Medal Winners
Students from each program have been chosen as recipients of the OCAD University Medal in recognition for their creativity, innovation, mastery of technique and high academic achievement.
Faculty of Art - Criticism and Curatorial Practice
Ella Taylor
“Ella’s work engages with pedagogies of place, queer theory, community-based projects and gardening. Using auto-theory as a place to begin, Ella's writing finds space for critical theory in the scribbles on the margins of pages, interlaced within... More”
Faculty of Art - Drawing and Painting
Hayley Chiu
“My home is where I fall asleep and where I wake; not defined by place, but my being. I’m always where I need to be with what I need to thrive. “Snail’s Home”, or 「蝸居」, explores and celebrates this relationship with the self that gives me a feeling... More”
Faculty of Art - Photography
Amir Abdolizadeh
“I look for simplicity in photography, and I enjoy the process by which simplicity, through a poetic approach, can be transformed into unexpected meaning and expression. More”
Faculty of Design - Industrial Design
Erin MacGregor
“I am a dynamic and focused Industrial Designer with a background in Fine Art. It is with pride, that I am graduating from OCADU with distinction. I've worked hard in design school, I try to do something "big" and cool every year. Whether it's... More”
Faculty of Design - Material Art & Design
Miao Xuan Liu
“/From the black gulf explores the trickster archetype as cope, as praxis, as spiritual surrogate. As an archetype defined by multiplicity, shapeshifting, and transformation, the trickster occupies a position between realms and physicalities, a flux... More”
Faculty of Art - Sculpture/Installation
Gustav Bulzgis
“I construct sculptures whose logics stem from components of transportation and architecture. Each work is a specific material frame that seeks to highlight contours of the world that ordinarily fade into the background of perception. Through this... More”
Faculty of Arts & Science - Visual and Critical Studies
Shannon Molenaar
“At OCADU, I developed my writing skills while thinking deeply about what art is doing today, and how this 'doing' connects to and reflects back our world. ”
Faculty of Arts & Science - Creative Writing
Blaine Thornton aka. 2023 OCAD U Medal Winner // Writer of Poetic Memoir Here's To Letting Go
“Here’s to Letting Go is a fusion of creative non-fiction and poetry that delves into my personal experience of being queer while unsheltered. Along with the pain and fear of this circumstance, there are also themes of love and healing. Through a... More”
Faculty of Design - Graphic Design
Donald Zhu
“VECTOR, SPIN, STROKE. is an ongoing project explores the role of tools within design investigations. To position design as an investigative activity is to favor a bottom-up approach. As such, a tool stands between oneself and their outputs—it sets... More”
Faculty of Design - Illustration
Gabrielle Schwartz aka. gl.schwartz
“Saccharine Living Things illustrates whimsical creatures pursuing a lifestyle among humans. This thesis describes their imagined range of contributions and their clashing residence in mundane situations. ”
Faculty of Design - Environmental Design - Interior Design Specialization
Sayeh Ghahari
“Design is a reflection of my values and aspirations, expressing who I am and what I stand for through the things I create. ”
Faculty of Art - Integrated Media
Shaughn Martel aka. First Recipient of the James Bailey Award with NAISA, and Ada Lovelace Fellow
Celebrate the work of OCAD U’s class of 2022/2023!