TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2013 – In a bold and innovative move that brings together artistic creativity with the exploration of justice and the law, York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School has launched a search for an Artist in Residence Fellow for the 2013-14 academic year.

A first call for expressions of interest, with an application deadline of Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, has been posted on the Osgoode website.

“The Law School welcomes artists of all disciplines and projects focused on interpreting legal history, on examining law’s realities today, and imagining law’s future, whether in Canada or elsewhere in the world,” said Osgoode Dean Lorne Sossin. “We are particularly interested in projects that will reflect and enhance the diversity of the Osgoode community, and involve engagement and interaction with Osgoode students."

Sossin said the Artist in Residence Fellowship is part of a larger Osgoode commitment to researching and teaching law in context.

“We want to explore law and its contexts, and that calls for engagement with a wider world,” Sossin said.  “We believe that our students, faculty and staff are strengthened by understanding law through diverse media, and that an artist’s expression of ideas about justice and the law can enhance our own thinking on those subjects.”

The Artist in Residence will spend up to four months at Osgoode during either the fall or winter term of the 2013-14 academic year. The Artist in Residence Fellowship is one of several new fellowships that Osgoode has introduced recently in conjunction with its 2011-16 strategic plan, which calls for increased emphasis on experiential education and the exploration of law in action, intensification of research that shapes the public debate and greater community engagement.

Last October, Osgoode announced the three inaugural recipients of its McMurtry Visiting Clinical Fellowship: lawyers Raj Anand, Joseph Arvay and Fay Faraday. The Fellows are each spending a term or part of a term this academic year at Osgoode providing mentorship to students and lawyers engaged in experiential education initiatives. Osgoode is inviting applications for the 2013-14 McMurtry Fellowships and more information can be found here.

In addition, the Law School has introduced the Osgoode Catalyst Fellowship, which brings to Osgoode emerging scholars who have a demonstrated interest in a career in law teaching. Pooja Parmar, who has completed graduate studies at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law, is the inaugural holder of the Osgoode Catalyst Fellowship for the 2012-13 academic year.

York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow. York’s unwavering commitment to excellence reflects a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility that sets us apart. A York U degree empowers graduates to thrive in the world and achieve their life goals through a rigorous academic foundation balanced by real-world experiential education. As a globally recognized research centre, York is fully engaged in the critical discussions that lead to innovative solutions to the most pressing local and global social challenges. York’s 11 faculties and 28 research centres are thinking bigger, broader and more globally, partnering with 288 leading universities worldwide. York's community is strong − 55,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and more than 250,000 alumni.

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Media Contact: Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 416-736-5820/ vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca