A high-angle, panoramic shot showcasing a vibrant urban landscape, identified as Toronto by the prominent CN Tower in the mid-left background. The scene is densely packed with a variety of architectural styles, from towering glass skyscrapers to older brick buildings. A distinct bright green sports field or park is centrally located, surrounded by multi-story structures. Streets are visible with scattered vehicle traffic. The sky above is a mix of light blue and soft orange-pink hues with scattered clouds, suggesting either sunrise or sunset, casting a soft light on the city. A very tall, dark skyscraper stands on the far right, adding to the dense urban fabric.

X University: Creativity & Urban Innovation for the City of Toronto

Jillian Ohnjec

A young woman with shoulder-length pastel pink hair and a black beret smiles faintly. She wears an oversized black coat with a dark, fluffy faux fur collar. She stands outdoors in warm sunlight against a textured stone building with columns and rectangular block masonry.

Biography

Hi my name is Jill and I’m a fourth year student of X University’s Creative School. I’ve attended several other Universities prior to coming to XU. This year has been a lot of both reflecting on my time in academia and looking towards my future beyond it. I’m thinking about the creative that I was coming into X University, how my creative drive has changed during my time here, and where it’ll go as I transition into a career in the city that’s become my new home. I hope to find a career that will continue to push me creatively, though I fear being pulled away from a creative community that I’ve grown apart of within XU. Nonetheless, I look forward to continuing to form new relationships and communities of artists as I continue to grow beyond academia.

Research Summary

Over the course of my time here, I’ve come to notice a trend amongst many of my peers in the Creative School, which for the purposes of my research, I have come to refer to as “the creative dilemma”: the seemingly inevitable loss of creative community that comes with graduation, and the gaps that exist in nurturing creativity so that it can continue to flourish outside of academia. I aim to address the gap that I’ve found between the creative minds that are coming to and being developed at X University and the need for that creativity in urban innovation. Creative minds with big aspirations come to X University from all over, but where do they go afterwards? Where is the space for these minds to continue to flourish post-graduation and contribute to the development of the economic landscape in new ways? How can the creative communities that are build within the walls of XU, continue to grow beyond them?

 

Tags

creativity; career; education; academia; urban innovation; X University; Toronto

Executive Summary

Download the Executive Summary PDF

Lightning Talk

Project Website

Browse Project Site

Scroll to Top