Event recap: Creative innovation on display at RUBIX 2024

Faculty and students across The Creative School came together at RUBIX 2024 to explore, share and discuss their scholarly, research and creative (SRC) projects. Held at The Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) on February 8, the annual event showcased projects spanning a wide range of research areas, including fashion, artificial intelligence, diversity and sustainability.

The SRC event included a keynote address, research installations and PechaKucha presentations. Welcoming remarks from TMU’s Charles Falzon, dean of The Creative School, and Steven N. Liss, vice-president, research and innovation, spoke of the impact of creative scholarship and the societal importance of the creative fields.

“RUBIX continues to feature path-breaking, transdisciplinary research that maximizes the potential of creativity for transformational and disruptive innovation,” said vice-president Liss. “I see these projects as fundamental scholarship and innovative and creative ideas that inspire and challenge us to think differently about the world.”

Keynote address 

RUBIX 2024’s keynote address was delivered by Chris E. Vargas, a video maker, interdisciplinary artist and the founder and executive director of the Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art (MOTHA). “MOTHA has always been a project of institutional critique,” he told the full house that gathered for his talk. He explained he created the museum – which has never had a permanent physical space – “out of thin air” in 2013 to explore questions and themes of trans and queer history, inclusiveness and more. He shared past exhibitions and walked the audience through the first book co-published by MOTHA, Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects, in which artists, writers, scholars and activists contribute entries about objects spanning four centuries.  

Scholarly, research and creative activity on display

Thirteen installations on display offered an opportunity to speak with researchers and to learn, examine and even immerse oneself in their featured projects, which ranged from new playback interfaces to sustainable fashion. Here are a few project examples: 

Designing for Size Diversity – Caron Phinney

To learn how to design clothing for diverse bodies, fashion students need body forms representing a larger array of body types than currently available. An exhibit by professor Caron Phinney – in collaboration with professor Sandra Tullio-Pow, contract lecturer PY Chau and student Delfina Russo – highlighted their efforts to develop new body forms that fill this gap. Professor Phinney said that inclusive change in the fashion industry should start with students’ education and learning to design for a variety of body types. 

Their pilot project completed 3-D body scans of five people. Those scans were then used as the basis of new body forms, which were carved out of foam by a large robotic arm.

New Interface for Variable Speed Media Playback – Finlay Braithwaite 

Audiences are demanding more from their media engagements and interacting with media in new ways. For example, when listening to recorded lectures or streaming the latest videos, audience members are starting to take advantage of the adjustable playback speed options offered by modern media platforms. Professor Finlay Braithwaite designs new media playback interfaces and systems through the ADAPT project (Advanced Dynamic Audio-visual Playback Technology) that goes beyond tinkering with basic playback options.

ADAPT looks to audiences to better understand how they interact with the tempo of their media. Using AI to analyze the aggregate of audience playback control interactions enables the creation of new speed curves. By applying this in new playback control interfaces, users can benefit from modified playback speeds informed by audience behaviour. Through these methods, ADAPT technology could be harnessed to address other dimensions of media playback experiences, such as volume and brightness.

Creating Circular Textile Systems Through Upcycled Fashion Practices – Anika Kozlowski

After the renaming of TMU, the university was left with 11,000 kg of branded materials that could no longer be used, such as textiles in the form of sports team uniforms, tote bags and lanyards. Professor Anika Kozlowski is the lead on a creative endeavour and research project as part of the university’s Branded Materials Transition Project (BMTP), with contract lecturer Tricia Crivellaro Grenier and staff member Narish Maraj. The research project explores efficient, cost-effective ways to manage and transform textile waste and investigates how to create circular practices at the university. To date, the project has diverted more than 30 per cent of the waste from landfills by removing branding for reuse, donating materials and upcycling.

This project includes several components, including the Upcycled Gear Fashion Show, where fashion alumni and students engage in the upcycling design process to create new clothing in collaboration with the Athletics Department. One method of upcycling involves pulling apart the material used to make lanyards, spinning the yarn and using it to knit other items. Professor Kozlowski is also working with staff member Monica Polo of the School of Interior Design to repurpose some of the textiles for soundproofing material using a FeltLOOM, which helps make the upcycling process more efficient and less costly.

RUBIX 2024 wrapped up with the PechaKucha Evening Soirée. Thirteen researchers had the opportunity to present their projects on topics ranging from smart manufacturing technology in the printing industry to the future of Chrysalis, a performance and multifunctional venue at The Creative School, in a rapid slideshow format.  

RUBIX: The Journal

The creation of the new, peer-reviewed multimedia RUBIX: The Journal was announced as part of RUBIX 2024. The Journal will strive to cultivate ongoing, multi-directional conversations that go beyond traditional boundaries. Learn more about RUBIX: The Journal. 

Learn more about the exhibits and speakers featured at RUBIX 2024.