Our building offers diverse facilities and equipment for traditional and digital media. Technicians are available to all graduate students, regardless of their studio concentration, to support students in realizing their goals and independent research. There are semi-private and individual studio spaces available for the graduate students situated in proximity to the area of the student’s specialization. Graduate students can enter the Visual Arts building 24 hours a day, all year round. In the summer session they may also occupy some of the classrooms for personal studios.

.

MFA Studios

Second-year Studio

All MFA candidates are guaranteed individual studio spaces for the full duration of two academic years. First-year candidates are typically housed in a bank of spaces between the wood shop and Mac lab, which is accessible only to members of the graduate program. Second-year candidates are given access to a number of larger, single-entry rooms located throughout the School for Arts and Creative Innovation building.

Most graduate studios feature high ceilings and natural light, though consideration is given to the needs of individual practices as regards the configuration of studios and their proximity to other campus facilities (sculpture/foundry facilities, woodshop, intaglio/lithography studios, etc.).

Additionally, the School for Arts and Creative Innovation maintains a separate graduate computing facility with flatbed and film scanners as well as a large-format inkjet printer reserved for graduate use. Graduates are also granted 24/7 access to all other School facilities, including the Mac lab, woodshop and foundry, as well as printmaking, photography and sculpture facilities.

Candidates enrolled in the Summer term/Intersession maintain access to all shared and individual studio facilities, and they may additionally reserve undergraduate drawing and painting studios for personal use.

The Noiseborder Multimedia Performance Laboratory

The Noiseborder Ensemble creates and performs multimedia works featuring a combination of acoustic and electronic instruments as well as live processing and mixing of sound and video. The group has presented more than twenty original multimedia pieces since its inception in 2008. Members include Sigi Torinus (video, visual design), Brent Lee (saxophones, composition, sound design, Nicholas Papador (percussion, composition), Trevor Pittman (clarinets, composition), Chris McNamara (video, sound design), Megumi Masaki (piano, keyboards). The Noiseborder Ensemble also works on an ongoing basis with collaborating artists nationally and internationally.

The Noiseborder Multimedia Performance Lab includes access to a black box performance space (basement of Lambton Tower, Studio A), an adjacent Development Suite, and a large collection of musical instruments and audiovisual technology. Projects for 2013-14 include the in/fuse series of performances and workshops by visiting artists, the development and launch of the Noiseborder media label, a series of recording projects as well as the SSHRC-funded INTEGRATING SOUND AND IMAGE IN MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE research / creation project which includes two graduate research assistantships.

Noiseborder Multimedia Performance Laboratory Graduate Research Assistantships 2013-14
Specific research assistantship tasks:

Successful RAs will possess strong organizational skills, outstanding interpersonal communication skills and self-motivation. They will work well within a creative team environment. They will have experience working with video and/or audio (including camera work, editing with Final Cut Pro, recording), as well as be familiar with Wordpress and/or other content management systems. A working knowledge of Max/Jitter, Ableton Live, and/or ProTools software will be a significant asset. Each position will involve up to 400 hours of work at a rate of $25/hr.

.

INCUBATOR: Hybrid Laboratory at the intersection of Art, Science, and Ecology

INCUBATOR: Oct 29, 2009 - Gel Electrophoresis Lab with visiting artist Paul Vanouse

Primarily, INCUBATOR lead by Dr. Jennifer Willet serves as a physical (practical) hub laboratory where ‘experimental’ research models from the hard sciences combined with studio production models can be utilized in the production of bioart-works, innovative pedagogical practices, critical texts, and a portable laboratory unit.

INCUBATOR also serves as a theoretical hub laboratory – encouraging the cross-disciplinary re-imagining of bioethics and contemporary biotechnologies with an emphasis on ecological models for understanding, interpreting, and performing the ‘life’ sciences.

Sponsors:
SSHRC – The Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada
CLIF – Centre for Teaching and Learning, The University of Windsor

.

Ecohouse Interdisciplinary Research Centre

Ecohouse Interdisciplinary Research Centre

.

SOVA Projects Gallery

SOVA Gallery - Impromptu - A collaborative exhibition by first- and second-year MFA candidates, Spring 2008

SOVA Projects Gallery is a large, recently refurbished exhibition space at the School for Arts and Creative Innovation that hosts student and faculty exhibitions throughout the year. The Gallery may be reserved in advance for single-person, collaborative, and group shows.

.

Studio Art Facilities

Woodshop:

• General Model 450 12″ table saw
• General Model 490-1 15″ band saw
• General Model 690-1 15″ band saw
• General Model 100-5 disc/belt sander
• Delta X5  12″ radial arm saw
• Makita LS1040  10″ chop saw
• Dewalt DW735 12″ thickness planer
• Delta 16.5″ drill press
• Rockwell lathe
• Delta Shopmaster table top jointer
• 4 Sjöbergs woodworking benches
• Assorted hand and power tools

Photography Facilities

Photography works over four lab areas to provide students the opportunity for production in analogue black & white film processing and printing along with digital image processing and printing. The lighting studio further supports student production.

Black & White Photography Lab

The black & white photography lab includes professional quality equipment for processing film and producing black & white photographic prints up to 16” x 20”. Drop enlarger tables facilitate the production of larger prints.

The photo lab includes a film loading room, film processing sink and a well-ventilated eleven-station gang darkroom, with two 4×5 enlargers, and nine medium format enlargers, set up to print from medium format and 35mm film. The black & white facility also offers equipment for fibre-based printing.

Supervised open lab time provides expanded access to the facility, usually 30 – 40 hours a week, to allow students to engage deeply with the medium.

Graduate students are assigned private darkroom time, on request.

Lighting Studio

A lighting studio with hot lights and sweep backdrop system supports production in portraiture, still life, etc. The studio is available by reservation.

Equipment for Student Loan

Along with the equipment and facilities available within the building, students may borrow equipment for use outside the school. These include DSLR cameras, tripods, light meters, and light kits. Loan access increases as students progress through the program.

Digital Image Processing

Photography students work in the computer lab to process their images. Calibrated monitors are available for print preparation.

The Digital Video Imaging Lab (DVIL) and the Senior Computer Lab have film and flatbed scanners to digitize material.

Digital Print Lab

The Digital Print Lab provides high quality printing, at up to 44” x 90”, at affordable prices.

..INCBATOR: Hybrid Laboratory at the intersection of Art, Science, and Ecology