Joseph Medaglia

SUMMARY

Joseph Medaglia is the Chair and Associate Professor at the School of Fashion at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he teaches courses on creative practice, craft, film, and new media. He is committed to advancing Canadian fashion through education, creativity, and collaboration, guiding the school with principles of decolonisation, inclusion, sustainability, and accessibility. And, his research and creative work explore LGBTQ topics, focusing on intersections between queer identities and the natural world, using mediums such as experimental video, interactive media, and textiles.

PROFILE

Joseph Medaglia is Chair and Associate Professor in the School of Fashion at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada where he teaches courses in creative practice, craft, film, visual communication design, and new media.

Joseph Medaglia, Chair and Associate Professor at the School of Fashion at Toronto Metropolitan University

“The School of Fashion has long been at the heart of Canadian fashion education, nurturing generations of designers, makers, thinkers, and leaders who continue to shape the industry in Canada and internationally. Our alumni can be found across the field—in design studios, media, cultural institutions, and entrepreneurial ventures—reflecting the creativity and impact of our community,” he says on the official website of the university. “Our work is guided by the principles of Decolonisation, Inclusion, Sustainability, and Accessibility. These commitments shape our teaching, research, and partnerships, ensuring that fashion is engaged as both a cultural practice and a global system. By centring diverse worldviews, reimagining fashion’s environmental and social responsibilities, and valuing equitable access and participation, we continue to expand the role of fashion in building more inclusive and sustainable futures.”

Under his direction, The School of Fashion remains committed to advancing Canadian fashion through education, creativity, and collaboration through undergraduate and graduate study and opportunities to specialise in design and textiles, communication, curation, and scholarship. They engage with hands-on learning, critical research, and industry partnerships that prepare them to question norms, pursue new ideas, and contribute meaningfully to the future of fashion.

Integrating a research-led approach to his creative work, Joseph Medaglia explores LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer) topics in relation to art/craft, popular culture, media representation, the body, identity, and gender. Most recently his research and creative work encounter the intersections of Queer identities, bodies, and sexualities with the natural world including plants, insects and animals. Joseph’s artistic practices vary and include experimental video, interactive media, costume, embroidery, textiles, felting, and natural dye processes.

His creative work has been shown at film festivals, art exhibitions, and academic conferences in North America and the UK. And interests include Experimental and Creative Process; Fashion and Media Representations; New Media and Digital Technology; Video and Moving Images; Visual Communication Design; Fashion and Queer Theory; and Critical Craft Studies and New Materialism.

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