Converge Lecture: Capturing Multimedia Performance: Play, Installation, and Interactivity in the Gallery

Nadine Lessio, Sad Home, 2019, video installation.

Converge Lecture Series presents:

Capturing Multimedia Performance: Play, Installation, and Interactivity in the Gallery

Thursday, February 13, 2020
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Room 307
Ryerson University
School of Image Arts
122 Bond St., Toronto, ON

Converge Lecture Series is delighted to announce our first event of 2020!

Join us for a panel discussion with multimedia artists Jordan Sparks, Nadine Lessio, and Katie Micak, as they explore and interrogate technologies and everyday experiences in the gallery space. The panel will be moderated by Ryerson lecturer David Murphy and current School of Image Arts student Valentina Rozin. The artwork presented will showcase a spectrum of approaches in photography, digital media, and performance art, allowing students and the public an opportunity to converse and interface with the artists.

The panel will be followed by a reception.

All lectures are free and open to the public. The location is accessible to all bodies, welcoming all faiths and backgrounds and 100% free!

Left: Katie Micak, The Alexa Experiment, 2017-18, video installation.
Right: Jordan Sparks, Who Are You?, 2014, psychological video game, shown at META and the Ryerson Transmedia Zone.

Participant Biographies:
Jordan Sparks is a multimedia artist, designer, and educator born and raised in Toronto. He is a Ryerson alumnus with an MA in Media Production and a BFA in New Media. Using graphic art, videos, games and more, Sparks’ artistic practice explores how media, technology, and education can entertain people, inspire communities, and spark social change. He is currently a Makerspace Technician at the Royal Ontario Museum. You can find his portfolio at: http://GrindSpark.com.

Katie Micak has a multifaceted art career with a focus on emerging digital art practices. She was on the founding team for both Vector Festival and Toronto Kids Digital Festival. She is currently the Exhibitions Curator and Residency Coordinator at the Living Arts Centre for the City of Mississauga. Micak designed exhibitions and presentations at The Phillips Collection (Washington, DC), assisted at Art in General and the Moving Images Festival (New York, NY). She also held Director roles at Spark Contemporary (Syracuse, NY) and Propeller Gallery (Toronto). She holds an MFA from Syracuse University in Transmedia and an MA from OCADU’s Digital Futures program, where she focused on self-surveillance and emotional relationships with Artificial Intelligence in The Alexa Experiment. You can find more information at: www.katiemicak.com.

Nadine Lessio is a researcher, artist, and creative technologist based out of Toronto, Canada whose practice explores ideas around uselessness, artificial (un)intelligence, bots with feelings, and the Internet of Things (IoT. Her work has been shown at the AGO, NeurIPS, Nuit Blanche, Indiecade, Vector, and the Game Developers Conference. She likes reading about sad robots, befriending neighbourhood cats, and riding her bike. Nadine holds an MDes in Digital Futures from OCAD University. You can find more information at: http://nadinelessio.com.

David Murphy is a media historian and theorist who studies the playful appropriation of digital technologies and the long-term preservation of digital artifacts. His writing has appeared in Games and Culture, The International Journal of Canadian Studies, and Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research. He reviews articles for New Media & Society. His research has been featured in conferences held by The Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) and the Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR). In addition to academic pursuits, David also works with The Hand Eye Society on playing and making initiatives designed to improve the skills of artists and underrepresented community groups interested in interactive design.

Valentina Rozin is a fourth year Ryerson student. She studies photography and Integrated Digital media. She aspires to work in a magazine company as a publication layout designer. Valentina is also known to stress bake quite often.

About Converge
Converge is a student-run lecture series based in the School of Image Arts, Ryerson University. Programmed and run by fourth-year students from photography and Integrated Digital, it aims to offer students insight into the contemporary art world. The lecture series is free to all students and members within the Ryerson community, as well as the general public. Events featuring multiple guest speakers will be organized in both lecture and panel form allowing senior students the opportunity to interface with professional artists. Artists and work presented will showcase aspects of photography, film, digital media and performance art. http://functionima.com/converge/

Twitter: @ConvergeToronto
Instagram: @Convergelectures
Facebook: Converge Lecture Series
https://www.ryerson.ca/image-arts/

Media Contact: Valentina Rozin
Email: convergelectures@gmail.com