Are you an artist looking to showcase your global cities related work? CURL is always looking for interesting artists to profile in the Artist-In-Residence section. Please forward samples of your work and bio to mars@criticalresearchlab.org

The first of the web spots CURL helped produced will be launching on Thursday! We’ll be sure to post the video online. The series highlights cross-sector collaboration, and examines the idea of a collaborative city. Guests from the Creative Places and Spaces conference will be featured in each of the videos.

A new exhibit opens today at Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts called “Public Realm”, curated by Christopher Hume.

The exhibit  looks at the demarcation lines between public and private space.

Jan.21 7-10pm. 984 Queen W.

Exhibit goes until Jan.30th.

While CURL will be hosting both a reading lab and organizing a conference this year as well, it also provides other avenues for interdisciplinary academic engagement with city-related topics. In addition to the conference, we are planning on hosting a series of more informal discussions on contemporary urban governance issues, particularly those related to changes in legislation which affect local concerns. With regard to written work, we are looking forward to posting book reviews, articles and other writing on our website, a forum which will include both long, formal pieces about cities and shorter, more informal daily blog-like updates. Finally, we hope to establish an edited paper series on urban governance to be commenced in the coming year.

After months of work and help from a lot of great people, we are ready to open CURL’s doors! Lots of exciting projects are already in development and the space is finally ready to embrace the collaborative spirit! Please sign up for our newsletter and we will keep you posted on things as they unfold.

Joanna became a contributing member of CURL while completing her Masters in Environmental Studies and LLB at Osgoode Hall and York University.  She articled and is now Counsel for Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, a Toronto-based environmental justice charity that works to protect and restore Lake Ontario for swimming, drinking, and fishing.  Her interests include the semiotics of streetscapes in the global city and the intersection of public and private in governance and decision-making.