Glowing lights, textured designs and live music greeted attendees at this year’s Kosmic event, hosted in the Architecture Building at Carleton University on Jan. 31.
The theme was “Life in Section,” drawing inspiration from an architectural term referring to a type of drawing that “cuts” a building in half to expose its interiors.
“It’s a concept everyone will know really well, but they have space to interpret it however they want,” said Kate Giles, one of Kosmic’s co-organizers, alongside Mikayla Tretiak and Milena Perini.
Giles said their goal is to bring awareness to Kosmic’s revival and open the space to all Carleton students. This is the second year Kosmic has returned to Carleton after a 20-year hiatus.
It was shut down in 2000 when tickets were oversold, leading to overcrowding and a fire alarm. The university shut it down but allowed it the next year with reduced capacity and no bar.
During its 50-year legacy, the event has changed locations several times before being brought back to campus in 2024.
“We want everyone to be able to experience the art and enjoy what the building has to offer,” Giles said. “We’re really lucky to be able to work in this space and also have a little fun here.”
All three organizers are fourth-year architecture students in the sustainability and conservation stream, and Giles said that connection inspired many aspects of the event.
The dress code, titled “Layered and Loved, Reclaimed and Handmade,” encouraged attendees to wear a layered outfit with pieces that they have “loved for years” or have “mended, altered or modified.”
Tretiak said they wanted to promote underconsumption and discourage people from buying anything new for the event.
“We were really excited to take over Kosmic because a big part of our degree is studying heritage preservation,” Giles said. “Keeping an event that’s been going on for many decades is a really great way to contribute to the heritage and tradition of the school.”
This year’s event featured 11 installations submitted by Carleton students and interactive spaces where attendees could draw and colour.
One of the installations was titled “Digitized Landscapes,” created by the Landscape Lab, an interdisciplinary landscape and architecture-focused club at Carleton.
The installation was a film that featured landscape-related photographs and videos from the club members’ hometowns and travels.
“When you digitize any media, but specifically landscapes and landscape media portraying landscapes, there’s a reductionism that applies,” said Dylan Jozkow, co-director of the Landscape Lab. “It separates some of the qualities of the landscape into these new forms that might not portray the landscape to the full extent that you would if you were actually there.”
He said the installation leaves space for an exploration of new “almost fanciful” landscapes through a digital lens, which relates to Kosmic’s life in section theme.
The surrounding space and seating area were also designed by the Landscape Lab.
“Kosmic is very loud and active, which is great, but [we were] also trying to create a smaller space that people could just sit down and relax and kind of take a breather,” Jozkow said.
Musical guests included Dani Uno, Pretty Good and Lady Grey and the Phantoms, with each act including Carleton students.
Giles said they were happy to have so many talented bands perform, as they are “indie rock enjoyers at heart.”
Pretty Good guitarist and vocalist Emma Tion said participating in art events is important in this day and age, especially with arts opportunities being cut across Canada.
“I feel like multidisciplinary arts events are really important, especially when arts opportunities [are] dying and things are getting cut,” Tion said. “It’s really great to see events with a bunch of artists all together where it just draws in a whole crowd.”
Jana Tarek, a second-year architecture student at Carleton, said the event’s theme and dress code allowed students to let loose in a creative space.
“Kosmic is just a very good chance for architecture students to have fun and express their creativity,” she said. “Our year is very stressful … so it’s nice to have something where you can actually remember why you’re an architect.”
Featured image by Georgia Looman/The Charlatan.
