Art/Research/Teaching
Driving by Curiosity, Guided by Empathy
BIO
Kathy H. Zhou is an emerging artist-researcher and educator with exhibitions in Canada, the United States, Italy, and China. She works across various mediums, including drawing, painting, animation, and game design, taking inspiration from artists like Brian Jungen, Claes Oldenburg, Do Ho Suh, Yin Xiuzhen, and Lin Tianmiao. Their soft sculptures and non-traditional materials have influenced Zhou’s practice, pushing conventional aesthetics's boundaries.
Zhou’s art explores the concept of "touch" as a physical and metaphorical connection, questioning how tactile interactions influence identity and personal expression. She uses her immigrant experiences as a foundation for examining cultural identity and belonging, often integrating personal narratives into her work. Humor plays a key role in her practice, serving as a tool to confront biases and ignite meaningful conversations about societal oppression and boundaries.
In addition to her art practice, Zhou is pursing her PhD in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. In 2020, she founded the interdisciplinary research project "Fall of Artica" (FoA). This game-based teaching tool helps STEAM educators facilitate inquiry-based learning in hands-on environments like art studios, science labs, and makerspaces. Her research interests span visual studies, contemporary art, critical literacy, knowledge media design, and utopian/dystopian studies.
Zhou’s work emerges from her personal experience, artistic experimentation, and social critique, positioning her as a distinctive contemporary art and education voice.
CV
EDUCATION
2021 - Curr Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
2018 -2020 MA, University of Toronto
2014 -2017 BFA, OCAD University
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 Wasteland, Prometheus Art Gallery, Oakville, Canada
2024 Wanderers' Whispers/浮乡手信, Toronto, Canada
2024 Mid Summer, Todmorden Mills Gallery, Toronto History Museums, Toronto, Canada
2024 All You Can Eat, Northern Contemporary Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2023 Heterotopia Garden, OCAD University Graduate Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2023 A Room of One’s Own, Toronto, Canada
2023 E. W. S. N. Intersectionalism, Toronto, Canada
2020 Covid-19 Portraits, Gallery1313, Toronto, Canada
2018 Attachment & Detachment: Emerging Young Artist (Toronto, Canada)
2017 Art Toronto 2017, Toronto, Canada
2017 Gradex 102, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
2017 Forward Motion Screening, Ostello Tasso Theator, Florence, Italy
2017 Una Piccola Scintilla, On Art Gallery, Florence, Italy
2016 Across the Ocean, film and video exhibition, New York City, US
2016 Art of Leverage: Group Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
2015 Futura: Art and Technology Experimental Exhibition, Daniels Spectrum, Toronto, Canada
2014 Awenda Inspired Exhibition, Toronto, Canada Green Winter, group exhibition at OCAD
University, Toronto, Canada
2014 Breakout, Toronto Subway Billboard Project, Toronto, Canada
2012 Drawing, House of Memory Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2009 Portrait of a Woman, Permanent Collection, SNUC, Visual Art Museum, Chengdu, China
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS
2025 Zhou, K. H., Pullen, C., & Slotta, J. D. (2025) Public Sphere in Dystopia: a Game-based Youth Participatory Action Research, College of Art Association, 113th Annual Conference, New York City
2024 Zhou, K. H., Fong, C., Pullen, C., & Slotta, J. D. (2024) From Youth Participatory Art to Vision and Action: A Framework for Game-based Research-Creation, a short paper at the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ICLS 2024, International Society of the Learning Sciences.
2024 Zhou, K. H., Pullen, C., & Slotta, J. D. (2024) Digging the Abandoned Feelings Out of the Wasteland: Raising Trouble Makers through A Dystopian Critical Action Game, a poster at the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ISLS 2024, International Society of the Learning Sciences.
2024 Zhou, K. H., Pullen, C., & Slotta, J. D. (2024) A Critical Action Game: Fall of Artica Investigating new forms of collective inquiry for critical action, Roundtable Session titled “Engaging Our Students & Ourselves: Teaching in New Dimensions and Contexts”, Division C - Learning and Instruction/Division C - Section 1b: Humanities, Social Sciences, Fine Arts at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
2023 Zhou, K. H., Pullen, C., Holmes, J., & Slotta, J. D. (2023). Supporting Collective Inquiry in a Critical Action Game: A Role for Open AI Conversational Agents. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning-CSCL 2023, pp. 428-431. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
2023 Zhou, K. H., & Slotta, J. D. (2023). A Dystopian Game for Change: Building Asynchronous Learning Network Through Co-Design Partnerships Across Disciplines. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ICLS 2023, pp. 2169-2170. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
2023 Zhou, K.H., Slotta, J. D. (2023) A Dystopian Game for Change: Co-Design Partnerships In English, STEM, and Arts. Presented at a Poster Session titled “SIG-LS Poster Session 1: Games, Embodiment, Design, and Computational Thinking” at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). 10.3102/IP.23.2017258
2022 Zhou, K.H. (2022). FALL OF ARTICA: A DYSTOPIAN GAME FOR CHANGE(Master Thesis, University of Toronto).
2021 Raman, P., Carvalho, R., Ghasempour, E., Zhou, K.H, Slotta, J. (2021). Supporting Students’ Critical Action within a Cultural Context: A Role for Arts-based Pedagogy in a Community of Learners. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ICLS 2022. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
PRESS
2024 Article, Critical Action Games: Examples of Critical Action Games Fall of Artica ( FoA Game) — ISLS 2023 tech innovation award, Critical Action Learning Exchange, Canada
2024 Article, THE LEARNING FLOWS BOTH WAYS IN LONGSTANDING OISE-UTS PARTNERSHIP: Brining in New Teaching Methods, University of Toronto Schools, Canada
2023 Interview, Artist introduction for Artivition Projects, 105.6 radio, Canada
2023 Interview, Kathy H. Zhou’s Artist-ResearcherJourney in Canada, University of Toronto Chinese Alumni Association
2023 Interview, Giving back to the local art community as an AGO Curator Circle Patron, Magazine for Members of the Art Gallery of Ontario
2022 Artist interview, Shinning Female Artrepreneur #BreakTheBias, Buick Canada
2019 Interview, Artist introduction of 2116: Art Of Leverage, OMNI TV Exhibition (Toronto, Canada)
2018 Artist Interview, Kathy H. Zhou, Fairchild TV, Canada
2017 Interview, Numeroventi Artist Residency, Florence, Italy Film Screening, “Florence, Genuine Leather, Made in Italy,” Foreigners in Florence, Italy
2016 Artist Interview, Kathy H. Zhou, OMNI TV, Canada
AWARD
2023
Outstanding Tech Innovation Award, Internation Society of Learning Sciences
2023
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral)
2022
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral)
2021
University of Toronto OISE Ph.D. Fellowship
2019
University of Toronto NEST Program Fellowship
2017
OCAD University Florence Program Fellowship
2017
OCAD University Career Launcher Prize Winner (Drawing & Painting)