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The 3rd annual Practice and Pedagogy Symposium (formerly the May Faculty Symposium) took place on August 24 + 25, 2025. Over two very full days, over 100 in-person and online attendees had the opportunity to learn about colleagues’ lives and work in the studio, in the classroom and beyond the institution.

While it’s impossible to document all the incredible work that colleagues shared, there were a few overarching themes that stood out. For those who were there, this post will be a chance to relive the experience. For those who missed it, I offer a glimpse into what took place in the Integrated Motion Studio last month, and how those presentations and conversations strengthened connections and understanding across our programs.

Threaded through several presentations was the theme of slowing down, of stepping outside, if only briefly, the capitalist culture of productivity and busyness. People spoke openly about the need to connect or reconnect with practices that take us into other experiences of time. Colleagues shared their explorations of contemplative traditions, land- and nature-based work, and embodied practices that ground their creative practice and research. This culminated in the final presentation of the event where faculty member Jen Woodin and TLC staff member Micaela Kwiatkowski shared their research about contemplative teaching practices to encourage student (and faculty!) resilience and creativity.

Grief was another theme that emerged in many of the presentations. Colleagues described the grief —personal and collective—that underpins their creative work, documenting personal losses and struggles, alongside broader losses caused by the climate crisis and geopolitical events. Presenters and participants connected through shared stories of vulnerability, loss and fear, reminding us strongly of our common humanity.

As always, I was blown away by the sheer volume of work our colleagues do to maintain their artistic practice and professional connections. In slide after slide, we saw evidence of how actively È«Ãñ²ÊƱ faculty participate in, inspire and lead local, national and international artistic communities. In addition to deepening their existing practices, many of our colleagues also used their sabbatical time to explore new practices. My Writing Centre heart was happy to learn of so many new and ongoing writing projects to accompany other forms of creative expression: our colleagues are writing memoirs, poetry, graphic novels, essays, and artist books along with developing and exhibiting studio work.

Probably the liveliest discussion of the event took place during the panel discussion on Generative AI (GenAI) and Disinformation in Art and Design Education. Four graduate student research assistants (RAs), Asad Aftab, Joshita Nagaraj, Mia Portelance and Abhishek Singh Bais, supervised by faculty members Leah Burns, Michelle Ng, Sara Osenton, and Ki Wight shared their findings from an environmental scan of research, policy and practices relating to GenAI and disinformation in art and design education, industry, culture, and governance (a project supported by an internal SSHRC SIG grant). More information will be shared with the È«Ãñ²ÊƱ community in the coming months about this project through the TLC, with resources and workshop opportunities developed by the TLC, Writing Centre and Library. In the meantime, visit the TLC Blogs for three posts with suggested ways to engage GenAI in your teaching.

Finally, at least two of our colleagues described artistic projects involving communal meals, which reminded us all of the power of connecting through food. Thanks to excellent catering organized by Trudy Chalmers, we all had the opportunity to experience the power of sharing a meal with colleagues firsthand. This, combined with the opportunity to just be together in a shared space for two days, created a strong sense of community cohesion—we really had the chance to invest in our relationships with one another which felt like the most incredible gift in our time-poor culture of never-ending busyness.