Have you ever heard of people talking about games and wanted to know more? Already in the industry, but want to learn about different perspectives and experience games from another angle? Interested in how game design can go beyond digital screen-based work to intersect with nature, urban renewal, and food? We got you.

Game Curious at Evergreen Brick Works is a free, public event series that uses game design and playful media as a lens to explore interconnected systems of urban sustainability, food security, arts/culture, history, and technology. Based on our popular Game Curious initiative, programming will take place on-site at Evergreen Brick Works in the Don Valley over the course of one year, activating different areas and audiences throughout the changing of the seasons.

For updates and more information on the individual programs planned throughout the year, check out our Game Curious at Evergreen Brick Works page, subscribe to our newsletter, hit us up on Twitter, or contact us at info@handeyesociety.com with questions. Don’t be shy, come play for yourself!

Spring

A game jam—no, you can’t eat it, as much as some games do look delicious—typically means getting a group of people to work collectively or solo to make an interactive project within a limited period of time. But this is no ordinary game jam. Six selected participants will tour Evergreen Brick Works to learn about its history and various initiatives. They will then spend a weekend in April designing playful, bite-sized interactive works based on their observations. The final game concepts will be documented in the form of a digital and printed zine, designed by Chris White and illustrated by local artists.

Say hello to our jammers!

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Dates: April 5 to 7 (Jammers Only) / June 16 (Public Zine Launch)

Location: TBD

Audience: 6 jammers and 6 illustrators selected via submission process. The zine launch is open to the public.

Summer

An all-ages event where participants interact with technology that reacts to touch, heat, water and more! A more hands-on approach to learning how tech can be used to facilitate curiosity, exploration, and wonder. A collaboration with Little Dada.

Dates: [Update: POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER]

Location: Children’s Garden

Audience: Drop-in, children and families/all-ages.

Fall

Have you ever seen a game so delicious that you wanted to eat it? Well, now’s your chance. Inspired by projects like Jenn Sandercock’s Edible Games Cookbook, this workshop gives participants the opportunity to utilize different kinds of food and use it to create a game that you can eat.  This is a fun event where you can learn elements of game design as well think about how we interact with food beyond mere consumption. Bring an empty stomach just in case!

Dates: Oct 9 and 23, after work hours

Location: FIDO Kitchen

Audience: Pre-registration required, ages 13+.

Winter

An interactive experience created by artists Julia Gingrich, Rehka Ramachandran and Kara Stone reflecting on time and climate change. Rocks Die? investigates the Anthropocene, the material and the virtual. It consists of a quilt made of used plastic, dipped in water and then frozen, with materials such as flowers and notes written by participants in advance surrounding it. The pieces are hung, letting the ice drip off them and revealing what is inside.

Dates: Dec 28-31

Location: TBD

Audience: Drop-in, all-ages.

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Partners

Through research, design and collaboration, Evergreen moves sustainable city building ideas into action. We believe that flourishing cities are created through the alchemy of placemaking—holistically improving the intersections and interdependencies between people + natural + built worlds. This is evident in our work designing school grounds; building community programs; collaborating on transportation, housing, and water issues; and imagining and developing the Evergreen Brick Works social enterprise.

Since 1991, Evergreen, a Canadian charity and international thought leader, has provoked bold action in transforming public landscapes into thriving community spaces with environmental, social and economic benefits. At the core of our work is the belief that involving people directly in the process of restoring the health of local ecologies and their communities positively affects the attitudes and behaviours that lie at the core of the sustainable city.

 

Toronto Arts Council (TAC) is the City of Toronto’s funding body for artists and arts organizations. Since 1974, TAC has played a major role in the city’s cultural industries by supporting a very broad range of artistic activity. From the emerging artist to the most established, from celebrated institutions to arts that challenge convention, TAC is typically the first funder to offer support. Today, TAC grants lead to exhibitions, performances, readings and workshops seen annually by over 9.5 million people. Through our ongoing funding, TAC cultivates a rich engagement between artists and audiences.  We are proud to reflect Toronto’s vibrancy through the diversity of artists, arts communities and audiences that we serve.