Toronto 2014 Seminar Series III ‘Moving Forward’

 

 

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CENTRE FOR MEDIA AND CELEBRITY STUDIES (CMCS)

CMCS Seminar: Speaker and Performance Series III

Moving Forward: An Intimate Evening on Media, Diversity and Social Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Toronto, ON (May 7, 2014) – The Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies (CMCS) proudly brings the second part of its public seminar Moving Forward. The event offers an opportunity to connect through a roundtable discussion and exclusive performance on media, diversity issues, and silenced voices at the industReal arts room (688 Richmond Street West) from 6 to 10 pm on Friday, May 30.  The evening opens with a reception honouring distinguishing participants Tushar Unadkat, Sylvia Fraser, Salvatore Greco, Mary Fantaske, Michael Sizer, and Heryka Miranda.

Internationally celebrated, awards winning media personality, Tushar Unadkat, holds a Master of Design from the University of Dundee, Scotland and Honors in Photography from University of Wolverhampton, England.  CEO and Creative Director of MUKTA Advertising, Unadkat is nominated for the coveted national Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award this year and honoured with Canada’s Trailblazer award at the 12th Annual ReelWorld Film Festival then in 2012.

An award-winning novelist, a memoirist, a travel writer and a journalist from The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, Sylvia Fraser has published a dozen books under her own name, and ghostwritten several others. She is probably best known for her 1987 international bestseller, My Father’s House: a Memoir of Incest and of Healing, credited as being one of the first to break the taboo on childhood sexual abuse. She has also written hundreds of magazine articles, for which she has won numerous awards, including the 2008 Matt Cohen A Writer’s Life Award for her body of work. She has taught creative writing at Banff Centre and various university workshops, and participated in extensive media tours across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Ryerson University’s Mary Fantaske reveals hidden truths in marginal representations of bodies and abilities. She is a graduate researcher from the Department of Communication and Culture at Ryerson University. Roundtable discussant Salvatore Greco has been an integral part of the Faculty of Communication and Design (FCAD) RTA School of Media at Ryerson University. His critical observations and insightful views on Rob Ford’s celebrity status and alternative use of tabloid formats set new grounds for social justice in media culture. Michael Sizer shows how the public can activate citizen journalism and screens his ground-breaking film The Whole World is Watching after the roundtable discussion.

The event closes with a live performance titled Stepping Into Her Knowingby social change artist and holistic dance practitioner Heryka Miranda. Of Guatemalan-Mayan/ US American heritage, Heryka Miranda, gives a voice to the voiceless, subverts disabilities, and honours Indigenous communities and land defenders through accompaniment, activism and sacred ceremonies using the expressive dance arts. In 2013 she was the International Guest Fellow with the award-winning Dancing Earth Indigenous Contemporary Dance Company in Santa Fe, New Mexico and an ambassador of Limitless Productions that was recently featured among academics, artists and activists at the Feminist Art Conference (FAC). In August, Heryka begins her graduate studies in Dance/Movement Therapy and Mental Health Counseling at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

This event is hosted by Holly Larson and moderated by Samita Nandy. Featured on CBC, CP 24 and Rogers Television among many more, Nandy holds a PhD on fame from Curtin University in Australia and is the Director of The Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies (CMCS).

The Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies (CMCS) is an international non-profit organization that specializes in media literacy, celebrity activism, and ethical art.  The centre facilitates academic and media partnerships with the aim of developing cultural production, maximizing accessible skills, and strengthening higher education and creative industries in knowledge-based economies.

Location: industREALarts room (688 Richmond Street West)| Admission: $10 at the door

For title sponsorship, media interviews and high resolution images, contact Samita Nandy at info@cmc-centre.com or call 416.985.8887.


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