In the Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design (IAMD) program you’ll join a community of emerging and established makers, thinkers, researchers, community builders, explorers, mentors, writers and performers. Alongside your instructors, peers, visiting artists and community connections you will foster global and intercultural dialogue through your art, media and design. You'll focus on exploring interdisciplinary processes of making and research and expand your understanding of ancestral traditions, performance, media, digital fabrication and more.
Through the IAMD program you will:
- Develop critical methodologies in research
- Position and articulate work in relation to traditional and contemporary Indigenous knowledges and decolonial pedagogy
- Participate in graduate level studio-based practice
- Take part in seminars in critical theory and research methods
- Explore your research and practice through electives, self-directed study and residency opportunities
- Culminate your research in a public graduate exhibition through a major studio project supported by a written critical analysis (leading to the MFA or MDes degree) or a thesis accompanied by a creative project (leading to the MA degree).
- Contribute to new knowledge in the areas of interdisciplinary art, media and design methods, discourses and creative practices.
- Promote the development of practices that facilitate sustainability, social responsibility and diverse social and cultural perspectives.
- Participate in the annual First-Year Graduate Student Exhibition
- Your primary discipline and chosen emphasis among art, design, or media will determine whether the degree earned is an MFA, MDes or MA.
Check out the course calendar here for current courses offered. Explore the IAMD Program Guide here.
In this program your learning environment includes:
- material-specific studios, labs and maker-spaces with the support of dedicated technicians.
- open studio engagement that supports practice-based research and collaboration
- a dedicated advisory committee that includes leading scholars/practitioners who will guide you through your thesis or major studio project.
In IAMD, you’ll take part in experiential learning through:
- workshops, seminars, local and international guest lecturers
- curatorial talks, studio visits and symposiums
- bringing your practice to open-studio, galleries, exhibitions, artist-run centres, research forums and residencies in local and international cultural centres and communities
"In the IAMD program, you develop respectful practices of knowledge creation in relation to the shifting landscape of culture, tradition, technology, and decolonial frameworks through a rigor of practice and research."
- Jay Irizawa, Interim Graduate Program Director and former IAMD graduate
"The IAMD program gifted me with the opportunity to think deeply and expansively about my design practice through studio exploration and stitch possibilities of making and theory together. "
- Justine Woods, recent IAMD graduate
"The Interdisciplinary Arts Media and Design program at OCADU has been transformative for me. Graduating in 2022 with an MFA, the program provided the perfect platform to discover myself, shaping my artistic practice and providing a language for authentic express"
- Vridhhi Chaudhry
"The IAMD program helped me grow as an artist – expanding my thinking and making practices many times over. The sense of community and diversity of backgrounds and artistic practices made my MFA experience truly transformative."
- Nicole Neidhardt
