Knowledge Media Arts Projects

KMA

Knowledge Media Art (KMA) is an interdisciplinary field of practice and inquiry in which artistic creation functions as a mode of knowledge production, dissemination, and reflection across diverse media environments. Emerging from contemporary art practices, shaped by new media technologies, and informed by developments in cognitive and neural sciences, KMA investigates how artistic practices symbolize, represent, document, synthesize, interpret, and challenge existing knowledge—while also offering new frameworks for scientific inquiry into how people learn and construct their worldviews.

Similar to Knowledge Media Design (KMD) theories and practices, KMA complements text-based paradigms and linear or totalizing narratives by introducing alternative, often non-verbal, non-linear, and experiential modes of knowing. While design-based approaches in KMD often center on problem-solving through iterative design for specific user scenarios, KMA is grounded in arts-inquiry-based research that engages with complex, systemic questions. Rather than aiming to resolve predefined problems, KMA interrogates assumptions, problematizes norms, and produces knowledge through critical engagement and aesthetic exploration.

Importantly, KMA distinguishes itself from purely expressive or autobiographical artistic practices. Although grounded in artistic production, KMA is informed by epistemological rigor and aligned with the scientific method in its commitment to generating new knowledge and contributing to public discourse. It affirms the epistemic validity of artistic practice as a distinct and legitimate mode of inquiry.

In contrast to traditional research contexts where artists are often relegated to marginal or supportive roles, KMA places artistic thinking at the center of knowledge formation. Artists lead the process—conceptually, methodologically, and materially—shaping both the content and the frameworks of inquiry. By integrating cognitive, affective, and sensory modalities, KMA expands how we learn, communicate, and co-construct meaning across disciplinary and cultural boundaries.

KMA can be understood through three interrelated modes:

Art as a medium of learning and knowledge construction
Artistic practices serve as tools for generating knowledge through multimodal, sensory-rich processes. Unlike linear narration or conceptual abstraction, KMA enables direct engagement with phenomena, preserving experiential and affective depth. This approach aligns with research-creation, allowing participants to learn by making, sensing, and encountering the world as co-creators.
Art as a contribution to disciplinary knowledge
The artwork, its documentation, and its creative processes produce novel insights relevant to specific academic and professional domains. Through critical engagement with installations, performances, and participatory works, KMA contributes to knowledge in fields such as environmental education, media studies, psychology, and critical pedagogy.
Art as a site for media-based epistemology
Through interactive, media-rich artworks, audiences engage in situated experiences that elicit emotion, critical thought, and dialogue. These engagements themselves become epistemic—positioning art not only as a vehicle for knowledge, but as a living research environment embedded within the evolving field of knowledge media studies.

Contribution to Learning Sciences

KMA expands how knowledge is encountered, shared, and co-produced. It foregrounds creative labor, embodied experience, and cultural context, offering alternative models of understanding in both formal and informal learning settings. In doing so, it redefines what constitutes knowledge, who is authorized to produce it, and how it circulates within contemporary society.

ANNUAL EXHIBITION

The Fall of Artica (FoA) Annual Exhibition is the signature public-facing event of the Knowledge Media Art Projects, bringing together artists, educators, students, and researchers to explore game-based learning, speculative worldbuilding, and interdisciplinary creativity through artistic practice.

Our Curatorial Team

David Liss (Curator)

David Liss curates the 2026 edition of the exhibition, celebrated as Director Emeritus of MOCA Toronto. With over two decades of curatorial leadership, Liss played a transformative role in shaping Toronto’s contemporary art landscape. As Director/Curator, he led MOCA’s expansion from a local institution into a globally recognized cultural space, culminating in the 2018 launch of MOCA’s Sterling Road location. His curatorial approach champions artistic experimentation, civic imagination, and inclusive community engagement.

Curatorial Fellows

Sophia
Liam Neill
Ella

Call for Artists

We invite Toronto-based multimedia, interdisciplinary, and socially engaged artists to join our Knowledge Media Art Community. The 2026 FoA Annual Exhibition will showcase experimental works that engage with themes such as speculative futures, digital learning, systems thinking, environmental storytelling, and value pluralism.

We welcome submissions across media—including video, interactive installation, sound, print, sculpture, performance, and participatory works—that resonate with the spirit of the Fall of Artica universe and its core themes of collective imagination and critical inquiry.

Artists selected will receive:

An honorarium
Exhibition space and production support
Opportunities to present their work in conjunction with talks, workshops, and educational programming

Submission details coming soon.
In the meantime, express your interest by emailing: Liam.Niell@artivition.com.

SEMINAR SERIES

KMA 01

KMA 02

Upcoming Events

GAME PROJECTS

Fall of Artica: a Way Back Home

Fall of Artica is an original, interdisciplinary knowledge media art project that takes the form of a narrative-driven, multi-modal game world. Developed as both an artwork and a pedagogical environment, Fall of Artica invites players to participate in collective world-building as a way of exploring identity, epistemology, and socio-political systems. Through collaboration with renowned games expert Paul Darvasi and several game jams, FoA has evolved into a “serious game for learning,” incorporating playful, inquiry-driven elements that encourage students to become proactive change agents in value-divergent scenarios.

The project draws from game design, speculative fiction, visual art, Buddhist cosmology, and critical pedagogy to construct a deeply layered universe in which learning occurs through participation, imagination, and meaning-making.

As a Knowledge Media Art (KMA) initiative, Fall of Artica positions artistic practice as central to the production of new knowledge. Rather than transmitting fixed content, it enables players to co-create and critique knowledge through acts of storytelling, choice-making, and artifact creation. Each region in the game corresponds to a symbolic realm drawn from the Buddhist Six Realms of Rebirth and is expressed through distinctive artistic languages—ranging from egg tempera painting and immersive installations to sound design, writing, and performance.

The game is built around six regions:

Upper Nuovartica (Safety) & Fon Bay (Freedom)

Lower Nuovartica (Now) & Crescent Garden (Future)

Mirror City (Culture) & Fortress (Utility)

Each region acts as a metaphorical thought space where players grapple with real-world issues such as technological control, environmental collapse, capitalist abstraction, and systemic oppression. World-building is not merely aesthetic—it is epistemological, offering participants a way to think through entangled global conditions and their positions within them.

FoA Team

Game Concept

Tech Innovation

Media Production

Instructional Design

Community Engagement

Education & Mentorship

Youth facilitation, school visits, and curriculum feedback

Community Outreach

Social media, event organization, and workshop support

Join the Artivition Projects Internship

More KMA Game Projects:

Game on AI in Education by Dr. Adam Tindale

A Music Game by Dr. Quinn Jacobs

ARTISTS & DESIGNERS

Artivition Projects is a vibrant home for multi- and inter-artist practitioners—creators who work across multiple disciplines or integrate various art forms into unified practices. We embrace an inclusive and boundary-crossing approach to creativity, welcoming visual artists, performing artists, designers, architects, engineers, and researchers from all backgrounds. There are no restrictions on media, format, or the tools used to express and communicate ideas.

At Artivition, we emphasize interdisciplinary practices and research-creation—a mode of artistic inquiry that combines scholarly research with creative production. This approach enables artists to critically examine and respond to contemporary issues while generating new knowledge through their creative endeavors. Our projects frequently explore social, scientific, technological, and cultural themes, blurring the boundaries between disciplines and challenging conventional hierarchies of knowledge.

Multi- and inter-arts activities are at the core of our vision. These are initiatives where two or more artistic disciplines are present in balanced dialogue during the creation, production, and presentation stages. Sometimes the disciplines remain distinct; other times they converge to form new, hybrid expressions. Because of this hybridity, many Artivition projects fall outside traditional discipline-based categories for funding or presentation.

Artivition offers an alternative, experimental ecosystem that supports mentorship, collaboration, and innovation within a diverse, dynamic, and inclusive community.

Kathy H. Zhou

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore.

Dr. Roberta Buiani

Dr. Roberta Buiani’s work is a powerful inspiration for the Knowledge Media Art community, exemplifying how knowledge media design can be deeply interwoven with contemporary art and research-creation methodologies. As an artist, theorist, and educator, she bridges the sciences and the arts through experimental, interdisciplinary practices that question traditional disciplinary boundaries. Her leadership in initiatives like the ArtSci Salon at the Fields Institute and SLOLab at York University creates platforms for dialogue and experimentation across mathematics, biology, digital media, and performance. By foregrounding material engagement, critical inquiry, and speculative design, Buiani’s practice invites new forms of collaboration and knowledge production—making her a key figure in advancing art-science research within the Knowledge Media Art landscape.

Sophia Oppel

Sophia Oppel is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher based in Toronto. Oppel’s art practice deploys transparent substrates —glass, mirror, and the screen— as a framework to consider the paradoxes of legibility under surveillance capitalism. Currently, Oppel is interested in addressing both the complicity with, and refusal of, biometric capture on a bodily scale. Oppel is currently a PhD student at the University of Toronto and a sessional instructor at OCAD University. Oppel has exhibited locally and internationally, including exhibitions at Ed Video (Guelph), Blouin/Division (Toronto), InterAccess Gallery (Toronto), Queen Specific (Toronto), Gallery TPW (Toronto), Bunker 2 (Toronto), Forest City Gallery (London), The Plumb (Toronto) and Xpace Cultural Center (Toronto) and Supermarket Art Fair (Stockholm, Sweden).

Dan Tapper

Dan Tapper is an artist, educator, technical director, and creative technologist interested in the intersection between information and experience. His work focuses on the unseen and unheard, using radio and imaging technologies to capture the sounds of the Earth’s ionosphere, map supernovas, and capture microscopic worlds. By utilizing elements of conceptual art and science in his work, Tapper draws attention to the unperceived wonders that surround us and the poetry that can be found in data.

Dr. Adam Tindale

Adam Tindale is an electronic drummer and digital instrument designer. He is an Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the Digital Futures Initiative at OCAD University. Adam performs on his E-Drumset: a new electronic instrument that utilizes physical modeling and machine learning with an intuitive physical interface. He completed a Bachelor of Music at Queen’s University, a Master’s of Music Technology at McGill University, and an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Music, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering at the University of Victoria.

Dr. Quinn Jacobs

Dr. Quinn Jacobs is an accomplished composer, performer, and lecturer whose works have been performed over 60 times across North America and Europe by ensembles such as the Hamilton Philharmonic and Esprit Orchestra. He is the artistic director of Din of Shadows, a performing arts company dedicated to experimental sound and performance. With degrees from Berklee College of Music, Utrecht Conservatory, and the University of Toronto, Jacobs combines deep musical expertise with a passion for creative expression and interdisciplinary collaboration. He currently teaches in the Department of Arts, Culture, and Media at the University of Toronto.

In addition to his musical practice, Jacobs is an innovative tabletop game designer. He is the creator of Noteplay, an educational music card game developed over ten years of iterative design, culminating in nine major prototypes that merge music theory with dynamic, accessible gameplay. As a Graduate Assistant at OISE’s Play Lab, Jacobs helps organize events like Playtime and fosters a community of creative game-makers and educators. He has also played a vital role in the development of Fall of Artica (FoA), participating in multiple testplays and offering invaluable feedback on systems design, user experience, and collaborative mechanics. His dual perspective as a musician and game designer continues to enrich interdisciplinary learning environments and experimental education projects.

Bo Tang

Bo Tang is a writer, game designer, and Ph.D. candidate in Operations Research and Machine Learning at the University of Toronto. From 2019 to 2020, he served as a Dungeon Master and lead writer for a Jubensha (derivative version of a scripted murder mystery game originated in Madarine-speaking regions) game company, where he was deeply involved in game scripting, design, facilitation training, acting, and publication. Bo introduced the Chinese-style jubensha format to the Fall of Artica (FoA) project, co-designing with Learning Scientist Dr. James Slotta and Artist Kathy H. Zhou. This narrative-driven gameplay model made a significant breakthrough in linking game design with classroom-based collective inquiry and learning strategies.

As a core creative contributor, Bo also helped synthesize the FoA world’s thematic structure through three central dialectical tensions—safety vs. freedom, culture vs. utility, and now vs. future—which define the sociopolitical dilemmas across the game’s six regions. His fusion of storytelling, systems logic, and ethical complexity has been essential to shaping FoA’s immersive world and pedagogical impact.

Tyler Beatty

Tyler Beatty is an Interactive Learning Experience Designer specializing in AR, VR, web, and IoT technologies. With a passion for blending education, play theory, and emerging media, he creates innovative learning experiences that inspire curiosity and creativity. His interdisciplinary approach bridges technology, design, and research to enhance interactive education.

EDUCATORS

The Fall of Artica (FoA) Game-based curriculum has been successfully implemented in K–12 classrooms by an outstanding team of educators from the University of Toronto Schools (UTS)—a top-ranked secondary school affiliated with the University of Toronto. These educators exemplify excellence in interdisciplinary teaching and collaborative curriculum design.

The FoA game-based learning model consists of five core lessons. The first three are standardized and scaffold students’ engagement with world-building, ethical reasoning, and collaborative play. Lessons four and five are intentionally open-ended, allowing teachers to customize activities based on their subject area and the learning goals of their specific course. This flexible structure supports deep integration of the game into diverse educational contexts, from English and Visual Arts to Design and Technology.

Dr. Leslie Stewart Rose

Leslie Stewart Rose, Ed.D., is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto and director of The Play Lab. She is interested in how play enriches our lives across the lifespan. Her current research seeks to understand the power of play and games for learning in the classroom and community organizations. She also has an interest in supporting and understanding play-lives of educators. Previously a school teacher, she is committed to collaborative inquiry with educators to help them harness the power of play pedagogies. In her role at the university, she teaches courses on play, games, creativity, and the arts, as related to education. Other interests include assessment, teacher learning, and relevant, multidisciplinary, issues-based curriculum which promote critical and creative thinking. A leading expert in teacher education and curriculum design, Dr. Stewart Rose is a professor at OISE and serves as the Director of the Master of Teaching (MT) Program. She brings deep expertise in reflective practice, narrative inquiry, and literacy education. As an award-winning co-design instructor, Dr. Stewart Rose has supported the development of the FoA curriculum by mentoring teachers, guiding instructional design, and ensuring that pedagogical approaches are research-informed and inclusive.

Excellence in Teaching: The UTS Team

UTS teachers have demonstrated exceptional innovation and commitment in adapting FoA to meet the needs of their students. Their collaborative efforts have resulted in meaningful, student-centered learning experiences that blend artistic expression, critical thinking, and real-world relevance.

Robin Michel – Interdisciplinary Design (Grades 11–12)
FoA “Shoes Project”: Students design and fabricate footwear artifacts that carry symbolic messages for future generations.
Charlie Pullen – Visual Arts (Grades 11–12)
FoA “Ceramic Relics Project”: Students sculpt clay relics that embody their character’s worldview and beliefs.
Julie Stoyka – English (Grade 7)
FoA “Book Project”: Students collaboratively authored a fictional manuscript based on their in-game experiences and ethical choices.

These educators exemplify how game-based learning can foster creativity, empathy, and deep inquiry in secondary education. Their work serves as a model for other schools seeking to integrate interdisciplinary, project-based, and arts-infused pedagogies.

Charlie Pullen (Visual Art Teacher )

Charlie Pullen is a visual arts educator at the University of Toronto Schools and a key collaborator in interdisciplinary research on arts-based pedagogy, youth engagement, and game-based learning. He is co-author of the award-winning paper Supporting Collective Inquiry in a Critical Action Game: A Role for Open AI Conversational Agents (CSCL 2023), and has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications presented at ICLS 2024. In 2025, Pullen co-presented at the College Art Association (CAA) conference in New York, sharing insights from the Fall of Artica project—a critical action game co-designed with students. His work bridges classroom practice and scholarly inquiry, empowering students as co-creators and critical thinkers.

Robin Michel (Interdisciplinary Design Teacher)

Robin Michel is an arts educator at the University of Toronto Schools (UTS), dedicated to fostering lifelong engagement with the arts. She believes the arts are a cradle-to-grave experience—enriching personal and collective life through creation, observation, and reflection. Featured in the In Conversation video series, Michel highlights how the arts help individuals make sense of the world at every stage of life. Her work exemplifies UTS’s commitment to nurturing socially responsible global citizens through arts and humanities education.

Julie Stoyka (English Teacher at University of Toronto Schools)

Julie Stoyka is a passionate English educator with a background in creative writing and technology. After earning her MA in English and Creative Writing, she spent seven years in the tech industry, writing for publications and managing marketing projects for clients like Microsoft and Sympatico. Transitioning into education, she brought this interdisciplinary lens into the classroom, blending language, technology, and storytelling. Julie continues to explore innovative pedagogy through projects like Fall of Artica, a collaborative dystopian role-playing game co-designed with OISE doctoral student Kathy Zhou and UTS students. Whether teaching writing or shaping interactive narratives, Julie remains committed to the power of the written word—and its ability to help students find their voice in an ever-changing world.

RESEARCHERS

At Artivition Projects, we actively engage researchers who integrate artistic practice with academic inquiry. Our community comprises scholars and artists working across diverse fields, including education, design, cognitive science, technology, and social justice. Many of our members present and publish their work through leading research societies, including the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the College Art Association (CAA), and the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research community.

These platforms offer opportunities to share and reflect on arts-based research methods—approaches that utilize artistic processes to investigate and represent knowledge. In our projects, creative expression is not just a tool for communication, but a mode of inquiry that enables deeper understanding of complex human experiences. From visual storytelling and interactive installations to performative and participatory methods, our work challenges traditional boundaries of research and knowledge production.

We examine how arts-based methods facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, promote identity formation, and create opportunities for critical reflection and social transformation. By grounding our practice in both academic rigor and artistic experimentation, Artivition contributes to a growing body of research-creation that values intuition, emotion, and imagination alongside data and analysis.

Dr. James D. Slotta

Dr. James D. Slotta holds the President’s Chair in Knowledge Technologies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, where he is a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning. An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Slotta’s research explores the intersection of technology, pedagogy, and collaborative knowledge building. As a former Canada Research Chair in Education and Technology, he has pioneered open innovation models for education through initiatives such as ENCORE Lab and the Community of Open Innovation for Learning (COIL). His visionary leadership and mentorship have been instrumental in shaping the Fall of Artica research-creation project. Under his guidance, ENCORE Lab provided the infrastructure, community, and critical insight that enabled FoA to flourish. Dr. Slotta’s commitment to collaborative inquiry and his dedication to empowering students and educators have made him a cornerstone of the Artivition network and a catalyst for transformative educational innovation.

Dr. Gabby Resch

Dr. Gabby Resch is an Assistant Professor in Information Visualization at Ontario Tech University's Faculty of Business and Information Technology. His research spans data visualization in tangible, AR, and VR environments, human-centred data science, and critical data studies. With a PhD from the University of Toronto, he collaborates on immersive media projects supporting spatial cognition and medical training. As a thought leader within the Fall of Artica and broader Artivition Projects communities, Dr. Resch’s scholarship on data literacies, digital ownership, and critical making has been instrumental in shaping activist approaches to design and pedagogy. His course on Web Theory at OCAD University was a foundational influence for Kathy H. Zhou’s conceptualization of Fall of Artica, inspiring its deep inquiry into digital surveillance, data privacy, and environmental and social justice through game-based learning. His work continues to empower artists, educators, and students to engage with data as a material, ethical, and political force.

PLAYERS-CONTRIBUTORS

Students are not just players in the Fall of Artica (FoA) universe—they are co-creators, storytellers, and co-researchers. Grounded in a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) framework, the FoA learning experience empowers students to investigate complex societal issues, express their identities, and design collaborative solutions through play, critical reflection, and artistic production.

In a safe, forgiving, and imaginative virtual world, students are divided into six groups—each representing a distinct region of the FoA universe. Within these regions, students confront speculative crises related to climate, surveillance, identity, justice, and sustainability. As they take on in-game roles, they engage in collaborative worldbuilding, ethical negotiation, and interdisciplinary design challenges.

Youth Participatory Action Research

Guided by their teachers and supported by researchers and artists, students document their experiences, reflect on their choices, and analyze power structures, both real and imagined. Through design thinking and narrative inquiry, they learn to connect fictional dilemmas with real-world social, political, and ethical issues.

The FoA classroom is thus transformed into a research studio—where students practice critical making, shared authorship, and civic imagination.

Contributing to the Game

Students shape not only their in-game characters and responses to crises but also contribute original artifacts, systems, and stories that expand the FoA universe. Their contributions include:

Concept Art
Game Design
Tech Innovation
Testplay
Events
Social Media

FoA in School Communities

2024–25 UTS Grade 11/12 Interdisciplinary Design Course
2023–25 UTS Grade 7 English Course
2022–25 UTS Grade 11 Visual Arts Class

Volunteers

Volunteers are the heart of Artivition Projects. As emerging artists, designers, students, educators, and makers, our volunteers play a vital role in shaping the development, outreach, and impact of the Fall of Artica (FoA) game and related Knowledge Media Art initiatives. Their diverse contributions span concept development, visual design, community coordination, and educational programming.

More than helpers, our volunteers are co-creators—contributing their time, creativity, and care to build immersive, interdisciplinary learning experiences. They participate in testplays, organize events, create design assets, document research, and offer feedback that continually improves our projects. Many of them grow into core collaborators, interns, or mentors within our network.

PARTNERS

ENCORE LAB

The ENCORE LAB was established in 2006 at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto as a research group interested in collaborative and collective forms of inquiry learning where teachers and students engage as a knowledge community. We investigate a pedagogical model called Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI), where students and teachers work collectively to advance their understanding of complex science topics. Our designs emphasize the role of technology in scaffolding knowledge construction and inquiry processes, integrating various tools and platforms, as well as data mining and using intelligent agents to support the orchestration of our complex inquiry designs. Current research includes using tangible and embodied interactions, user-contributed materials, and immersive environments to support inquiry learning.

OISE

The Play Lab at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, is a collaborative research and creation space dedicated to exploring the transformative power of play in learning, wellbeing, and human development. Bringing together graduate students, educators, artists, and game designers, the lab investigates how playful practices can support inclusive education, critical inquiry, and community engagement. From tabletop games to digital simulations and embodied storytelling, The Play Lab embraces play as a method of knowledge creation and social imagination. Their ongoing projects—including international collaborations on equity in education and innovative game-based pedagogies—make them a vital partner in the development and dissemination of the Fall of Artica (FoA) curriculum and the broader Knowledge Media Art initiative.

Eureka! Research Institute

The Eureka! Research Institute is one of Canada's select few school-based research institutes. Its mission is to champion evidence-based teaching, learning, and assessment methods while fostering interdisciplinary curiosity and co-designed research initiatives. This work strengthens connections between researchers, the school, and the University of Toronto, cultivating a dynamic network of collaborative knowledge. Through these efforts, the Eureka! Research Institute positions UTS at the forefront of research, collaboration, and innovative knowledge construction.

Knowledge Media Arts Projects

KMA

ANNUAL EXHIBITION

Our Curatorial Team

Curatorial Fellows

Call for Artists

SEMINAR SERIES

KMA 01

KMA 02

Upcoming Events

GAME PROJECTS

FoA Team

Game Concept

Kathy H. Zhou

Dr. Jim Slotta

Bo Tang

Tech Innovation

Amarachi Ndubuisi

Berly Zheng

Markiian Babiak

Victoria Ouryvski

Yutong Tang

Jack Yin

Jasmine Hu

Media Production

Kai Yan

Zhenyi Li

Xiaofeng Li

Allen Xu

Rophy Wu

Yiduo Wang

Jingjing Yang

Jingwen Zhang

Instructional Design

Dr. Erfane Ghasempour

Renyuan Zhang

Zach Dang

Community Engagement

Neema Kahenya

Liam Neill

Kirsty Carnan

Sapphire Qin

Lin Hu