The School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) at York University has recognized Professor Brandon Vickerd with the AMPD Research Award for 2023-2024.
As Professor and Chair of the Department of Visual Art & Art History, Vickerd has made outstanding contributions to the field of visual art, particularly in the areas of sculpture and public art.
Professor Vickerd’s work, known for transforming public spaces through site-specific installations, exemplifies the essence of community-engaged research. His participatory approach invites dialogue and reflection, encouraging communities to examine their relationship with civic life. By exploring the evolving role of public art in contemporary cities, his work opens new conversations and reimagines public spaces in meaningful ways.
“Brandon Vickerd’s work exemplifies the kind of research-creation and engaged art-making that we strive towards as a School,” says AMPD Dean Sarah Bay-Cheng. “It is innovative and meaningful for a range of audiences: students, fellow researchers and the public.”
About Brandon Vickerd
Professor Vickerd is a sculptor whose site-specific interventions, public performances and object-based sculptures act as a catalyst for critical thought and engagement with the physical world. Purposely diverse, his studio work moves across high and popular culture, acting as a catalyst for critical thought and often wittily highlighting the failed promise of a modernist future predicated on boundless scientific advancement. Whether through craftsmanship, the creation of spectacle, or humor, the goal of his work is to provoke the viewer into questioning the dominate myths of progress ingrained in Western world views.
Vickerd’s current research engages in enriching public spaces through the development of public art that challenges citizens to reflect on our notions of the commons.