A public art project featuring eight AR-animated works by eight emerging youth artists, in facilitation with Oddside Arts.
On view starting September 21
Aurora Town Square (multiple sites)
Please note that this exhibition is located throughout Aurora Town Square, 50 Victoria Street, Aurora, ON. To plan your visit, please review Aurora Town Square hours.
In collaboration with the Town of Aurora and Oddside Arts, we are excited to unveil Future Grounds: a series of eight larger-than-life augmented reality (AR) activated artworks scattered across Aurora Town Square.
What is Augmented Reality (AR)?: AR is a term applied to when computer-generated images, videos, or effects are superimposed over a user’s real-world experience. This includes both visual and sound effects, i.e. music. For example, ‘filters’ on Instagram. AR is commonly adopted in contemporary art practices today, used by the artists to bring digitally made elements in conversation with the ‘real’ world.
Each of the eight artworks within this project is designed by a youth artist, developed over months of creative mentorship and collaboration with GTA/Durham-based art collective, Oddside Arts. Featured youth artists include Sydney Achtermeier, Niya Ahmed Abdullahi, Justina Kandiotis, Narmineh Khurram, Madison Kwok, Nazia Munir, Joycelyn Ng, and Luna Quijano-Barraza.
AR has been incorporated into each of the artworks, viewable through the Artvive app, which is downloaded for free through any App store. When scanned through the app, each artwork becomes animated, revealing imagery and hidden meaning beyond what is visible upon the surface.
Download Artivive to fully experience Future Grounds:
Artist Panel
September 22, 1 – 2 pm. Brevik Hall; 2nd Floor, 50 Victoria Street, Aurora ON
Join us in conversation with Nico Taylor and Queen Kukoyi (Oddside Arts), Narmineh Khurram, Joycelyn Ng, and Luna Quijano-Barraza to discuss their creative ideas and process behind their work in Future Grounds. Following the discussion is a public Q&A and reception.
Oddside Arts (@oddsidearts) is a grassroots cultural artsve co-led by Nico Taylor and Queen Kukoyi that merges art, technology and wellness through Black speculative design. For Oddside Arts, art becomes a point of access for critical discussions about accessibility, equity, coalition building, and demystifying the public art process for a cultural community of artists to gain access. They operate within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Durham Region, and have been fortunate to have public art projects, exhibitions, and events reach various audiences across Canada.
Unity’s Gilded Embrace (2024)
Sydney Achtermeier
Acrylic on canvas
Location: TBD
Unity’s Gilded Embrace, a unity of concepts through symbolism. The strength of the Tiger Lily alludes to acceptance and diversity, while the gold is a representation of richness in a world of individuals having found love and acceptance in their community. My vision is a unique portrayal of the strength and prosperity of a unified people through the act of reaching out.
they watch (2024)
Niya Ahmed Abdullahi
Digital illustration
they watch processes the current age that we exist in. As atrocities occur globally, they watch their evil in real time. This is about mass surveillance, the mundane and war crimes, occurring all at the same time.
Athena’s touch (2024)
Justina Kandiotis
Watercolour and acrylic paint
Location: TBD
The artwork I have created reflects on a women’s individuality and femininity as well as the Greek culture that surrounds my own life. As a woman I find it important to not only have artwork representing who I am and what I stand for but also about my culture. being in a community I have always felt on the outside of and how I’m trying to incorporate it into my life. Like my other artworks I enjoy incorporating a strong sense of contrast, beauty, and personality into my art.
A Poisoned Dream (2024)
Narmineh Khurram
Oil on canvas
Location: TBD
This portrait is a result of oil and acrylic, inspired by old Indian and Persian pieces, architecture, and patterns mixed with an impressionist style of painting. My earliest connection to my heritage was tainted by a shadow of shame. I viewed my sun-darkening skin and the warm tones of my complexion with appall, never understanding why. Five years later, the traditional clothing that had brought shame had now draped my body with pride and beauty. The harsh stereotypes branding Pakistani women as undesirable sharply contrast with the elegance and femininity embedded in Pakistani culture. This piece represents that pride.
Guided by the Waves (2024)
Madison Kwok
Watercolour
Location: TBD
Guided by the Waves centralizes on the theme of recognizing and embracing heritage, while bringing specifically awareness of Taiwan’s culture. The art piece focuses on the sea goddess, Mazu, most known in Taiwanese (and other east-asian countries) folklore and religious tradition for her ethereal beauty and kind nature. As depicted by her vibrant colored clothing and the beam of light behind her figure, the artwork replicates myths in which she is most recognized for guiding sailors at night during difficult storms. The use of watercolor exemplifies her main title as the water goddess and reflects her calming presence.
Esperanza (2024)
Luna Quijano-Barraza
Acrylic on canvas
Location: TBD
Luna Quijano-Barraza’s work highlights both the imagery of Mexican Catholicism and blends it with their own traditional Mexican indigenous roots. By uniting both sides of Mexican spirituality, Esperanza is a symbol of harmony and hope for a more connected future.
Home (2024)
Nazia Munir
Digital art with Clip Studio Paint
Location: TBD
Growing up in Pakistan, I was deeply inspired by Western culture and values. Now, as an immigrant in Canada, I find myself missing the unique vibrancy and energy of my homeland. I strive to capture that essence in my artwork. The song featured in this piece translates to, “You don’t even know what you mean to my heart,” conveying deep, unspoken love for a girl absorbed in her own life. Through my art, I aim to evoke the joy, love, and passion that reflect my roots and hope you can connect with these feelings as well.
In Comes the New Generation! (2024)
Joycelyn Ng
Acrylic on canvas
Location: TBD
Lunar New Year is an important and happy celebration in Chinese culture involving lucky practices and performances; one of which is the lion dance. Growing up, I found traditions were always being passed down, simply through participation. Incorporating two ideas together, my work puts two lions: experienced and inexperienced together to show the beauty of how tradition is passed on and thus, how many traditions still stand today. This is shown by the younger lion mimicking and learning from the elder lion. Combined with fireworks and red background, my piece displays the key elements of celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year.
Sydney Achtermeier (she/her) resides in Newmarket, Ontario and attends OCAD University, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in animation. Her work focuses on realism and capturing the intricate details of her subject matter. More recently, Achtermeier has been experimenting with bringing conceptual ideas and personal elements into each piece. Sydney creates artwork using acrylic paint, charcoal, watercolour, and ink. She enjoys experimenting with how a piece of art can be interpreted from an outside perspective. Achtermeier has produced large-scale murals and also loves the challenge of creating miniature paintings to see how much detail can fit on such a small scale. As a young artist, her work is constantly evolving.
Niya Ahmed Abdullahi (she/her) is a Multi-disciplinary Artist, Technologist and the founder of @Habasooda, a collective dedicated to sharing the richness of the Muslim experience. Her work has been exhibited at Nuit Blanche Toronto, TIFF Next Wave, Black Film Festival Zurich, Gallery 44, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, MENA Film Festival, Eastern Edge Gallery, amongst others. She was a 2021 Hot Docs Accelerator Fellow and currently sits on the advisory committee of the City of Toronto’s ArtworksTO program and the board of Work in Culture. Her work evokes memory, both past, present and future, in connection with diasporic experiences, and ancestral awakenings. Pillars of resistance are drawn through her divine labour of love.
Justina Kandiotis is a 17-year-old artist who uses her art to express herself, her feelings, and the people in her life. Her art often features vibrant colors and the people she considers her greatest sources of inspiration. Colour is extremely important in her work, and through her art, she expresses feelings of happiness, sadness, and excitement. Regardless of the identities or backgrounds of people who view her work, Kandiotis aims to offer a sense of belonging, and translate the emotions and experiences she felt while creating it.
In each brushstroke, Narmineh Khurram (she/her) represents a part of her story—her soul, a thread woven into the canvas. Art has always remained a constant in her life, guiding her from playful colours on every surface she could find when she was younger to discovering a love for the richness of oil painting. Recognized for her talent and dedication, Narmineh has received the Visual Arts Subject Award twice. As she continues to grow as an artist, she looks forward to a future in architecture and hopes to bring her artistic vision into designing spaces that inspire and connect people.
Art has always been a way of self-expression and imaginative growth for Madison Kwok (she/her). Kwok’s art pieces incorporate notions of social topics that are personal to her, often intertwined with the importance of poor mental health recognition and the celebration of Taiwanese/Chinese culture. With every artwork, thematic symbolism can be found in the little details, exhibiting her passion to spark meaningful conversation through her creations.
Nazia Munir (she/her) was born in Pakistan and is currently based in King City, Canada. Specializing in portraits, Munir excels in both traditional sketches and digital line art. Driven by a deep desire to express innate emotions, Munir captures the essence of the human experience through expressive and evocative works. Each piece is a testament to her ability to translate the intangible into visual form, often delving into themes of love, desire, confusion, and other such profound emotions. Her works have been exhibited in Arts Beyond Border, where she has participated twice. She continues to push the boundaries of portrait art, seeking to evoke a profound emotional response in viewers.
Presently based in Aurora, Joycelyn Ng (she/her) is a Grade 12 student artist working with primarily acrylic paint. Her works are an extension of her journey of self-identity pertaining to gender expression and her Hong Kong Chinese ethnicity. Within her school community, she has worked on various art-related events in an extracurricular capacity such as Arts Night and continues to do so as the current Arts Council President. Outside of her school community, Future Grounds is Ng’s debut project in collaboration with Oddside Arts and other artists.
Luna Quijano-Barraza (they/them) is a 19 year old artist. With a Mexican-Colombian background, they strive to highlight the beauty of Latin American culture and iconography. Luna’s goal is to represent the intersection of their queerness and Latin American roots.
