About WIAprojects

WIAprojects is a multi-faceted feminist arts-informed research and practice program conceived Sept. 2005 at the Centre for Women’s Studies in Education (CWSE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. In January 2008, the program established itself independently of, but still associated with and housed at, the CWSE/OISE and in May 2008 formed as a collective. In 2019, we moved to Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen Street West, Toronto where we now curate the Window Box Gallery. We continue to provide women/trans/queer-centered, praxis-focussed events, workshops, exhibitions, research support and outreach to women, men and trans people working in the arts, education, and in community and social services.

Our work, informed by feminism, aims to provide spaces for a variety of practices such as: “queering” women and the category of woman (exhibit for XPACE, Toronto: gender/Troubling), addressing violence and prejudice against the women’s, queer and trans communities (Heather Hicks’ exhibition and artist talk: I am a girl....), exploring controversial areas of, and practices in, research and art making (The Performing Ethnographers seminar on HIV/aids initiatives for youth), providing support for community-based research projects (exhibit and publication of Nancy Halifax’s work by/with Toronto homeless, A` Day in the Life: URGENT ), offering workshops and seminars of interest to our communities (Beryl Tsang’s tit knitting diy workshop: Titbits & Pamela Sayne’s seminar: Opening Occupational Doors: Excuse Me I Did Not Know This Was The Men's Room). And publishing research by women (“Walking the Table”: Dramatic Teaching (2007, co-published by York University) & Performing Pedagogy: Communitas in Context (2011)).

  • WIAprojects
  • 264 Bloor Street West, PO Box 22588, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V8. info@wiaprojects.com

  • Director: Pam Patterson -  PamPatterson@wiaprojects.com
  • Associate Director: Leena Raudvee - LRaudvee@gmail.com 
  •                                     
  • Curatorial/Artist/Research Residents: 
  • Curators-in-Residence, Window Box Gallery, Gallery 1313 (2022-2023): Cecily Ou & Ella Taylor.  
  • Joanna Black (Senior Artist/Researcher Fellow in Residence 2018-2020) Joanna.Black@umanitoba.ca.
  • Julia Pereira (Curator-in-Residence 2016 & Publication Designer 2016-18 and Curator, Carpos Collective 2018-2019). 
  • Candace Wilkins (Community-based Researcher-in-Residence). 
  • International Visiting Artist/Scholar (2017-18): Nuray Akkol, Turkey.
  • Curator/Events Co-ordinator-in-Residence (2013/14): Pailagi Pandya

  • Mentors: Leena Raudvee 
  •                 Pam Patterson  
  •                 Joanna Black (University of Manitoba)
  •                 Amy Swartz (OCADU)

  • Working Collective &/or Advisors: 
  •                Pam Patterson
  •                Leena Raudvee 
  •                Elaine Stewart (artist)
  •                Adrienne Reynolds (artist & OCAD U)
  •                Trisha Lamie (UTSC) 
  •                Sylvat Aziz (Queen's University) 
  •                Shannon Cochrane (FADO) 
  •                Frieda Forman & Paula Bourne (formerly CWSE, OISE)
  •               Joanna Black (U. of Manitoba)
  •               Phil Anderson (Director, Gallery 1313)
               

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