Creative Coding for Beginners

Creative Coding for Beginners

Led by: Jordan Shaw

Saturday July 12, 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM

Micak Gallery is proud to present our first digital art workshop “Creative Coding for Beginners.” Led by artist and programmer Jordan Shaw, this hands-on workshop will introduce participants to concepts of creative coding and how to make invisible data into a visual.

This workshop is designed for beginners, while providing experienced coders the opportunity to ‘level- up’ their skills by gaining new skills and insights related to data visualization and introducing concepts of code- based, interactive artwork using the free, online program p5.js.

The workshop this 4- hour workshop will begin with a tour of Jordan Shaw’s exhibition ‘Data as Material’ in which the artist will take you through his concepts, process and outcomes of using data for creative coding projects, turning unseen digital systems such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and environmental sensors for data collection into visual, sculptural, and interactive artworks.  

After which, participants will be instructed in basic creative coding techniques, resulting in the ability to make basic shapes, colour and animations that embrace the particularities and randomness of the experimental digital process resulting in a your own digital artwork and a new creative skill to keep exploring at home.

Details:

Tools: All you need is curiosity and a laptop, Wi-fi and instructions on how to access p5.js will be provided. Don’t forget your laptop charger!

Date: Saturday July 12, 1 PM – 4 PM

Cost per person: $55 + HST

Where:  Micak Contemporary Art Gallery, main gallery

Located at: 2 Orchard Heights Blvd. Aurora, ON. L4G 3W3, in the St. Andrew’s Shopping Plaza at the corner of Yonge St. & Orchard Heights. Micak Gallery is on the south facing side of the plaza. Look for the neon pink “ART” sign!

Schedule:

12:45 PM – Arrive at Micak Gallery

1:00 PM- Jordan Shaw artist talk and tour of “Data as Material”

1:30 PM- Workshop starts

2:30- 2:45PM- Break

3:50 PM- presentation of projects

4:00PM – End

How to get tickets:

You can purchase tickets by contacting Katie at: info@micakgallery.com or 905-726-9063

Note: If you are under 18 or if you require any accommodation(unfortunately the gallery’s washroom is not wheelchair accessible), please contact the gallery at : info@micakgallery.com

About Jordan Shaw:

Jordan Shaw is a Toronto-based artist who merges art with technology to explore the complex interplay between digital systems, emerging technologies, and the natural world.

His education at Carleton University, Algonquin College, and an MFA from OCAD University shapes his practice, which emphasizes interaction, perspective, and data through mediums such as sculpture, electronics, light, robotics, AI, and other materials.

Shaw's work aims to spark curiosity and reflection, deepening our understanding of relationships, communities, and surroundings through innovative, interactive approaches. By utilizing these diverse mediums, he delves into the nuances of experience across urban, natural, and digital environments. His interest in generative AI, anamorphic perspective, digital and analog interactivity, light and robotics enriches his projects, inviting viewer engagement, fostering interaction, and sparking discussion.

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Shaw has exhibited nationally and internationally, including Nuit Blanche (Canada), MAPP_MTL (Canada), igNIGHT (Canada), Ars Electronica (Austria), Lumiere (Canada), Plexus Project (USA), IDKF (Germany), and Squeaky Wheel (USA). Notable solo exhibitions include “Various Works” at the Toronto Machine Learning Summit (2022, Canada), “Canadian Abstracts” during Vector Festival (2019, Canada), and “Refactored Landscapes” at Hashtag Gallery (2019, Canada).

About the Exhibition: “Data as Material” running July 3- 13, is a body of work by Jordan Shaw exploring how invisible digital systems—such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and environmental sensors—shape everyday experience. Shaw collects these hidden data streams and transforms them into physical sculptures, interactive installations, and real-time visualizations. By rendering abstract, ephemeral signals into concrete forms using materials like wood, steel, and acrylic, the work reframes data as something present and material.

Projects include: Pulses, (in)visible, and NeverTheSame.xyz which uncover how networked systems silently archive, monitor, and connect individuals. Through digital fabrication and creative coding—using tools like Processing and p5.js—Shaw exposes these hidden infrastructures, raising questions about authorship, surveillance, and the permanence of digital information. Data as Material invites critical reflection on how unseen digital forces shape perception, space, and human connection.