Faculty Portfolio

Professor leads groundbreaking research to recover Canada’s Black archives

Dr. Cheryl Thompson to launch Black Ontario archives research lab and deepen the richness of our shared Canadian history

There is no national Black archive that exists in Canada as it does in other countries and Performance Assistant Professor Dr. Cheryl Thompson, along with postdoctoral fellow Dr. Karen Cyrus, are working to change that. Today, Canada’s Black historical archives are made up of disparate collections spread across the country, a long-standing challenge in Black Canadian Studies where archives that are “scattered, hidden, incomplete, and inadequately catalogued” create barriers to a richer understanding of Black history in our country. The critical five-year project, “Mapping Ontario’s Black Archive: Building an Inventory Through Storytelling”, was recently awarded an Early Researcher Award.

Fashion Prof Kimberly Jenkins spearheads change with new fashion education consulting service

Artis Solomon provides corporate resources for fashion’s progressive future

Scholar and Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies, Kim Jenkins, has launched a new education consultancy, Artis Solomon, (external link)  a first-of-its-kind in scale solution addressing a critical need within the industry for a more informed perspective that bridges fashion academia with the business of fashion.

Jenkins’ expertise on fashion and race, as well as her cultural awareness, has led her to corporate advising opportunities with Gucci, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Centraal Museum and The Met Costume Institute. Opportunities that made it clear there was a need for inclusivity and sensitivity training within the fashion industry.

The future of packaging is eco-conscious

Graphic Communications Management Professor Dr. Ehsan Behzadfar wins grant for optimizing biodegradable packaging 

Dr. Ehsan Behzadfar, an assistant professor in the Graphic Communications Management (GCM) program, has secured a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grant through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund for his work on sustainable solutions in packaging. 

The grant, which is funded by the Government of Canada in partnership with the CFI, is awarded to top university researchers who are conducting research at the intersection of science and innovation. 

Adjunct professor and IMA alumnus wins $100,000 Rogers Best Film award

Kazik Radwanski’s film ‘Anne at 13,000 ft’ shot with small team of Toronto Metropolitan University alumni

Kazik Radwanski, filmmaker, adjunct professor and alumnus of the School of Image Arts (IMA), has reached rarefied artistic rank. His latest film, Anne at 13,000 ft, (external link)  recently won the Toronto Film Critics Association’s $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, (external link)  Canada’s richest art prize.

The film has garnered glowing reviews from critics and also received five nominations at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, winning both ‘Best Actress in a Canadian film’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film.’ It also received an honourable mention from the jury at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress at the Canadian Screen Awards in May 2020.

RSID assistant professor Linda Zhang reimagines the future of Toronto’s Chinatown

Zhang creates a 3D scanned and 3D printed installation board game for her virtual “Whose Chinatown?” exhibit

Toronto Metropolitan University School of Interior Design assistant professor Linda Zhang created a board game, installation and speculative fiction virtual reality experience using  3D scanning to bridge the rich histories and heritage of Toronto’s Chinatowns with possibilities for their future. Her current exhibit, located at contemporary art gallery Griffin Art Projects in Vancouver, B.C., is called Your Future Heritage(s) of Chinatown, which is part of the Whose Chinatown (external link)  Exhibition. The virtual exhibition, which is open to the public, features large 3D installations based on the scans of Chinatown and runs until May 2, 2021.

Journalism prof and media personality Winston Sih creates critical news media resource

New podcast looking to reverse Canada's shrinking news media landscape began as grad project

Alum Winston Sih, a professor at the School of Journalism and technology and travel multi-platform broadcast journalist, producer, and consultant who regularly contributes to outlets like Citytv’s Breakfast Television Toronto, CTV News, Yahoo!, and MoneySense, has produced a podcast about the uncertain future of Canadian news. Staying Alive: Preserving Canadian Local News (external link)  explores the issues, opportunities and strategies for keeping newsrooms alive, diversifying voices and offering tips on how to bridge the gap to digital.

Motion capture training to launch careers in booming video game sector

See why Performance program is at the cutting edge of emerging technologies and new media

The Performance program at The Creative School is now offering students the opportunity to learn 21st-century skills in motion capture training and voiceover acting as a way to launch students into booming video game acting careers. Leading the way is instructor and established actor Ivan Sherry, an expert in the field of video game performance with numerous AAA video game acting credits that include the last five Assassin’s Creeds — video game developer Ubisoft’s most popular franchise.

Interdisciplinary research on the future of work drives timely insights

Professional Communication Prof Opeyemi Akanbi on the new world of remote work and the ‘right to disconnect’

Interdisciplinary scholar and Assistant Professor in the School of Professional Communication Dr. Opeyemi Akanbi is at the forefront of foundational research into the nature and evolution of work. With a background in law and communication, her research interests include the regulation of digital work, privacy and the political economy of digital media. Akanbi has been cited frequently in the media (external link)  as of late for her expert insights into the changing nature of work and the significance of the introduction of a new law passed in Ontario (the first province in the country to do so) on the ‘the right to disconnect’— or the right employees have to be free from having to respond to emails, telephone calls, texts or electronic messages outside of work hours.

Reclaiming sound: How Indigeneity informs creative practice

Broadcaster in Residence Falen Johnson on cultural influences as a media producer

Indigenous playwright, writer and media personality Falen Johnson came up against a unique challenge during the production of her podcast, ‘The Secret Life of Canada (external link) '  for CBC – she could not locate many traditional Indigenous media files in the countless soundbanks found online. On one occasion, Johnson was unable to find the precise sound of a traditional Indigenous rattle. Undeterred, she played the rattle and recorded the noise herself.