TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Risograph-printed zine that I hand out to all students on the first day of class:
STATEMENT:
I teach undergraduate courses in interdisciplinary creative practice, arts ethics, and public engagement. My courses span from first to fourth year, and I currently serve as the primary instructor for the Integrative Arts program. This role allows me to witness students’ development from their first-year foundation course, Creative Methodologies, to their fourth-year capstone, Interdisciplinary Arts Capstone Studio.
Teaching is a privilege, and Integrative Arts students are among the most inspiring I have encountered in my career. They are thoughtful, humble, and eager to grow, each bringing a unique interdisciplinary perspective and background. My role is to nurture experimental thinking while guiding them to become articulate and intentional about their creative choices and career aspirations.
In the first-year Creative Methodologies course, students explore three mediums per semester. The fall focuses on photography, sculpture, and performance; the winter on sound, animation, and a collaboratively curated final exhibition centered on light and installation. For each project, students engage with methodologies specific to that medium, alongside historical and contemporary examples. I prioritize exploration and discovery, introducing thematic prompts that encourage students to consider not only technique but also meaning and how their work communicates to an audience. Whether addressing personal identity, emotion, or broader social issues such as racism, climate change, or food insecurity, the course invites self-discovery and the development of aesthetic and conceptual clarity. It also helps students identify their interests and pathways within the program through hands-on engagement with different disciplines and a group study of course options across the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD).
Ethics in the Arts is my second point of connection with Integrative Arts students, typically in their second or third year. The course explores ethics, morality, controversy, and advocacy through the lens of artistic practice. Alongside weekly readings and discussions, students engage in group debates, public interventions, and a culminating exhibition in which they reinterpret an artist’s work discussed in class through their own values and contemporary social context. Even within a theory-based framework, I integrate experiential components to help students embody ethical inquiry rather than approach it only abstractly. The final exhibition and framework of reinterpretation give students tangible ways to speak out on urgent issues and develop their own voice around social justice in the arts, which is a central priority of the program.
In the fourth-year Interdisciplinary Arts Capstone Studio, students undertake a yearlong project focused on creative research, iteration, and professional practice. The course emphasizes project proposal development and community engagement, connecting students with artists, curators, and organizers from Toronto’s arts scene for feedback and networking. Beyond producing a final work, students learn to sustain a creative practice and articulate its relevance within a broader community. We visit arts organizations, host visiting artist talks on sustainable careers, and develop professional materials - including artist statements, CVs, and websites - preparing students to enter the creative industries after graduation.
I feel fortunate to teach interdisciplinary art practice, where the boundaries between my teaching and creative work are fluid and mutually enriching- each continually informs the other. What inspires me most is the individuality of each student and the new ways of thinking and creating that emerge through our exchanges.
Some of the greatest challenges in teaching arise from students’ competing demands and their willingness to take risks. Many are navigating full course loads alongside personal responsibilities such as jobs, caregiving, or mental health challenges, which can make full immersion difficult. My goal is to inspire students to articulate their ideas and experiment in the classroom while balancing clear standards and expectations with encouragement, exploration, and empathy for individual learning styles.