collective “would like to express its immense gratitude for the ongoing support” of the Daniels Faculty and of the Office of the Dean, “both of which have been instrumental in the realization of this first publication.”

The journal’s faculty advisory board, which includes head operational advisor Lukas Pauer and internal advisor Jewel Amoah, “has also played a crucial role in the development and curation of the project.”

The digital publication can be accessed at theshiftcollective.net on May 31.

A full printed volume including the first and second editions will be released in the fall.

The 2024 Visual Studies Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition, Still there are seeds to be gathered, featured the work of 18 students across artistic disciplines within the Daniels Faculty’s Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies (BAVS) program.

The exhibition marked the culmination of their undergraduate studies, and their thesis research has been collected in an accompanying publication and recently launched website.

On view at SPACE on King from April 12 to 14, the exhibition’s title stems from Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. “In the early weeks of our thesis course, our class held a discussion of Le Guin’s text,” write Ella Spitzer-Stephan, Satyam Mistry, Nusha Naziri, Auden Tura and Olive Wei in an excerpt from the exhibition text.

“The concluding statement, ‘Still there are seeds to be gathered, and room in the bag of stars,’ sparked an unknown feeling that borders the poetics of our completed time in school as well as a rethinking of our projects as ever-changing. As a ‘non’-ending phrase, Le Guin uses it to mark this text as ‘unfinished,’ citing the space for transformation and growth.”

From a visual response to the disconnect between quantum and classical principles of modern physics to work that integrates augmented and virtual reality into our surroundings, installations that reflect notions of belonging and personal collection, to research that investigates the role of a curator in contemporary art, or the translation of poetry from Farsi to English—the body of work presented by the students is complex and open to continued exploration.

“In the context of this exhibition, the research each student has taken upon themselves has not reached a ‘conclusion.’ Each thesis project poses a question vital to its artist, one that will continue to be explored beyond the scope of this exhibition,” the group writes.

Students within the BAVS program are deliberately left with ample room in their course of study to pursue other scholarly interests at the U of T. This flexibility is a fundamental component of the program, as it encourages students to bring those ideas culled from elsewhere to bear within their own artistic practice, allowing ideas and modes of thought that might be rooted in more conventional forms of making art to be openly refined and challenged.

Still there are seeds to be gathered featured the work of Evan Bulloch, Noemi Cabalbag, Paris Chen, Ashley Gu, Rania Haider, Joy Li, Alex Lyu, Satyam Mistry, Nusha Naziri, Salma Ragheb, Irene Song, Ella Spitzer-Stephan, Auden Tura, Janie Wang, Maxen Wang, Olive Wei, Nara Wrigglesworth, and Lilian Zeng.

Visit the website to learn more about their projects: academic.daniels.utoronto.ca/visual-studies-thesis-2024

The annual Thesis Booklets showcasing the final thesis projects of both graduate and undergraduate students at the Daniels Faculty are available for viewing.

The Graduate Booklet features the work of Master of Architecture (MARC), Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA), Master of Urban Design (MUD) and Master of Visual Studies (MVS) students at the Faculty, while the Undergraduate Booklet showcases the final project work of students in the Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) and Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies (BAVS) programs.

Thesis booklets are a Daniels Faculty tradition, printed for and distributed to thesis students, as well as thesis advisors, external reviewers and guests.

The Booklets contain images and brief statements by students who are presenting final projects for the semester listed at the culmination of their studies.

Flip through the latest booklets below or download PDFs by clicking here: graduate, undergraduate.

GRADUATE FLIPBOOK

UNDERGRADUATE FLIPBOOK

And flip through a special digital edition of the Thesis Booklet featuring a diverse array of Post-Professional Master of Architecture (MARC) projects. The post-professional MARC is an advanced design and research program for individuals already holding a professional degree in architecture.  

POST-PROFESSIONAL FLIPBOOK

Hart House Farm is a 150-acre property in Caledon, Ontario, located within the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere buffer zone, in the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Managed by the University of Toronto’s Hart House for a range of outdoor, co-curricular opportunities, this site, and its layered context, was the setting for last term’s Advanced Design Research Studio (LAN3016) led by Associate Professor Liat Margolis.

In the wake of U of T’s Truth and Reconciliation report, Answering the Call: Wecheehetowin, Hart House wanted to consider how the Farm might contribute to realizing the commitments contained in the document. Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) students subsequently researched the environmental and Indigenous-settler history of the Farm to create design proposals and forest management plans that explore its future as a locus for Indigenous-led land-based teaching, research and guardianship training community-engaged programs.

“The goals of this studio,” says Margolis, “were to develop an understanding of the environmental history of the land under a decolonization lens, create a framework of understanding of the Farm as part of a larger landscape mosaic and network of stewardship, and develop a set of values, designs, management protocols and partnerships as part of Hart House’s forthcoming strategic plan.”

In addition, the studio has been featured in the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Network (NEBN) report for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the International Coordinating Council of the MAB (Man and Biosphere) Programme.

“This studio led by Liat Margolis is a prime example,” says the report, “of how experiential education within the landscapes of the Biosphere can profoundly shape the learning of the students and provide them with genuine connections to the land and partners within it.”

MLA students in the Hart House Farm Studio on a site visit during the Fall 2023 semester. The dolomite rock formations that span the site consist of fissures, caves and dramatic escarpment cliffs.

The design proposals presented by the MLA students exhibited a possible future for the Farm based on an interdisciplinary and integrated lens of Indigenous-led and community-centered land relations, landscape architecture, and ecological conservation.

Adrienne Mariano and Jessica Palmer, two students who participated in the studio, shared their perspectives in the report:

What did it mean for you to have this experiential learning on the land at Hart House Farms?

Adrienne Mariano and Jessica Palmer: The opportunity for experiential learning meant that our conversations with treaty rights holders, organizations working in the region, and community members were able to be framed within the context of colonial land-based practices that were highly specific to observations on the property at Hart House Farm. Having the chance to frame these conversations with experiences such as walks, fieldwork, and even pond swimming meant that we were actively able to form deeper relationships with the land as we explored it from an academic lens.

What did it mean for you to work with all our studio contributors at the farm and throughout the term?

Mariano and Palmer: Getting all these people together for walks and presentations meant that they were also a part of this learning process, and were encouraged to reflect on how their ongoing work contributes to or works against decolonial land views and practices. Getting these conversations out of the classroom and into the world with working professionals was important because, as students, we often are encouraged to think as changemakers but it takes time to become established in our fields, whereas working professionals can make changes in more immediate ways.

Mariano and Palmer's project focuses on the former quarried areas of the Bruce Trail Conservacy-owned Quarryside Property, which has turned into a series of lush successional wetlands at the base of the Niagara Escarpment.

What does it mean for you to have explored this site from a decolonial lens?

Mariano and Palmer: Exploring Hart House Farms from a decolonial lens allowed us to think more critically about landforms and how they are shaped on a time scale that is so large it is almost incomprehensible to humans. This thinking helps to frame our relationship with the natural world and foster deep respect for the time it takes for cliff faces, rocks, and fossils to form. Comparing these ancient geological forms to the impacts caused by industrial quarrying in the region allowed us to question the impacts of ongoing extractive practices along the Niagara Escarpment and how the University of Toronto can use Hart House Farms to advocate for its protection.

Their project allows Hart House Farm visitors and Bruce Trail hikers the opportunity to experience lush novel habitats in their evolutionary stage, as they continue to mature and expand over time. A system of boardwalks spans slag piles and wetlands, allowing visitors to interact with a landscape that extraction practices have dramatically altered, and through subtle didactic panels at rest points.

What are you excited about / what do you hope to see in the near future, or in the long term?

Mariano and Palmer: In the near future, we hope to see the non-Indigenous partner organizations (especially those who work in conservation) work more actively to support Indigenous-led conservation practices and co-governance models. We are excited about the response from the team at Hart House and look forward to seeing how they incorporate and run with our research in making concrete changes at the property both immediately and in the long term.

Using a series of interconnected trails and boardwalks, their design focuses on bringing people to the areas of former quarrying to learn about the impacts of extraction on these delicate ecosystems. 

The principles and recommendations explored at the final review of the studio by the MLA students, the partners and rights holders, and Hart House Farm staff will be summarized and integrated in the strategic planning for the Farm.

The Hart House Farm studio was supported by and co-created in partnership with University of Toronto Hart House, Waakbiness Institute for Indigenous Health, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), Niagara Escarpment Commission, Niagara Escarpment UNSECO Biosphere Network, Credit Valley Conservation, Bruce Trail Conservancy and Town of Caledon Heritage Department.

Wednesday, April 10 – Friday, April 26
Daniels Building
1 Spadina Crescent

Whether you're a future student, an alum, or a member of the public with an interest in architecture, landscape architecture or urban design—you're invited to join the Daniels Faculty for Winter 2024 Reviews. Throughout April, students across our graduate and undergraduate programs will present final projects to their instructors and guest critics from academia and the professional community.

All reviews will take place in the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (unless otherwise stated). Follow @UofTDaniels on social media and join the conversation using the hashtags #DanielsReviews and #DanielsReviews24.

Please note that times, dates and locations are subject to change.

Wednesday, April 10 | Undergraduate

Design Studio I (JAV101H1)
Coordinator: Jay Pooley
Instructors: Kara Verbeek, Mariano Martellacci, Phat Le, Sifei Mo, Katy Chey, Scott Sorli, Reza Nik, Harry Wei, Brian Boigon, Danielle Whitley, Jamie Lipson, Jeffrey Garcia
Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330, 340, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Thursday, April 11 | Undergraduate

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Design Studio II (ARC201H1)
Coordinator: Fiona Lim Tung 
Instructors: Dan Briker, Shane Williamson, Carol Moukheiber, Kara Verbeek, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Behnaz Assadi, David Verbeek, Maria Denegri, Francesco Martire
Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 315, 330, 340, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Friday, April 12 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 2 (LAN1012Y)
Instructors: Liat Margolis, Terence Radford
Rooms: 230, 330

Urban Design Studio Options (URD1012Y)
Instructors: Samantha Eby, Zahra Ebrahim
Room: Main Hall B

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Drawing and Representation I (ARC200H1)
Coordinator: Roberto Damiani
Instructors: Jon Cummings, Dana Salama
Rooms: 215, 240

Monday, April 15 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 2 (ARC1012Y)
Coordinator: Behnaz Assadi
Instructors: Chloe Town, Anne-Marie Armstrong, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Brian Boigon, Aleris Rodgers, Julia DiCastri
Rooms: 230, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Design + Engineering I (ARC112H1)
Coordinator: Jay Pooley
Instructors: Jennifer Davis, Clinton Langevin
Room: 200

Tuesday, April 16 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 4 (ARC2014Y)
Coordinator: Samuel Dufaux
Instructors: Brigitte Shim, Steven Fong, Chris Cornecelli, James Macgillivray, Maria Denegri, Francesco Martire
Rooms: 230, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B

Landscape Architecture Studio IV (ARC364Y1)
Instructor: Peter North
Room: 315, 340

Wednesday, April 17 | Graduate

Design Studio 4 (ARC2014Y)
Coordintor: Samuel Dufaux
Instructors: Brigitte Shim, Steven Fong, Chris Cornecelli, James Macgillivray, Maria Denegri, Francesco Martire
Rooms: 230, Main Hall A, Main Hall B

Design Studio 4 (LAN2014Y)
Instructors: Todd Douglas, Reinaldo Jordan
Room: 330

Thursday, April 18 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio Thesis (LAN3017Y)
Coordinator: Elise Shelley
Instructors: Behnaz Assadi, Peter North, Alissa North, Liat Margolis, Francesco Martire, Matthew Perotto
Rooms: 209, 230, 242, 330

Architecture Studio IV (ARC362Y1)
Coordinator: Jon Cummings
Instructors: Chloe Town, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco
Rooms: Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Friday, April 19 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio Thesis (LAN3017Y)
Coordinator: Elise Shelley
Instructors: Behnaz Assadi, Peter North, Alissa North, Liat Margolis, Francesco Martire, Matthew Perotto
Rooms: 209, 242, 330

Urban Design Studio Thesis (URD2015Y)
Coordinator: Mason White 
Room: 230

Technology Studio IV (ARC381Y1)
Instructors: Paul Howard Harrison (Coordinator), Suzan Ibrahim
Rooms: Main Hall A, Main Hall B

Monday, April 22 | Undergraduate

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis) (ARC457Y1)
Instructor: Petros Babasikas
Room: Main Hall B

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis) (ARC462Y1)
Instructor: Laura Miller
Room: 230

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis) (ARC487Y1)
Instructor: Nicholas Hoban
Room: 330

Tuesday, April 23 | Undergraduate

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis) (ARC457Y1) 
Instructor: Petros Babasikas
Room: Main Hall B

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis) (ARC462Y1)
Instructor: Laura Miller
Room: 230

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis) (ARC487Y1)
Instructor: Nicholas Hoban
Room: 330

Wednesday, April 24 | Graduate

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Post-Professional Thesis 2 (ALA4022Y)
Coordinator: Mason White
Room: 242

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 (ARC3021Y)
Instructors: Jeannie Kim, Stephen Verderber, Lukas Pauer, Carol Moukheiber
Rooms: 209, 230, 315, 330, Main Hall B

Thursday, April 25 | Graduate

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Thesis 2 (ALA4022Y)
Coordinator: Mason White 
Room: 242

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 (ARC3021Y)
Instructors: Petros Babasikas, John Shnier, Miles Gertler, Brady Peters
Rooms: 200, 209, 230, 240, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Friday, April 26 | Graduate

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 (ARC3021Y)
Instructors: Petros Babasikas, John Shnier, Shane Williamson, Zachary Mollica, Laura Miller
Rooms: 209, 230, 240, 241, 242, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Dallas Fellini, graduating this semester from the Master of Visual Studies in Curatorial Studies program, has been awarded the 2024 Middlebrook Prize for Young Canadian Curators.

Established in 2012, the prize is awarded annually to a Canadian curator or curatorial team under the age of 30 with the goal of supporting an inclusive national arts sector while recognizing the vital role of exhibitions in expanding awareness and art histories.

Exhibitions proposed by prize recipients are subsequently presented at the Art Gallery of Guelph, which announced Fellini’s win earlier this week.

Fellini (pictured above) is a Toronto-based curator, writer and artist whose research is situated at the intersection of trans studies and archival studies, interrogating the compromised conditions under which trans histories have been recorded and considering representational and archival alternatives to trans hypervisibility.

Their winning submission for the Middlebrook Prize, a proposed exhibition called Some kind of we, features works that approach or incorporate t4t sensibilities.

The term t4t is shorthand that emerged in the early 2000s in Craigslist personals ads, where it was used by transgender and transsexual people prioritizing relationships with other trans people.

Emphasizing networks of trans relationality, self-representation, cross-generational inheritance and desire and love between trans people, the exhibition will feature video works by B.G-Osborne with Benjamin Da Silva (pictured below) and by Mirha-Soleil Ross in collaboration with Xanthra Phillippa MacKay, as well as a print project by Cleopatria Peterson.

It’ll be paralleled by a “distributed exhibition” that speaks to trans histories of pre- and early-Internet activism and community building in Canada.

Fellini’s winning submission was selected by a three-person jury of esteemed curators: Alyssa Fearon (Director/Curator at Dunlop Art Gallery), Tarah Hogue (Curator of Indigenous Art, Remai Modern) and Renée van der Avoird (Associate Curator of Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario).

While Fearon noted the importance of the exhibition’s emphasis “on t4t relationality and visibility,” van der Avoird was struck by its highlighting of an “urgent topic with artworks that are compelling, moving and impactful.”

Hogue, meanwhile, noted the significance of the “distributed exhibition as a means of reaching trans audience members and reiterating the networks of support trans communities have created.” 

Some kind of we will be on view at the Art Gallery of Guelph later this year, from September through December.

For more information about the Middlebrook Prize and on past winners, visit middlebrookprize.ca.

Fellini portrait by Phillip Lý. Video still (7:22) from POLISHED, 2016, by B.G-Osborne in collaboration with Benjamin Da Silva, courtesy of the artist.