Durham College explores cultural vision through Ontario Chinese Artists Association

Students, faculty, staff and special guests recently enjoyed an art exhibit that showcased the work of Barb Suen, a Durham College Graphic Design professor, and members of the Ontario Chinese Artists Association. The exhibit was a collaborative effort between the School of Media, Art & Design, Your Student Association and TD Canada Trust.

The School of Media, Art & Design, Your Student Association and TD Canada Trust, recently hosted an art exhibition in the South Wing hallway of the Gordon Willey building to showcase the work of Barb Suen, a Durham College Graphic Design professor, and members of the Ontario Chinese Artists Association (OCAA).

Created to celebrate 40 years of great political relations between China and Canada, the exhibit

took place from February 1 to 20, displaying Suen’s work as well as 40 pieces created and donated by 37 artists from the OCAA.

“I believe our young people should be provided with every opportunity to be involved with experiences that will assist them in developing the skills that will make them the world’s future leaders,” said Suen. “May this be an opportunity to provide visual pleasure and cross-cultural understanding – Happy Chinese New Year.”

The OCAA was established in 1979 to provide a platform for artists’ communication and to promote local and international artistic events. It organizes over 30 art exhibitions each year for OCAA members, well-known Chinese artists visiting Canada and local artists. It currently has over 300 members.

The exhibit was held in conjunction with an event that took place at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto (CCCGT) on February 14 to celebrate Chinese New Year. It consisted of traditional Chinese dances, food to celebrate the year of the Tiger and a larger exhibition of paintings by Suen created under a 2008 Visual Artists grant from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the government of Ontario. The exhibition was also supported by the Ontario Arts Council through a 2009 Exhibition Assistance grant.

Many interested students from Durham College, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Trent in Oshawa travelled to Toronto to see the spectacular cultural event along with Suen and other interested faculty members.

For more information about the OCAA, please visit www.ocaa.info and for more information about the CCCGT, please visitwww.cccgt.org.