Social Distancing Sentiments: A Student’s Perspective on COVID-19
Communications - Professional Writing student Alexandra Few, who has been the main contributor to our blog and in turn most of the stories we have featured in Storyteller this year, was just beginning her placement working with the Story Arts Centre's Marketing and Communications Officer Scott Hosmer when COVID-19 brought everything to a stand still.
With so many unknowns around finishing her year in addition to the news being filled with stories about social distancing, quarantine, self-isolation, and the worldwide pandemic, her anxiety was a little high, not unlike most people at the start of all of this. So with her placement on-hold, a school shutdown, and nothing to keep her occupied she did what every writer is apt to do; she wrote as a form of self-expression. What she delivered was an honest, heartfelt and uplifting piece about her experience throughout this pandemic so far.
The Life-Changing Experience Centennial Students had in Iqaluit, Nunavut
This past February, two Arts Management students and three students from The Business School had the opportunity to travel to Iqaluit, Nunavut to engage in enriching and exciting work with Qaggiavuut - a non-profit organization that has a goal of strengthening and promoting Inuit culture and language through the performing arts. The students were able to assist with marketing and fundraising for Qaggiavuut’s campaign to build a Qaggiq: an Inuit Performing Arts and Cultural Learning Hub.
The trip made such an abundant impact on everyone involved. Rebecca Peirson, Program Coordinator of the Arts Management program, says, “I don’t think it would be a stretch to say it was life altering for the students for a number of reasons.”
After 16 Years On the Danforth Magazine is Still Going Strong
“We teach you the theory of publishing, you put it into practice,” says Denise Schon, Program Coordinator of the Publishing - Book, Magazine and Electronic. This program places a high value on experiential learning, which can be found in its truest form in the work that is put into On the Danforth - a student-run magazine, published bi-annually.
Keep reading to learn more about another set of beautifully designed and thoughtfully written issues!
Centennial Arts Students Bring Their Work to the Waterfront at Winter Stations
Winter Stations is a yearly art installation held along Toronto's beaches. It started in 2014 and has become a Toronto institution. Every year, they invite a college or university institution to participate, and this year it was Centennial College’s time to shine, with a School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design student-created installation.
Three New Web Series from our Children's Media Students
As part of a major project in their Winter semester, Children’s Media students have created three exciting new video series that are perfect for tween and teen audiences!
The creativity and storytelling that shines through each series is a perfect example of the exceptional work produced on campus by our students.
Check out the projects below.
Alien Puberty Project is a new web series that follows the life of a 13-year-old alien named Liane dealing with the awkward, hilarious experience of puberty in her new human body on planet Earth.
FIY: Fashion It Yourself is a new YouTube series featuring cool projects for tweens and teens to use and wear.
rogo is a new web series that explores the differences and similarities between how children and adults view important topics like happiness, love, and the world around them.
How Arts Management Students Are “Transforming Tomorrow” at the 5th Annual Arts Ahead Symposium
On February 20, 2020, Arts Management students had a transforming experience at the 5th annual Arts Ahead Symposium. This year’s theme was transforming tomorrow, which focused on inspiring change when it comes to making art or managing an arts organization, in order to adjust to the current political, social, and environmental culture.
Rebecca Peirson, Program Coordinator of the Arts Management program, describes the student-run capstone event as an “annual one-day symposium for arts professionals and cultural leaders from organizations across Ontario”. The event strayed from a traditional symposium format and embraced a collaborative and engaging approach, which included a group discussion, warm-ups, workshops, a panel discussion, and Pecha Kucha Style presentations.
Graduating Theatre Students Move to an Online Stage
Graduates of the Theatre Arts and Performance program took centre "virtual" stage in their final performance. Partnering with Theatre Direct, students had originally planned for a site-specific piece titled Oz. However, due to COVID-19, plans changed, including the opportunity of being hired by the theatre company upon graduation. Despite these changes, our talented students adapted to their new online stage and showcased their storytelling abilities in their Zoom performance presented for a curated audience.
Keep reading to learn more about their final show and what they will be up to next.
Dr. Brian de Lima, a Professor in the Music Industry Arts and Performance program, wrote his dissertation on the inconsistencies he found with jazz that’s played here in Canada, compared to the United States. He discovered that the way one is taught and the culture they are surrounded with, plays a large role.
All his life, Brian has been surrounded by music and creativity, which makes his research quite in-depth and detailed. To find out more about Brian and his research read the full article below.
Storyworks Collaborates with the Toronto Zoo
It’s A Shell’s Life is a collaborative Storyworks project for the Toronto Zoo. Jennifer Howard, a dedicated volunteer of the Toronto Zoo’s Turtle Tally project, which aims to save endangered turtle species in Ontario, wrote a manuscript about turtles, specifically in Ontario, as a way to increase awareness and provide education on the topic. However, the manuscript needed work, and this is how the Storyworks project commenced.
Two years ago, Children’s Media students reframed the manuscript for a younger audience, and this year a couple of students in the Publishing - Book, Magazine and Electronic program organized, edited and designed the manuscript under the direction of some of the instructors in the program.
Keep reading to find out more about this exciting project as well to get an inside look from those involved in the project.
On February 28, 2020, the Heads of Media, Arts and Design (HOMAD) held their triannual meeting at the Story Arts Centre. HOMAD meetings occur at various colleges across Ontario in the Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer, and are an opportunity for Deans and Academic Chairs to come together and discuss opportunities, challenges, and best practices. The theme of the latest meeting was Indigenization: the act of incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing and doing and recognizing the validity of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.
The meeting included a talk from Mary Wabano, Director of the First Peoples’ Centre and Associate Dean of the School of Indigenous Studies at Canadore College. Read the full article below for more details from the latest meeting.
Learning Dance from a Distance
Navigating online learning can take some time to adjust to, but with programs that embrace such a large in-person component, this adjustment can be a bit more difficult. Just like everyone else, the Dance Performance program had to move their curriculum online, which you can imagine can come with some challenges. Luckily, things eventually settled, but at the beginning of this transition, there were many things to figure out.
Keep reading to find out what worked best.
Faculty Member Sasha Boersma's Company Accepted Into Feminist Business Accelerator
Faculty member Sasha Boersma’s company, Sticky Brain Studios, was recently accepted into the first cohort of Fifth Wave Labs, a feminist business accelerator for women-owned and women-led media and technology companies.
As a result of the Government of Canada’s first-ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) received funding to create the Fifth Wave Initiative which is designed to grow and sustain women-owned/led businesses, with one of their components being Fifth Wave Labs. As the CFC explains, this a “four-month sustainable business growth and/or scale-up bootcamp [with] programs and workshops designed specifically for women-owned/led businesses based on women’s lived experiences.”
Plans to Help Students ACCEL
Due to COVID-19 and the future state of the economy, accessing jobs and resources will likely become more difficult. This is why Dean Nate Horowitz came up with the idea of offering free seminars, likely online, through ACCEL, a free resource at Centennial College that provides entrepreneurs with one-on-one coaching/mentorship and access to the fundamentals to help get a new business off the ground. The seminars will help students gain access to coaches and will also be a space where they can learn how to run their own business.
“Students will have an opportunity to set something up where they can build some clients and can get additional experience, which not everyone has in their program,” said Nate. As of now, the plan is to offer this to students in post-graduate programs and students in their last year of a 2-year or 3-year diploma program. Nate says that it’s important to build confidence amongst the students that are experiencing this direct hit to the economy.
For those graduating this June, there will hopefully be a few online seminars in place soon, while students starting in September will see either a full year or partial year of the program offered. Nate added, “the students will be deciding on a business and whatever they decide, they’ll receive coaching on it. We are not treating this like a hypothetical in-class assignment - this will be very real.”
Nate says, “This will help students become centred on their future and they can also probably get some clients, which will give them a leg up over other students.” Although it is still in the beginning phase, this is quite an exciting venture and we can’t wait to see where it will lead.
New Bachelor of Public Relations Management Video Launches
Our Bachelor of Public Relations Management program is one-of-a-kind. Don't believe us? Then have a listen to current students Jecema Hewitt Vasil and Andrew Gordon along with graduate Emilita Dela Cruz, as they talk about their experiences in the program.
A Look at the Future of Learning at Centennial
As a result of COVID-19, schools have made the transition from the classroom to the computer, at least for the time being. With this transition comes many changes that students and instructors have had to adjust to, which is why Centennial is continually making it as seamless as possible with various opportunities for virtual learning. One of these opportunities is the introduction of simulation applications, such as augmented reality, into the curriculum.
How is Centennial looking to incorporate this? Keep reading to find out.
Engaging Videos from Our Equipment Techs
Story Arts Centre equipment cage technicians Ray Josef and Cecillio Escobar have made their way to your computer screen with engaging videos that you can access right now on our YouTube channel. Keep busy with these informative, unique, and entertaining videos on all things film, television, and tech.
Whether you need a good movie recommendation that you can easily stream, new YouTubers to subscribe to for all things film-related, or feel like engaging in a thoughtful yet entertaining discussion on the art of film adaption, these videos are sure to keep you equipped with some go-to material while we’re at home social distancing. While you’re there, be sure to like and subscribe so you won’t miss a video.
PR Event Pivots Online
For their Project and Event Management course, Public Relations - Corporate Communications students had the task of breaking up into four teams to create events that would support local charities. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, plans changed and only one out of the four teams continued with their event (digitally). Despite this setback, PR students displayed an enormous amount of hard work and expertise, which is evident in the planning of each event.
To find out more about the the events the students planned, as well as the event that moved online, keep reading.
The Making of a Virtual Lab
With the transition to online classes, trying to maintain a similar learning environment from the classroom to the computer can be difficult, but this especially holds true for programs that depend upon being on campus in order to complete work. Students in Animation - 3D, Digital Visual Effects, and Game Development require the use of the high-end labs on campus in order to effectively create and export their work, something they are now unable to access due to the campus closure.
When it was announced that classes would be moved online and the campus would be closed, ensuring these students would be able to finish their semester at home, while still being able to create and design effectively, was a top priority. What has resulted is the virtualization of these labs that students can utilize from their personal laptop at home.
Keep reading to find out how it worked out and what this means for students moving forward.
Credits:
Created with images by Fatih - "untitled image" • CDC - "This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)." • Billetto Editorial - "VR Painting @ Trailerpark I/O"