AWW Free School: Fake News

AWW Free School: Fake News

Writer and video artist RM Vaughan and NOW Magazine Life and Social Media Editor Michelle da Silva co-lead an in-gallery workshop on post-truth culture writing in the social media and fake news era.

Michelle da Silva is a journalist in Toronto specializing in lifestyle and culture writing. She has a particular interest in millennials, race, gender, mental health and technology, and how these themes intersect. As the Life and Social Media editor at NOW Magazine, her work has been nominated for the National Magazine Awards and Digital Publishing Awards. She was also the recipient of a Next Generation/Diversity Scholarship through the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Michelle’s byline has appeared in Bustle, House & Home, Food Network Canada and the Georgia Straight, and she been a guest on film podcasts We Really Like Her and the Royal Canadian Movie Podcast.

RM Vaughan is a Canadian writer and video artist based in Montreal. Born and raised in New Brunswick, Vaughan is the author of 11 books and a contributor to over 60 anthologies and catalogs. Vaughan writes about art and culture for a wide variety of publications, and his collaborative video works play in festivals and galleries around the world.

 The series is co-presented with Ken Moffatt, The Jack Layton Chair, and Melanie Panitch, The Director of The Office of Social Innovation, Ryerson University.

About AWW Free School

Inspired by the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Unbroken (external link) , this unique series in collaboration with the Gardiner Museum will transform the exhibition into a site for social action. Four interdisciplinary workshops, focused on documentary media, spoken word, performance, and online journalism, will be offered free with registration. These workshops, co-led by artists, facilitators, and writers, will activate the exhibition by connecting its themes to the practice of public citizenship.

About the exhibition: Ai Weiwei: Unbroken

Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most influential artists and human rights activists, as well as one of China’s most formidable critics. Known for smashing conventions—and ceramics—with iconic works like Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, he upends the cultural traditions and materials of his native China.

This highly-anticipated and timely exhibition explores the breaking of boundaries, both physical and symbolic, and considers how the artist’s ceramic works form a basis for his ongoing exploration of urgent social justice themes, including immigration, freedom of speech, and the repression of dissent. Learn more (external link)