2021 Shift Health Art Commissioning Program Career Launcher
Details
OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
Back in Fall 2021, OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers and Shift Health partnered to co-create the Shift Health Art Commissioning Program which commissioned five (5) emerging artists, representing different artistic practices and providing a diversity of artistic voices and approaches to create works of art for Shift Health’s new downtown space renovation.
Guided by the question "What does the future of health and wellness mean to me?", the program commissioned artworks to create a space that inspires the Shift Health team, welcomes diversity, and uplifts the voices, experiences and ideas of individuals, communities and populations who have not historically been at the forefront of the healthcare conversation.
As an organization that’s helping to create the future of healthcare, Shift Health has an important responsibility to ensure that we’re creating a future for everyone. These five extraordinary artists are helping us to imagine that future, and their powerful works will remind our team of our responsibility every day. We thank OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers for partnering with us on this inspiring commissioning program. — Ryan Wiley, President, Shift Health
We're excited to announce that the following artists have been selected to for this Career Launcher opportunity. Stay tuned later in 2022 for more information about the program and an unveiling of the final commissioned works.
PARTNER
Shift Health
162 Cumberland St Suite 310
Toronto, ON M5R 3N5
www.shifthealth.com
ABOUT
Shift Health brings a science mindset to strategy consulting for the health research and innovation ecosystem. Working with governments, academia, industry, not-for-profits, healthcare providers and patient partners across Canada and around the world, Shift Health is helping to create the future of healthcare.
RECIPIENTS
Ada Bierling (they/them) is an artist and writer currently living on the Haldimand Tract.
My name is Alysha and I am a Vaughan-born artist, who studied in Toronto at OCAD University, earning a BFA in Drawing and Painting. My creative practice involves an emphasis on textiles, I try to be a sustainable artist in my practice by using recycled materials or found objects. Textiles have become a major factor in my work; I found that fabric was very forgiving and I wanted to be like fabric: fluid, forgiving, and malleable. I am interested in Object Oriented Ontology, the human connection to objects, and I try to incorporate this theme in my work.
Based in Calgary with a Bachelor of Environmental Design from OCAD U. Interested in the intersection between design and health and ways we can use design as a tool to improve the healthcare experience. The contemplative space created by taking nature as an inspiration makes for design that is grounded with relatability and vulnerability. An experience that is interpreted uniquely, yet vastly familiar.
Jasper Urbina is a Canadian-born Filipino artist from Toronto, Ontario, and is a graduate of OCAD University's Drawing and Painting program. His practice combines use of analog and digital work, some of which start out as analog backgrounds that are then mocked up digitally then painted back onto the original background/surface into contemporary/surrealistic abstractions. His works are based on life: stemming from emotional experiences, mental health, cultural exploration, memories, and the loss/grief of a younger sibling. Some of his more digital-oriented works explore his life experiences in more illustrative-focused drawings that at times are satirical/humorous.
Justin Mezzapelli is an emerging multi-media artist interested in queerness, multiplicity, domesticity, and paradox. As an illustrator, writer, and filmmaker, he frequently employs the mundane to reveal the nuance of human identities. Currently working in pointillist illustration, Justin depicts moments and objects of everyday life, at times referencing imagery of the public domain. Through this medium, he illuminates the constancy and ambiguity of time often overlooked as banal. Justin holds a BFA in Integrated Media from OCAD University.
OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers and Shift Health have partnered to co-create the Shift Health Art Commissioning Program. The Shift Health Art Commissioning Program will commission five (5) emerging artists, representing different artistic practices, providing a diversity of artistic voices and approaches to create works of art for Shift Health’s new downtown space renovation.
Shift Health is planning a major office renovation, and we aim to create a space that inspires our team, welcomes diversity, and uplifts the voices, experiences and ideas of individuals, communities and populations who have not historically been at the forefront of the healthcare conversation. As such, we are commissioning works from artists who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, racialized, minoritized and/or LGBTQ2S+, inviting artists to bring their creativity and lived experience to an individual expression guided by the question: “What does the future of health and wellness mean to me?”
Each artist will be commissioned to produce one (1) original artwork. Artists will receive $5,000 per commissioned work to be purchased by Shift Health for permanent display with credit. Proposed artworks could be 2D works (painting, drawing, photography, prints), 3D (installation, sculpture), or digital media (video).
Shift Health brings a science mindset to strategy consulting for the health research and innovation ecosystem. Working with governments, academia, industry, not-for-profits, healthcare providers and patient partners across Canada and around the world, Shift Health is helping to create the future of healthcare.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Each of the five (5) emerging artists will:
- Respond to the creative brief provided by the Shift Health
- Work closely with Shift Health and the CEAD to ensure the artwork or installation is appropriate for a public space, taking into consideration location, scale, lighting/display requirements, durability, and maintenance.
- Based on the artist’s initial concept proposal, each of the five (5) emerging artists will ensure that the final completed artwork is delivered to Shift Health by February 22, 2022.
RATE
$5,000 per commissioned work/artist
TIMELINE
- Week of November, 29, 2021 – Artists are selected & notified
- December, 2021 - February, 2022 – Works in production
- Week of February 22, 2022 – Artwork delivered/installed
APPLICATION SUPPORT
The OCAD U RBC CEAD is committed to promoting substantive equality for equity-seeking groups that are under-represented in the creative sector. We encourage applications from first-time applicants to the program and graduates of equity-seeking communities including racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities / expressions. Applicants are welcome to advise the CEAD of any accommodations needed to ensure you have access to a fair and equitable process.
Applicants who need assistance with their submissions are invited to connect with the RBC CEAD for Advising support. Click here to learn more about how to book an advising appointment.
PARTNER
Shift Health
162 Cumberland St Suite 310
Toronto, ON M5R 3N5
www.shifthealth.com
QUALIFICATIONS
- Recent OCAD U grads (class of 2020, 2021) from any program.
- Proposed artwork can be hung from walls, suspended from ceiling or floor mounted. See site plan here.
- Priority will be given to applicants who have not previously received a Career Launcher opportunity.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Full contact information (Name, phone, and email) and current creative CV
- Website and/or Social Media handle
- A brief artist statement/bio that contextualizes your overall practice
(150 words max) - A written proposal for an artwork responding to prompt “what does the future of health and wellness mean to me?”, and a description of what the created commissioned work will be (150 words max). If you would like to propose a specific location according to the site plan, please indicate it in the proposal
- A short statement outlining the potential significance of the opportunity to your practice and/or development (100 words max)
- 5 - 10 sample support images of past artwork, in a single PDF. A corresponding image list for the support images including: artist(s) name, title, year, medium, and dimensions
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTION
Submit via Typeform here
DEADLINE
Monday, November 15, 2021 at 11:59pm (midnight)
Contact
Career Development
E: careerdevelopment@ocadu.ca