SMArt (Science Meets Art) Communications is an initiative at the University of Windsor that deploys creative methodologies, such as creative ecologies, creative writing, drama, film, music, and visual arts to teach undergraduate science, engineering, and humanities students' communication skills and effective knowledge translation skills for disseminating STEM research to diverse populations.
Registration links:
Creative Writing Masterclass
SMArt Communications Masterclasses are a series of hands-on workshops for UWindsor undergraduate and graduate students aimed at building critical communication skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Designed and guided by professors in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (FAHSS), these workshops will teach participants how to use artistic and creative skills to enhance their communication of STEM topics. Participants will also gain technical and transferable skills, challenge themselves creatively, and have the opportunity to create science-themed communication pieces of work with the support of professors from various fields, including film and media, visual arts, creative writing and music.
While our SMArt Masterclassses are not for course credit, participants will receive a formal Recognition of Completion from the Faculties of Science and Engineering for each Masterclass. This recognition may be useful to include in student resumes/CVs, in applications to professional programs and in career development portfolios. Science students may also use their participation in a SMArt Masterclass as a form of "Engagement" in their LEAD medallion applications.
SMArt Masterclasses are inspired and supported by Science Meets Art (SMArt), a student-led initiative in the USci Network that fosters the creation of science-focused art pieces that educate and stimulate discussion on an array of science concepts and topics. Click here to learn more about SMArt.
Upcoming 2024 Masterclasses
Drama Masterclass
When: March 4 & 6
Where: Acting Studio (Room 100) in the Jackman Dramatic Art Centre
Instructor: Lionel Walsh
Description:
The Drama Masterclass will deploy imagination and creativity to teach students in science, engineering, social science, and the arts effective communication skills that they can apply in their respective fields. Students will learn concepts of non-verbal communication and put them into practice through a series of short acting exercises. This masterclass will be interactive and will focus on the joy of communication via body language, speaking, movement, and the experiential.
Participants should come in comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and soft-soled shoes with a grip.
No drama or theatre experience necessary!
Registration maximum is 24 students.
Meet the Professor - Dr. Walsh
Lionel Walsh is an actor and director who teaches acting in the BFA in Acting programme. He is a Certified Teacher of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique (Michael Chekhov Association) and is founding Director of The Inspired Acting Lab, in which he and his Lab Assistants develop new exercises in Fantastic Realism. He has trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School, Russia. Lionel is founding Artistic Director Northern Bruce Theatre and of the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium. He is a recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching and the Alumni Association Mentorship Award.
Creative Writing Masterclass
When: March 21, 2024, 1-4pm
Where: TBD
Instructor: Susan Holbrook
Public Presentation: In development
Description:
In this Creative Writing Masterclass, students in science, engineering, social science, and the arts will learn about a number of contemporary poetic practices and engage in writing experiments and procedures that will free up and spark creative innovation as it relates to the development of communication skills within their fields. Discovering compositional adventures in, among others, the constrained writings of Oulipo, Golden Shovels, and erasures, we will explore and play and produce some fabulous work.
No creative writing experience necessary! No need to bring any prior work!
Registration maximum is 25 students.
Meet the Professor - Dr. Holbrook
Susan Holbrook’s poetry books are ink earl (Coach House, 2021), Throaty Wipes (Coach House 2016), Joy Is So Exhausting (Coach House 2009), and misled (Red Deer 1999). She has also written a textbook, How to Read (and Write About) Poetry (Broadview Press, 2021), and edited Intertidal: Daphne Marlatt--The Collected Earlier Poems (Talonbooks) and The Letters of Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson: Composition as Conversation (Oxford UP). Her work has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Governor General's Award, the Trillium Book Award, and the Pat Lowther Award. She teaches Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor.
Stay tuned for more information.
Stay tuned for more information.
Stay tuned for more information.
Dr. Papador’s SMArt Masterclass will consist of two 120-minute sessions that explore creative and expressive sonification of scientific data and environmental concepts. The first 50 minutes of each session will consist of a brief tutorial on select experimental and minimalist musical concepts and their relationships to scientific practices. The second hour of each session will consist of a music performance in which all attendees will participate. The performances will consist of music by experimental artists such as John Cage and/or members of the ‘Wandelweiser’ school as well as sound installations devised by Dr. Papador and the participants. No musical training is required and any required musical ‘instruments’ will be provided. Bring only your desire to create immersive soundscapes with friends and classmates.
Meet the Professor - Dr. Papador
Nicholas Papador is a Professor of Music at the University of Windsor in Ontario. He is a founding member of the Noiseborder Ensemble and Marassa Duo. He has performed at the Transplanted Roots Research Symposium, Puerto Rico Conservatory International Percussion Festivals, the Open Ears Festival, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Papador’s recordings can be heard on the Centrediscs and Redshift labels. He was an on-screen performer in Matthew Barney’s 2014 film River of Fundament. An Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre, his compositions appear with a number of publishers. Papador has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Social Sciences Humanities Research Council, and Canada Foundation for Innovation. Papador is a Yamaha Performing Artist and an artist endorser for Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Sabian Cymbals, and Evans Drumheads. Papador’s book, Vessels of Song, is forthcoming from Heartland Marimba Publications.
2021-2022 Masterclasses
Everybody sings when they are young, and many play a musical instrument. By university, however, social pressures and career preparations take us away from the tactile joys of creating sound. While we continue to enjoy music as adults, the practice of ‘musicking’ is assumed to be for professional musicians.
The aim of this SMArt Masterclass is to gather a community of students to create original sound works with basis and inspiration from science and engineering concepts. As with the sciences, musical ideas and creativity comes about through process and experimentation. Students will receive an overview of concept-based experimental music with visual scores. After interacting with these materials, students will create their own visual materials in which to create shared sonic scenarios based upon their scientific practices or a sonic representation of collected data. The masterclass will culminate in a large, spatialized sound performance with the student creating artful sounds with objects found in their labs or natural environments.
This masterclass will be facilitated by Dr. Nicholas Papador, Associate Professor of Music in the School of Creative Arts. The environment will be inclusive to those with no formal musical training or those with experience in any musical genre.
Open to all University of Windsor students.
Schedule: May 10 – June 7, 2022
- Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 2:00PM-4:00PM
- Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 2:00PM-4:00PM
- Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 2:00PM-4:00PM
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022, 2:00PM-4:00PM
A four-part, hands-on series instructed by Prof. Esther Van Eek (School of Dramatic Art) and delivered online through Blackboard.
Drawing is a visual language and a powerful communication tool in STEM. With some effort and practice, it is also an attainable skill. What are the barriers keeping you from adding this form of expression to your tool kit?
Through guided practice of some fundamental drawing techniques, applied to your choice of STEM subjects, you will strengthen the connections between what your eye sees, your brain perceives, and your hand renders.
Each of the four sessions will focus on simple skill-building exercises that, along with your out-of-class practice, will allow you to draw more confidently what you see and understand more deeply what you drew.
Open to all University of Windsor students.
Recommended Course Materials:
- Several drawing pencils in a range of degrees (i.e. - HB, 2B, 4B)
- Pencil sharpener or Xacto knife
- Quality white vinyl eraser and/or kneadable rubber eraser
- Drawing paper
Schedule: January 28 – February 18, 2022
- Friday, Jan 28, 2022, 1:00PM-2:30PM
- Perceiving Edges: obstacles to perception, exercises with line
- Friday, Feb 04, 2022 ,1:00PM-2:30PM
- Discerning Spaces: positive and negative spaces working together
- Friday, Feb 11, 2022, 1:00PM-2:30PM
- Observing Relationships: sighting angles, measurements, and internal relationships
- Friday, Feb 18, 2022, 1:00PM-2:30PM
- Understanding Values: relative lights and darks that reveal form
A four-part, hands-on series instructed by Professor Catherine Heard of the School of Creative Arts and delivered online through Blackboard.
We all draw as children, yet at a certain point in our lives, many of us stop drawing and begin saying “I can’t draw.” In four short classes, you will learn how drawing plays a key role in our daily lives, how it can be used to communicate STEM concepts to general audiences, and how it can serve as a tool for recording information in the field and lab. In addition, you will learn about how contemporary artists use the concepts that we will explore in this Masterclass. Throughout this series, you will build a portfolio that will be comprised of instructor-led exercises during class time as well as take-home activities to solidify the concepts being taught. You will be encouraged to learn about your own creative process, allowing you to utilize drawing as a conceptual tool in future applications, particularly in STEM. Open to all University of Windsor students.
Recommended Course Materials:
You may have some of these items already.
- HB, 2H or 4H Pencil
- Eraser
- Ruler
- 8.5"x11" (or larger) white paper
- Blindfold (can use a sleeping mask or strip of t-shirt fabric)
- Optional:
- Technical Pen
- Fine Tipped Markers or Coloured Pencils
- Additional art materials such as watercolours, brushes, glue, etc
- Non-traditional materials
Schedule: Sept 24th - Oct 8th, 2021
- Friday, Sept 24, 2021, 10:30AM – 12:00PM
- Friday, Oct 1st, 2021, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Friday, Oct 8, 2021, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Friday, Oct 22, 2021 10:30AM – 12:00PM
A four-part, hands-on series instructed by Dr. Kim Nelson (School of Creative Arts) and Prof. Nick Hector (SoCA/Communications, Media and Film).
In this primarily hands-on Masterclass, you will learn the art and craft of media messaging using ubiquitous technology: your smartphone and computer. The class will be delivered on-line through Blackboard. Each session begins with a synchronous media-rich lecture in which we lay down a theoretical framework. You will probe these ideas by working independently to design, film, and edit a short creative exercise focused on any STEM topic of your choice. Finally, you will post the result on our Blackboard discussion board and exchange views on peer works in a respectful collaborative learning environment. Open to all University of Windsor students.
Schedule: May 20 - June 1st, 2021
- Thursday, May 20, 2021, 03:30 PM – 05:00 PM
- Tuesday, May 25, 2021, 02:00 PM – 05:00 PM
- Thursday, May 27, 2021, 02:00 PM – 05:00 PM
- Tuesday, June 01, 2021, 02:00 PM – 03:30 PM
Students are expected to attend all four sessions.