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Nuit Blanche Toronto, is the city’s all-night celebration of contemporary art, produced by the City of Toronto in collaboration with Toronto’s arts community. It will take place on October 5, 2024 from 7 pm to 7 am in neighbourhoods across the city.

For the third year, Humber Polytechnic Lakeshore Campus in Etobicoke will be a hub for Independent Projects. Installations showcased that speak invite artists to present works that speak to the curatorial theme of Bridging Distance, exploring the multifaceted ways we experience and understand distance, while also reimagining how we can bridge distance through art.  This is an opportunity for recalibration and to reconnect with our city, our world and each other, in public space.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday October 5th - Sunday October 6th
Time: 7PM-7AM
Location: Humber Polytechnic Lakeshore Campus

Culture’s Compass 2024 is a one-day arts and culture conferencing event in partnership with week-long music conference and showcase Global Toronto Music Festival (GTMF). On October 1st, 2024, students will gather at Lakeshore’s G-Cottage alongside GT delegates to discuss current music sector issues, build connections, and attend artist showcases in the new Performance Hall.

Due to the capacity of the event, limited tickets are available. Humber College Arts Admin, Music Business, and Bachelor of Music students are invited and encouraged to attend free of charge - but registration is required!

Event Details:

Date: Tuesday, October 1

Time: 9:30am - 6pm

Location: Humber Polytechnic Lakeshore Campus - G Cottage and HCH Auditorium

In the summer of 2024, eight Humber Polytechnic students came together and worked for 14 weeks to form the band “Solara”. Taking inspiration from the Aga Khan Museum’s foundational theme of light, present throughout the museum’s architecture and collection as well as the museum’s Light: Visionary Perspectives exhibition, the fellows collaborated to create a suite of six musical pieces, each of which offers a unique answer to the question, “How Does Light Guide Us?” In addition, the fellows created an accompanying documentary, From Dawn Till Dusk, showing the creative journey behind their work.

On September 29, the Fellows will screen the documentary and perform all six pieces live as the final event of EnlighTEN, a festival celebrating the Aga Khan Museum's tenth anniversary. Guests are welcome to enjoy a full afternoon of festivities and artist showcases at the Museum leading up to the ICMF performance - the full schedule for the weekend can be viewed here.

Event Details:
Date: Sunday, September 29
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Location: Aga Khan Museum Auditorium

In an increasingly bureaucratic and digitized world, how can artists survive while maintaining an artistic practice?

In this hands-on workshop, Kadija de Paula will share tools to navigate the overwhelming world of grants and open calls for emerging artists and creatives.

This is an in-person event with online delivery also offered. Refreshments will be served to those attending in-person. More information can be found on the registration page or the Culture's Compass website.

The Fellowship Showcase event is back with a new round of projects and Fellow Panels from our 2023 cohort! Projects will be on display from 5 Fellowships. New this year we will host a discussion panel featuring Fellows from the 2023 cohort.

This event is open to the public and free for all to attend. You can register and get more details on our Eventbrite page.

Location: Aga Khan Museum Auditorium
Join the CCBI and this year's ICMF cohort at the Aga Khan Museum on September 21st at 7pm for an evening of live music.

Tickets will be available soon for purchase for 10$ on the Aga Khan Museum website. Keep an eye out on our social media pages for updates!

In this one-hour lecture, Dr. Anthony Schrag explored the importance of ‘creative practice research’ within arts and cultural settings, looking at examples within the field as well as his own research, including a recent funded project exploring Cultural Sustainable Prosperity (CSP). Broadly, CSP explores how we can live well, with less. In a post-pandemic world, how can cultural organisations ‘degrowth’ in a way that is not only an ecological imperative, but also advocates for alternative economies and promotes well-being and social justice.

Dr Anthony Schrag, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Policy and Arts Administration and Programme Leader of the MA Arts Festivals and Cultural Management at Queen Margaret University (QMU) will present a micro-lecture and taster-session about Master’s level study in Edinburgh - the world’s premier Festival City. Edinburgh is home to the biggest, oldest and most comprehensive festival offer: boasting the original Fringe festival, as well as the Edinburgh Art Festival, The Edinburgh International Festival, the Book Festival, the Comedy Festival, the Science Festival, The Jazz Festival, and the Mela Festival, to name but a few! The Cultural Management programme at QMU is therefore ideally situated to explore arts administration at an international level while still being situation in a small European city.

Dr Anthony Schrag is a practising artist and researcher, and Senior Lecturer at Queen Margaret’s University (Edinburgh). The central focus of his work explores participatory art and social practices, exploring the role of art outside of museums and art galleries, and is specifically interested in the role of ‘productive conflict’ within community settings. He leads on both the MA Arts, Festivals and Cultural Management and the MA Applied Arts and Social Practice and is a member of the Centre for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Research Centre, leading the Practice Research Cluster: Finding and Using Creative Knowledge.

The Art We Want is a one-day event featuring art and discussions focused on the topic of "Democratizing Public Art".

Schedule:

• 9 AM ET: New Patrons, New Directions
• 10 AM ET: Student-led Public Engagements
• 12 PM ET: Architectural Horizons of New Patrons
• 1 PM ET: Public Art, Health, and Wellbeing

For more information and how to attend, visit The Art We Want's website.

What is AFFECT?

AFFECT is a post-secondary design challenge that explores not only how design can change the way we act, but also how we feel about our world.

AFFECT seeks to engage students on critical issues, exploring creative solutions and concepts for problems facing our public services and institutions. In addition to exploring how designed products and services can solve problems, AFFECT questions how design can change the way people feel about their environments, their communities, and their own place within those.

You can view the 2021 AFFECT challenge and outcomes here: AFFECT 2021

AFFECT 2022

This year's AFFECT design challenge is presented in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The challenge students will be tackling this year is: "As we emerge from a period of great change, what might museums such as the AGO offer as playful and inspiring art experiences for visitors?"

Prizes:

• First place: $250 Amazon gift card, a virtual mentoring opportunity with the Art Gallery of Ontario, and a gift package to visit the upcoming exhibition, I Am Here.
• Second and third place: $75 Amazon gift card

How to participate:

For more information about the challenge and how to participate, you can download the challenge brief below.

Timeline and Eligibility

All submissions must be received before midnight (11:59pm) on Thursday, April 28, 2022.

This challenge is open to Humber College students enrolled in either a design-focused discipline (UX, graphic design, interior, web design, landscape, industrial, etc) or a related discipline (arts, media, business).

Students must be actively enrolled in a program at the time of the submission, or have completed the program within the previous 4 weeks. Students may submit individually, or in small groups. Submissions generated as part of a course curriculum or course project are welcome.

You are completing an arts degree, aiming to work in the arts and culture sector – and then the pandemic hit, now what? Although the arts and culture sector has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, there is a steady increase of jobs in the sector as arts organizations slowly recover. In this session, you’ll learn about tips, tools, and resources that will help you start your creative arts career.

Takeaways

• What jobs exist for an emerging arts professional?
• Best practices for applying for positions
• Common and critical skills to thrive

Speakers

Mona Afshari, Marketing & Communications Manager, WorkInCulture

Mona Afshari is an arts and culture marketing and communications specialist. Over the last sixteen years, Mona has worked for arts organizations across Canada developing and implementing business and marketing plans, as well as educational programs for diverse audiences. With a Bachelor’s in Visual Arts, a Master’s in Art Education, and Graduate Diploma in Management, Mona is determined to bridge the gap between the arts and business through her marketing efforts. As the Marketing & Communications Manager at WorkInCulture she supports the professional lives of artists and cultural workers by promoting business skills and career development resources. Mona is also the producer and host of WorkInCulture’s Success Stories podcast -- covering employer and cultural worker perspectives on securing employment in the arts.

Diane Davy, Executive Director, WorkInCulture

Diane Davy is the Executive Director of WorkInCulture (WIC), a not-for-profit arts service organization that supports the professional lives of artists, creative and cultural workers and the organizations that support and engage them. Davy is also the President of Castledale, a consulting company specializing in the business of the arts and entertainment sector. Her areas of expertise include strategic business planning, corporate structure and management, marketing strategies, revenue generation, board governance, project management and other related topics.

The AFFECT Design Challenge is back!

The CCBI and The Art Gallery of Ontario invite you to participate in the second ever AFFECT design Challenge.

We're asking students to answer the following question: As we emerge from a period of great change, what might museums such as the AGO offer as playful and inspiring art experiences for visitors? The solutions can be digital, physical, a campaign - or any creative design format that participants chose!

Register on Eventbrite

The Humber Centre for Creative Business Innovation (CCBI) and Humber Galleries (HG) offer 5 different Fellowships to Humber students that take place over early spring and summer. Join us in this info session to find out what's involved in a Fellowship, the different offerings CCBI and HG have, the application process, and any other questions you may have.

Register on Eventbrite

CivicLabTO Academic Summit: Collaborating on Renewal and Resilience was a two-day virtual event that provided partner faculty, staff and students, City staff and government representatives the opportunity to join a series of free panel discussions featuring thought leaders from across academia and our municipality. These sessions highlighted how research collaborations generate grounded theory framework that ultimately leads to stronger public policy development in our ever-changing urban environment.​

More information and recordings of the event can be found on the CivicLabTO website: https://www.civiclabto.ca/

Current was a festival of arts, media and design showcasing graduating students from Humber College’s Faculty of Media & Creative Arts. Featuring live and recorded performances, screenings, exhibits, networking events, and portfolio shows, Current celebrated the ingenuity and professionalism of an electric group of storytellers.

The CCBI was responsible for gathering and curating student content for Humber Current, as well as creating the 2021 website.

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, in partnership with CCBI, hosted its inaugural post-secondary design challenge AFFECT between March 10th to May 6th, 2021.

This design competition sought to engage students with the question: How might we expand the community of contemporary art visitors, and engage a more diverse and representative community for contemporary art museums and galleries? The solutions were allowed to be submitted as a digital product, a physical product, a campaign – or any creative design format the participants chose!

This year's winners were:
Nadiyah Foyjeen, Maya Auchincloss, Mariam Bidaoui & Sierra Highfield

FIRST RUNNER-UP
Lillian James Taei

SECOND RUNNER-UP
Lillian Leung

This interactive workshop was for administrators and artists alike interested in engaging with communities for producing murals in public spaces. Lead by Tara Dorey, an experienced visual artist, project manager, and educator with a focus on community-based art, participants learned about approaches and methods for community engagement, research, input and active participation.

Hosted on Zoom, this workshop included experimentation with virtual collaboration software and interactive participation in breakout groups.

Street art and activism are intrinsically connected and can be seen in examples across history from the Berlin Wall to the Black Lives Matter movement. Through the democratization of public spaces, street art aims to reclaim communities from gentrifying forces, to build back a sense of home for marginalized people, and to propose alternative social structures. But the questions remain: who is allowed to create public art and who controls the narrative? Is street art itself becoming gentrified? How do we keep the core values of the art form intact?

This lively panel discussion included local street artists Elicser Elliot, Bareket Kezwer, Moises Frank (Luvs), Nick Sweetman, and Natalie Very B, as well as our moderator Parul Pandya. The artists discussed their process and experience with producing works of art located in the public realm, and their motivations ranging from explicitly political to narratives inspiring growth, community, and acceptance. This discussion created a dialogue for emerging and mid-career artists about how activism and art are interconnected, and why it’s important to understand and be intentional about one’s participation in creating art in the public realm.

In order to help students make connections with industry leaders, the CCBI alongside Humber's ADMC program created AMDC's first-ever online Networking Event.

The students of the ADMC program looked to create lasting industry connections and prospected in order to fulfill their internship requirements. Insights and guidance from industry experts are of great value to ADMC students as they embark on their careers. This was not only an opportunity for students but for industry connections to play a role in shaping the future of these emerging professionals.

The CCBI planned and ran the online networking event using the Airmeet platform, and created a custom database of students searchable by skillset and including things like bios and resumes for attending employers to view for recruiting purposes.

Led by Evond Blake (Mediah), this three-part speaker series on Feb 9,10 and 11th gave a fully rounded picture of what it’s like to build a career practice around the art form known as Graffiti.

Session One: Mediah shared his knowledge gained from his 25 years' experience as a graffiti artist and provided context about graffiti art street culture and drawing.

Session Two: In the second event, participants learned how to build a professional path that is customized and authentic to individual influences, styles, and experiences.

Session Three: In the last session, Evond spoke about how to innovate with your brand and build multiple streams of revenue to support an on-going artistic practice and career.

Mediah - BIO

MEDIAH is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist who weaves graffiti/street art forms with painterly techniques and digital media to create cinematic environments. Heavily inspired by avionics, mechanical engineering and schematics, MEDIAH’s abstract work utilizes speed, motion, dynamism, and force to depict otherworldly dimensions.

With a career spanning 25 years, MEDIAH is described as ‘one of the most respected and revered graffiti artists in Canada’ due to his extensive and prolific career painting large-scale murals, participating in solo and group art exhibitions, and creating immersive, cinematic video and animation productions.

MEDIAH’s industry experience in broadcast design, motion graphics, VFX and video post production combined with his 25 year graffiti, contemporary art career has given him a unique toolset which allows him to create immersive environments that combine animation, digital media, graffiti, and traditional fine art which can then be manipulated in real-time. MEDIAH produces his fine art and immersive projects in his state of the art IAH Digital art facility that specializes in fine art, print production, animation, VR, VFX, and video post-production.

The CCBI Speaker series addresses current industry trends and opportunities for innovation where members of the Humber Community and Industry have identified a need for education and / or discussion. The CCBI team works with internal departments at Humber College such as Continuous Professional Learning to identify topics of interest and then reaches out to industry professionals and subject matter experts to produce a cutting edge presentation, discussion or workshop.

The CCBI Speaker Series is geared towards emerging and mid-career professionals in a variety of industries. Students who attend CCBI Speaker Series events will gain perspective on the most current and relevant issues facing their industry making them more competitive and prepared for professional employment once they graduate.

Attending a CCBI Speaker series event gives participants an opportunity to network with their peers and in some cases interact with speakers and panelists, a great opportunity to build your professional network and connect with informed and innovative minds.

On November 5th and 6th, the Centre for Creative Business Innovation hosted its inaugural design jam.

Held virtually—and with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, experiential learning, and developing solutions to real-world problems—the Design Jam brought together 30 Humber students from a number of programs, faculties, and countries.

InComm Payments—a multinational company and a global leader in financial transactions— asked us to improve how gift cards are displayed and sold in retail outlets. The “problem” had very few defined parameters, and creative solutions were encouraged. Six teams of 3-5 students collaborated over 2 days and then presented their ideas to executives from InComm Payments. Each team was strategically created to have a mix of students from the nine different programs which included: Advertising Copywriting, Media Communications, BA Child and Youth Care, Advertising and Graphic Design, Multimedia Design and Development, Bachelors of Commerce Accounting, Bachelor's Design, Web Development, UX Design. This Design Jam was supported by Humber Faculty members.

From October 22nd to November 1st, the CCBI joined forces with Continuous Professional Learning in order to support the Humber School for Writers and the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), for a series of inspiring and thought-provoking workshops led by Great Canadian authors.

The CCBI provided support for online workshop logistics for this event.

In June of 2020 the CCBI held the first ever Culture’s Compass event. "Culture’s Compass: How the Industry Keeps Beating" was a virtual conference held on June 25th and 26th, 2020. Hosted by Humber College’s Centre for Creative Business Innovation in partnership with WorkInCulture, this event was organized by nine Humber students.

The exciting two-day conference included many sessions relevant to the current climate such as Accessibility Online, and Activism & the Arts. It also featured a wide array of performers, artists, and a graphic capturer. All speakers and performers were paid industry-standard rates for their appearance. Over 500 attendees gathered virtually from around the world to participate.

The free programming examined the challenges cultural organizations have been facing since March 2020. A general theme that emerged across sessions was how cultural organizations need to reflect and start asking uncomfortable questions about their purpose, past activities, and future directions.