AMPD Testimonials

I had a great experience during my time at AMPD and York University. I benefited greatly from the exposure to various texts and readings and the rich exchanges and critical discourse I engaged in with my peers and professors in the MFA program and wider department. Courses like Methods in Practice-Based Research and the Goldfarb Summer Institute (about engaging photography and archives), and the guidance I received while working on my thesis project helped me to reflect more deeply about my own practice and develop more rigour in my form-making.

Abraham O
Visual Arts Graduate (MFA 2022)

Learning the technical skills that are part of computer science gave me the backbone to create. I'm able to express my creative ideas in new ways, it's opened many doors for me in academia and personal projects.

Amir B

Digital Media Student 

By far the best thing that I have done in the program was a part of the production practicum class. Through this, I was able to gain so much on-the-job experience and explore new interests, such as technical direction and lighting design. This is how I’ve developed close relationships to my mentors and made some of my closest friends.

Eric Koski-Harja

Fourth-year Theatre student

As I stepped into my first class I was excited to started meeting a ton of international students like me, who traveled from all around the world for this program. I would’ve never imagined that I would be an artist who is developing a play he wrote in the heart of Toronto, but that’s exactly what I’ve been up to recently. And my friends and teachers, are some of my biggest supporters in this process.”

Tuna Gümeli 

Alumnus, Theatre

International Alumnus - Türkiye

The people we met that have since become collaborators is undoubtedly the most valuable thing. We met our Director of Photography at AMPD, and he has shot every one of our films since we began working together. As a young filmmaker, I had no idea what my voice was or what I had to say that was at all interesting or unique. Professor John Greyson was instrumental in guiding me towards finding the stories inside me and exploring what I had that was distinctive.

Madeleine Sims-Fewer (BFA ’08)

Actor, Director and Screenwriter. Several films shown at TIFF, including a feature film in 2025, following recognition at festivals such as Sundance and Berlinale.

In AMPD’s Dance program, you can study anything from kinesiology and production to ballet and more. We also get exposure to dance styles from around the world. One of my most memorable experiences was working backstage on upper-year shows in my first year. Now, as a fourth-year student, I’m on the other side as Assistant Artistic Director, helping with choreography and supporting the production. Seeing that growth has been very meaningful to me. The support from my professors has also helped me take on professional opportunities outside of school, including performing with the National Ballet of Canada, while still balancing my studies.

Jacqueline, fourth-year Dance Student

Performed with the National Ballet of Canada (The Nutcracker)

Christa Dickenson (MFA ’93)

CEO of CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel

One of my favourite things about the Screenwriting program is that you can connect with real filmmakers, people who are actually out there and doing what you want to do, so you can watch things that they have made, and hear directly from them about their process; it is just really helpful to know what it takes to make it, and to develop your own stories.

Oliver B

Current student - Screenwriting

AMPD gave me permission to take my internal world seriously. It was a place where I learned to experiment, to trust the odd or intuitive impulses in my work, and to develop a visual vocabulary that still anchors my practice today. The grounding in drawing and material thinking that I developed at York continues to shape how I build images, whether I’m working on a small aluminum panel or a 10,000-square-foot mural.

Rebecca Munce (BFA ‘13)