For OCAD U drawing instructor Erin Finley, fostering the connection between art and community-building has always been a passion.
Erin Finley at the Gladstone House X OCAD U International artist residency community event: a Drawing Disco.
Photo by Chantaé Candize.
Whether hosting a "Drawing Disco" at a public event, teaching drawing to OCAD U students or co-creating with long-term care home residents, Finley is keen on inspiring creativity while encouraging collaboration and wellness.
The recipient of two OCAD U teaching awards (2018 Excellence in Teaching First Year Students, shared with Jessica Mace, and 2021 Non-Tenured Excellence in Teaching Award), Finley has been recognized for her ability to create an equitable and accessible learning environment.
"I love to dismantle barriers to drawing and make it less daunting," says Finley. "Drawing is for everyone. I prioritize this notion in my community work and in my work at OCAD U."
Inspired by the punk music of the 70s, Finley's Master's degree thesis was exhibited at CBGB, the iconic punk club in Manhattan, before it closed. "There's something about punk that is akin to the spirit of drawing for me it's wild and anything's possible," says Finley. "It can be chaotic, and it can be made with very little in terms of materials or apparatus. And the more raw, the better, for me in punk as in drawing."
The daughter of a teacher and an artist, Finley's passion for teaching art came naturally.
"Growing up, my parents spent a lot of time talking about teaching and creativity and where the two areas overlap," she adds.
Her view of art and community' was shaped while teaching drawing at Workman Arts, a division of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. "While working with artists there, I witnessed the direct impact it has on people when we make art as a group or simply share in the creative spirit together. I'd say my time there really shaped my disposition as an artist hoping to build community through drawing."
Finley's work in the community invites everyone to engage in mark-making of any kind. "That's at the core of my work at OCAD U- to invite students to consider ways in which they can express themselves with mediums or modes that are new and innovative, but also low-cost, that can tap into the student's ingenuity."
Recently, as artist-in-residence at Gladstone House, Finley worked in collaboration with Agustín Plancarte Fexas, an industrial designer teaching at the Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM), Mexico. Her goal as a resident artist was to bring OCAD U and UDEM students together to foster wellness, while also exploring ways in which creativity can flourish despite distance.
"Agustín and I worked closely and collaboratively to find creative ways in which our students can make work that supports their mental health at this unique time in history," adds Finley. "Earlier this year, we invited students to draw and unwind with us at the Gladstone (they were also invited to join in remotely). The event was called the "Wellness Drawing Adventure" and while participants were drawing, Agustín and I engaged them in a conversation around the joy of play and mark-making."
Finley also hosted a three-hour Drawing Disco at Gladstone House, where members of the public were invited to share in creativity while listening to music in a stimulating atmosphere, complete with a model costumed in disco attire.
This past year, Finley also worked with long-term care homes to co-create art with residents - working on watercolours and drawings about memories and personal stories. "Drawing is an ideal medium for these sessions, as it's forgiving and can be abstract," says Finley. "I've had numerous calls from long-term care homes asking me to come in pointing to a real need for these homes not to be forgotten. It has been a real joy to research and enact this project."
Finley continues to build community by organizing a "Drawing Party" for prospective OCAD U students and their parents at Open House, leading drawing rallies at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo, and creating art in real time at online conferences to boost community building.
As an artist and an educator, she credits her work at the University as critical to her success. "OCAD U has been instrumental to my career," says Finley. "I teach with a brilliant team in Drawing Across Disciplines. We really support one another, and I've learned so much from my colleagues."
