When Emma Sambaer, an art education student at Michigan State University, was paired with Shiva Mohseni, an OCAD University student from Toronto, for a unique cross-border art project, she noticed how much they had in common despite being separated by an international border.
Students from MSU and OCAD U were tasked with creating portraits of each other to capture the likeness of their partner. But first, they had to get to know each other.
The students connected in a virtual exchange over two months during the spring 2025 semester to learn as much as they could about the lives of their cross-border partners. Focusing on themes of site, place and identity, they shared information and stories about themselves through email and virtual meetings. The artists also mailed each other photographs of themselves and a collection of personal or creative materials that represented their personalities and their locations.
These exchanges provided an artistic challenge for the artists to translate their partner’s presence into a work of art. What resulted are drawings that capture the likeness of their partner and explore their relationships and friendships across the Canadian-American border.
“Shiva is originally from Ahvaz…so I knew I wanted to incorporate her connection to both places,” Sambaer said. “For her ephemera, she sent me a KitKat, a keychain with ‘Canada’ on it, a packet of tea, a leaf, and a coaster.”
Sambaer reflected on the significance of these objects, noting, “These items really showed me that across the border our lives aren’t so different in the grand scheme of things. There are borders created by people separating us because of one reason or another, but that doesn’t define who we are.”
The cross-border art project was part of a Collaborative Online International Learning, or COIL, course sponsored by MSU’s Department of Art, Art History and Design in partnership with OCAD U. Led by d’Ann de Simone, professor of Studio Art in MSU’s Department of Art, Art History and Design, and Rebecca Malouin, Director of Canadian Studies at MSU, the initiative grew from a shared vision of the importance of cultural exchange and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
In Spring 2024, de Simone and Malouin made two exploratory trips to Canada. Backed by the U.S. Department of State, the MSU delegation — faculty and students alike — sat down with their counterparts at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario; toured the historic halls of Queen’s Park in Toronto; and even met with Baxter Hunt, Consul General at the U.S. Embassy.
The partnership with OCAD U was forged after de Simone and Malouin attended the Global Digital Humanities Conference on MSU’s campus. There they connected with Ilene Sova, Associate Professor at OCAD U, and Alla Myzelev, associate professor and chair of the Department of Art History at the State University of New York, Geneseo.
“The four of us quickly found common ground and ideas clicked,” de Simone said.
Soon after, de Simone and Malouin traveled to OCAD U’s downtown campus in Toronto to finalize the agreement that would open new doors for students and faculty on both sides of the border.
Because de Simone was on an unexpected research leave in spring 2025, Candice Chovanec, assistant professor in the Department of Art, Art History and Design at MSU, agreed to step in and worked with Sova, who managed the Canadian component of the project, and Morgan Reneé Hill, a recent MFA graduate from MSU, to develop the art project details.
The project was an opportunity to build unique, personal, and positive relationships between countries. It took place during a time of political tension and economic uncertainty between the United States and Canada, fueled by cross-border policy conflicts and tariffs, which created unexpected creative tension and political context for the drawings.
“It’s more important than ever for students to engage with and learn about their nation’s neighbors,” Sova said. “The project was a valuable opportunity to build unique, personal, and positive relationships across borders while presenting an artistic challenge for the artists to translate a stranger’s presence into a work of art.”
OCAD U student Anna Tanner was inspired by the ephemera sent by her partner, Joe Jones, an apparel and textile design student at MSU.
“Using the ephemera he provided — gems, scrap textiles and a tree air freshener — I incorporated nods to these items into the background,” Tanner said. “Hearing about Joe’s artistic inspirations, precisely blending the urban decay of East Side Detroit with his love of French and Rococo art, I created my interpretation of this enmeshment.”
The project culminated in an exhibition, “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project,” in April 2025 at Stackt Market in Toronto, located near OCAD U’s campus,.
Curated by Museum Studies students at the State University of New York, Geneseo, and under the direction of Dr. Myzelev, the exhibition featured the portraits created by the MSU and OCAD U students. The exhibition will now travel to MSU in November 2025 where it will be displayed at (SCENE) Metrospace.
The project was supported by funding from a Strategic Partnership Grant from MSU’s Canadian Studies Center and matching funds from MSU’s Department of Art, Art History and Design. The funds provided scholarships for several MSU students to attend the Toronto exhibition opening where they gained international gallery exposure, met their Canadian portrait partners, and explored Toronto, including the city’s world-class museums and galleries.
This unique collaborative online international learning experience also is supported by the International Programs and Collaborations Office and Faculty of Art Office at OCAD U and the Art History Department at SUNY Geneseo.
“This assignment was an exciting and influential opportunity to connect with others across borders,” said Breanna Chaput, who graduated from MSU in Spring 2025 with a BFA in art education. “The COIL project is a beautiful assignment that connects us to our neighbors while expanding our knowledge of the border and culture outside of our school and giving us a way to make relationships with new people.”
This story was originally featured on the College of Arts and Letters website.
