Centre for Culture and Technology - University of Toronto

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Centre for Culture and Technology - University of Toronto

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The Centre for Culture and Technology is an institute of the UofT Faculty of Information

The McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology is an initiative of the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto that aims to extend the ground-breaking work initiated by the Canadian thinker Marshall McLuhan into new terrain. The Centre fosters and supports innovative scholarship, interdisciplinary research and public discourse, specifically within the fields of culture, media and society, all in keeping with the tradition of the Toronto School of Communication. Visit our website to take a look at current research and upcoming events taking place at the Centre.

10/01/2026

The Centre for Culture and Technology presents 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘪𝘭, a group exhibition featuring Sarah Holloway, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Everest Pipkin, and Véronique Sunatori & SK Maston (Vyk Productions). Curated by Talia Golland, this project responds to the Centre’s 2026-2027 programming theme of “Convivial Computing”, which highlights aesthetic, technical, cultural, and social practices that foster ways of living and doing differently against the backdrop of the radical monopoly of networked, always-on, always-on-us computational technologies.

The exhibition’s title comes from philosopher Ivan Illich, who in his 1973 book 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 proposed the concept of “counterfoil research”: an analytical framework used to “clarify and dramatize the relationship of people to their tools.” Multimedia installations by artists Holloway, Nish-Lapidus, Pipkin, and Sunatori & Maston (Vyk Productions) offer speculative and creative reconfigurations of computational devices, communication infrastructures, and networked technologies. Encountered within staged tableaus and slow-crafted from salvaged tech detritus, natural materials, and basic code, these archaeologies of imagined futures tell stories of small-scale agency within and beyond the socio-technological present’s seemingly foreclosed horizon.

Please join us at the Coach House from 6-8PM on 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟵𝘁𝗵 for an opening reception - all are welcome! —🔗Eventbrite link in bio
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𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀:
Wednesdays — 2-6PM
Fridays — 12–6PM
Saturdays — 12-4PM
Sundays — 12-4PM

𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘪𝘭 will be on view at the Centre’s Coach House through November 30.

04/08/2026

The Centre for Culture and Technology is proud to present its third annual Fellows Day Conference on Thursday, April 16th. This all-day event at the Centre’s Coach House convenes our 2025-26 Artist-in-Residence, 𝗫𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗲, and our Visiting Faculty Fellows: 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗿 (CUNY), 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹(the New School), and 𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸 (Western University).

Following a talk by the Artist-in-Residence, the Fellows will present new scholarship engaging with the Centre’s annual programming theme, “Artificial Stupidity”, in conversation with Ye’s solo exhibition 𝙀𝙍𝙍𝙊𝘼𝙍! presented at the Centre in September 2025.

🔗 For details about the speakers and for free registration, visit the link in our bio

🥂 After the conference, join us on the patio of the U of T Faculty Club (41 Willcocks St.) for a celebratory reception to close our programming year! Food & drink will be served. Come by between 6:30-8:30PM; register for the reception at the link in bio.

** Please note: due to a film production, the Alumni Hall parking lot where the Centre’s Coach House is open will be closed. The building can still be accessed on foot; we recommend entering via the pathway off of St. Joseph St. by the Kelly Library.

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Slide 2: Xuan Ye, 𝘌𝘙𝘙𝘖𝘈𝘙! 04 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤 (2019/25). Installation detail at the Centre for Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto (2025), photo by Xuan Ye.

Slide 3: Xuan Ye, 𝘌𝘙𝘙𝘖𝘈𝘙! 05 - 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘵𝘴 (2019/25). Installation detail at the Centre for Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto (2025), photo by Xuan Ye.

04/06/2026

Our final Monday Night Seminar of this programming year is led by CCT Faculty Research Fellow Lauren Cramer (Cinema Studies Institute):

“𝗦𝗼, 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘿𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩”

“A (somewhat) self-aware talk on the pleasures non-replicable research and revision in my current project, 𝘈 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵: 𝘏𝘪𝘱-𝘏𝘰𝘱 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

🔗 Registration link in bio

03/27/2026

Workshop: “𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘔𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘈 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮”
April 8 | 6-9PM
39A Queens Park Crescent E
 Facilitated by Rebekka Parker & Jason Burton

“It’s familiar to say that art “moves” us, implying an experience in the realm of personal, private mood and emotion. What more can we understand about the force and direction of art - it’s power to hone awareness, sustain curiosity, deepen emotional capacity, carry histories, foster sincere connection, and mobilize community-building? We’ll use discussion, skill-building exercises, and even a bit of role play to explore the transformative nature of art through the lenses (and scopes) of personal practice and Museum Studies.”
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𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿 is a museum educator, arts programmer, and interdisciplinary artist, serving as Adult Program and Tour Manager at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado.

𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻 is a Toronto based artist and educator, and current Luddite in Residence at the Centre for Culture and Technology.
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🔗 Registration link in bio

03/16/2026

Our Monday Night Seminar on March 23 will be led by CCT Faculty Fellow Patrick Keilty (Faculty of Information, Cinema Studies):

𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘈𝘐’𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴

“Unstable Diffusion’s repository of AI po*******hy collapses distinctions between creator and consumer in our engagement with po*******hy and replicate models of capitalist exchange value.”

🔗Registration link in bio

03/13/2026

Please join us at the Centre’s Coach House on February 16 for 𝘐𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, a Monday Night Seminar led by CCT Director Scott Richmond.

In this lecture-performance, Scott Richmond presents his own creative coding & graphic works. This event will be part artist talk, part scholarly research in the history of computing, part digital theory, and part creative coding lesson. We’ll talk about thirteenth-century Scandanavian monks, 1970s computer education, census tables, the Manhattan project, Vera Molnár, Sol LeWitt, Alvin Lucier, and psychoanalysis.

🔗 Registration link in bio

03/04/2026

Please join us at the Centre’s Coach House for a Monday Night Seminar led by CCT Graduate Fellow Mathew Iantorno:

“This Monday Night Seminar will peer into the aisle of the supermarket to discuss how algorithmic systems have been deployed to optimize the in-store labour performed by customers. Self-service has a long history in the United States and Canada, from the rolling out of the first grocery carts in the 1930s to early experiments with self-checkouts in the 1990s. Today, in pursuit of completely de-staffing stores, major retailers such as Amazon and Starbucks have turned to the power of the algorithm. Smartphone apps, digital sensors, and AI-powered platforms have been increasingly used to thwart theft and enforce in-store labour—with some stores going as far as forcing visitors to sign an online terms of service agreement before entering. This presentation interrogates this transposition of platform logics onto in-person shopping experiences, drawing from extensive onsite documentation of recent self-service experiments in Toronto, Canada.”

🔗 Registration link in bio

02/27/2026

⇢ CALL FOR APPLICATIONS EXTENDED: the application deadline for Computer Class has been extended to 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.

Regarding the program fee, we would like to emphasize that 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, and our goal is to turn no one away for financial reasons. Please don’t hesitate to email [email protected] if you have any questions, and visit computerclass.ca for more details. ⇠
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> Computer Class is a one-week seminar-style institute at the Centre for Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto for graduate students and practitioners in artistic, humanistic, and social-scientific fields who are interested in coding, computer history, and critical use of technology.

> Computer Class brings us back to primary school. We play, dream, doodle, futz, make, break, and debug computer programs. We draw pictures with code. We make our own chatbots. We read theory and philosophy and psychoanalysis. We work with primary documents from the history of computing. We learn new ways of getting on with these strange machines we call computers. We also decide how we spend our time together: Computer Class is participant-driven, dedicated to the question of what we actually want to do with our computers—and how to expand our desire for, with, and around computers.

> All are welcome to apply, but priority will be given to humanities and fine arts graduate students. Computer Class is targeted towards students in terminal degree programs, such as MFA or PhD programs. Participants should have substantial interest in digital media culture or aesthetics, the history of computing, creative, or expressive coding, media theory, critical code studies, or other relevant artistic or humanistic research practice.

🔗 Learn more at computerclass.ca.

Address

39A Queen's Park Crescent East
Toronto, ON
M5S2C3

Website

http://cultureandtech.utoronto.ca/

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