What Interns are saying about 2011-12....
Charlene Smith, Curatorial/Production Intern:
For
many years, I have had an increasing passion for the arts in all its forms.
Personally, dance has been my main point of focus, however, visual arts has
held a close place in my heart. After participating in Prof. Patterson's Women
in the Arts course at the University of Toronto, she was able to spark a great interest
in visual arts for myself, leading me to become an intern for the
non-for-profit WIA projects. Though school remained time consuming and lead me
into a few financial difficulties, the time that I was able to spend taught me
a great deal.Overall, I have
come to a deeper level of understanding towards the difficulty of being a
female artist and the importance of creating a network of allies to build a
stronger foundation for future prospects. Structuring a community is essential
to success of any artist and women are in need of all the help we can get.
Emily Kakouris, Curatorial Intern,
Kayla Barbeau, OCAD University, Educational Intern
Emily Kakouris, Curatorial Intern,
For the 2011-2012 school year I had the opportunity to participate as an
Assistant Curator in the series "Border Crossings: An Erotic Affair?”
with WIAprojects and the Jackman Humanities Institute. I worked
specifically with Pam Patterson and Sylvat Aziz to prepare and hang an
exhibition in the gallery space located inside the OISE building. As an Art
History student (who is pursuing graduate studies in Fall, 2012) participation
in this project benefited me in numerous ways: Sylvat's exhibition,
"Sisyphus & Other Personal Matters" provided an opportunity to assist
in the creation of an exhibition and offered an helpful environment for
experiential learning. Also, as an art historian who is not used to working
with Contemporary art, there was a learning curve. Working with this stream of
art fueled many questions about the themes and messages involved in the
exhibition; I felt the process was similar to learning a new language. Once I
had an understanding of the basics, it all came together when participating in
the round table discussion and piecing together the exhibition essay. I will be
able to reflect upon my participation and use what I learned towards my future
studies in graduate school.
Kayla Barbeau, OCAD University, Educational Intern
Interning with WIAprojects has opened up many doors for me and has
created a community of like-minded people with like-minded goals. Throughout my
final year of completing my BFA at OCAD University, WIAprojects has inspired me
to push myself and delve into the educational field of visual arts. Becoming
familiar with this field has been both a challenging and rewarding experience.
Meeting the active participants of WIAprojects at exhibitions has allowed me to
put my goals in a solidified community and create valuable exchanges of
information and experiences… As of the fall I will be teaching two courses … one I
created, and another that will be adapted from a preexisting course. This
connection would not have been possible without participating in the WIA internship
program.