Toronto Media Arts Centre

A place to create and experience video, film, games and digital culture in Toronto’s West Queen West neighbourhood.

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Exhibitions & Festivals

Dames Making Games

Origin Stories

April 9–15

12pm-6pm weekdays, 12pm-4pm weekends

Free

Barbara Laronde Award Exhibition

January 17–31

11am-6pm daily

Free

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Events & Workshops

Dames Making Games

Feb Fatale 7

2020-02-22T10:00:00.000-05:00 2020-02-23T18:00:00.000-05:00 DMG's annual noir-themed game jam, set in the dead heart of winter, digs in to a new challenging theme every year. In the seventh edition of Feb Fatale, we will explore what it means to take up space as a means of survival for the marginalized. What does it mean, exactly, and what does it look like? It can be a radical act of resistance for those outside the margins who are forced out of public spaces and deprived of resources, yet taking up space comes with its own nuances and implications. Come create a small game that challenges how the player navigates the game space, encourages curiosity rather than destruction and colonialism, and create an experience that is self-aware and fierce about the space we take up. **2020 theme curated by Santo Aveiro-Ojeda** https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1579747906-29136207-058d-4649-ae38-1abc209e79bf.jpg CONFIRMED
February 22–23
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Invisible Footprints Collective

Invisible Footprints 0.3 Symposium

2020-02-15T14:00:00.000-05:00 2020-02-15T21:00:00.000-05:00 Invisible Footprints is a non-profit collective and series of multi-generational projects that aim to celebrate the history of Toronto’s East and Southeast Asian LGBTQ+ movements. By revisiting the footprints of artists, activists, academics, and groups like Asian Lesbians of Toronto and Gay Asians Toronto, we highlight the milestones of our social activism while continuing to explore the untold stories of our communities. We hope these projects will provide opportunities for open dialogue among the different generations of LGBTQ+ Asians in Toronto. More importantly, we want to remind community members that if we do not collect our stories, preserve our collective memories or celebrate the contributions of our pioneers and heroes, who will? And if we leave these tasks in the hands of others, how will we be represented? Eight queer East and Southeast Asian youth artists will present a video project incorporating queer Asian histories, stories, art and archival material. We have been running trainings and forums for our artists and the community over the past few months, and the project will conclude with the symposium at TMAC. The symposium will consist of the screening of the artists final video projects as well as artist panels. https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1569076945-annie-spratt-jhw1crdwkei-unsplash.jpg CONFIRMED
February 15, 2:00 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Black Futures Now & NFB

Unarmed Verses

2020-01-29T18:30:00.000-05:00 2020-01-29T22:00:00.000-05:00 Join us for a screening of "Unarmed Verses" presented by BFNTO and NFB, followed by a panel discussion about the film. This feature documentary presents a thoughtful and vivid portrait of a community facing imposed relocation. At the centre of the story is the remarkable, astute and luminous 12-year-old Francine Valentine, whose poignant observations about life, the soul, and the power of art give voice to those rarely heard in society. Unarmed Verses is a cinematic rendering of our universal need for self-expression and belonging. https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1579059587-824924171175047464303123128572865532657664o.jpg CONFIRMED
January 29, 6:30 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Dames Making Games

Origin Stories Opening Reception

2020-04-09T20:00:00.000-04:00 2020-04-09T22:00:00.000-04:00 Documenting the games and stories of our origins, Origin Stories is an exhibition of the first digital games and immersive media art works by members of the DMG community. Video games as a medium has come into its own as an art form in tandem with the growth of the Toronto community over the last 10 years, as DMG has carved an unexpected path alongside Canadian artists and artist-run centres working in related media. By highlighting how games history is rewritten when origins are forgotten, we claim our history in the broader independent games community. Tracing the trajectory of each of the participating artists – all first-time gamemakers when they joined DMG – we map careers, artistic growth, technological advances and obsolescence onto these original works to create a narrative of collective achievement connected inexorably to each artist’s answer to *why games?* DMG‘s mandate is to further the creation of game and interactive media art works by voices traditionally marginalized in the production of tech. The achievements of independent game arts workers are historically undervalued and erased. These twin obfuscated histories have contributed to ongoing inequity in games, on both the arts and industry side, and created barriers to participation for the most vital voices. We believe creating games is a tool for liberation and a form of resistance against capitalistic notions of what games should look like and how stories should be told. https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1578692359-tmac-origin-recep.jpg CONFIRMED
April 9, 8:00 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Dames Making Games

Public Speaking 101

2020-02-18T18:30:00.000-05:00 2020-02-18T20:30:00.000-05:00 Interested in speaking at conferences, but nervous about public speaking? Or do you enjoy giving presentations, but want to find ways to feel more comfortable on stage? This is the workshop for you. Since great public speakers aren’t just conveying important ideas, they’re putting on a performance, we’ll go through tips on how to feel your most comfortable on stage, whether you’re a solo presenter or on a panel. This will include understanding basic rules of thumbs for preparation, for conveying information, body language, and, most importantly, for controlling your nerves. Instructor: Kaitlin Tremblay (she/they) Kait is a writer and a narrative designer at Capy Games in Toronto. Her independent game work has focused on creating space for positive and productive conversations around mental health in video games. She is the author of the book on storytelling in video games Ain’t No Place For A Hero: Borderlands and was the lead writer on the death positive videogame A Mortician’s Tale with Laundry Bear Games. She is on the board of directors of DMG, and serves on the programming committee and as the organization’s industry liaison. https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1578690774-photo1.jpg CONFIRMED
February 18, 6:30 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Arts Management post-grad / Centennial College

Arts Ahead 2020: Transforming Tomorrow

2020-02-20T09:30:00.000-05:00 2020-02-20T16:00:00.000-05:00 Arts Ahead is an annual one-day symposium for arts professionals and cultural leaders from organizations across Ontario. It is an event organized by the Arts Management post-graduate cohort at Centennial College. This year Arts Ahead aims to inspire attendees to change their perspectives on how they make art or manage an arts organization in order to adapt to the current political, social, and environmental culture. Our goal is to examine the current changes happening within the arts and its management, as well as the future changes that will be necessary in order to adapt. We are avoiding traditional symposium formats such as keynote speakers. Our goal is to encourage participants to have agency over their own symposium experience by providing an open space that allows them to engage with topics they feel are important and helping attendees to make connections with other like-minded individuals. https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1578600028-cropped-headertest-2-scaled-3.jpg CONFIRMED
February 20, 9:30 AM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Dames Making Games

DMG Annual General Meeting

2020-01-25T13:00:00.000-05:00 2020-01-25T14:30:00.000-05:00 Attend the DMG annual member meeting for insight and input into operations, finances, and plans for the future. ### Agenda * Review of 2019 board and committee activities, and summary of plans for 2020 * Presentation of 2019 financial statements * Appointment of the auditor of the corporation for the upcoming year * Hear proposals and board member nominations, if any * Vote on board member nominees and confirm 2020 appointments * Call for new committee members * Snacks & friends! The voting portion of the meeting is open only to Class A members. If you have any questions about your membership please drop us a line. Logistics * Meeting will start promptly at 1pm. * Light refreshments will be provided – please note any allergies in your member profile. * TTC tokens available by request. * Not in Toronto, or can’t make it to the venue? Register for the live streaming ticket. https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1536782450-bgevents.gif CONFIRMED
January 25, 1:00 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Dames Making Games

Game Writers Circle + Social

2020-02-26T18:30:00.000-05:00 2020-02-26T21:30:00.000-05:00 Join other game writers and narrative designers for a cozy get together every month! We'll chat about our work, offer practical solutions to problems, and share games-writing war stories on the last Wednesday of every month. No pressure to bring any writing – this writing circle and social is meant to be a place to connect games writers in a collaborative and supportive environment. With Kaitlin Tremblay and Gillian Blekkenhorst https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1537804309-1877838680582b894642bo.jpg CONFIRMED
February 26, 6:30 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON
Dames Making Games

Game Writers Circle + Social

2020-01-29T18:30:00.000-05:00 2020-01-29T21:30:00.000-05:00 Join other game writers and narrative designers for a cozy get together every month! We'll chat about our work, offer practical solutions to problems, and share games-writing war stories on the last Wednesday of every month. No pressure to bring any writing – this writing circle and social is meant to be a place to connect games writers in a collaborative and supportive environment. With Kaitlin Tremblay and Gillian Blekkenhorst https://www.datocms-assets.com/5128/1537804309-1877838680582b894642bo.jpg CONFIRMED
January 29, 6:30 PM
Toronto Media Arts Centre
32 Lisgar Street
Toronto
ON

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