#1319: Traces of Transformation: An Artist-in-School-Community Project

Traces of Transformation is a co-created artist-in-school-community project emerging from Fall of Artica (FoA), developed through a partnership between Artivition Projects (represented by artist Kathy H. Zhou) and the interdisciplinary Art and Design course (IDC) at University of Toronto Schools, led by teacher Robin Michel. Building on the Culture Shoes Project, students designed shoes embodying their FoA avatars, using gameplay to surface ideological tensions — safety vs. freedom, now vs. future, utility vs. culture. Through research, discussion, and critical reflection, each student imprinted a personal message onto their shoe sole. These Adobe Illustrator designs were realized as laser-cut rubber stamps at the UTS innovation hub. Echoing Allora and Calzadilla's politically engaged interventions, this critical-making work asks: What marks do we leave behind as learners, and how do these traces shape the paths available to those who follow?