Introducing the 2026-27 Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitor, Ian Kamau

University College is delighted to announce that Ian Kamau will be the 2026-27 Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitor.

Kamau is an artist, writer, and designer with a Bachelor of Design and a Master's degree in Environmental Studies from York University. He also holds a Master's in Design from OCAD University’s Strategic Foresight and Innovation program and is the son of pioneering filmmakers Claire Prieto and Roger McTair — two of the first Black filmmakers in Canada. He was an associate artist with The Theatre Centre and Why Not Theatre between 2022-23 which led to Loss, a multimedia performance that premiered at the 2023 Luminato Festival in Toronto and was mounted in 2025 at the Under the Radar Fest with The Apollo in New York.

Kamau directed the short film We Went Out (2022) and has released albums including One Day Soon (2011), which led to tours in Europe, South and East Africa, and Canada. He has published writing with Vice, Coach House, and Book Thug, and was the founding executive director of Nia Centre for the Arts. He is currently a design strategist with Canadian Heritage, working with Canadian galleries and museums, and sits on the OCAD University Cultural Policy Hub advisory.
 

The Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitorship in Canadian Culture at University College was established in 1985 to enhance links between the University of Toronto and Canada’s prominent cultural figures by inviting them to enter into the intellectual and social life of the college. The Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitor acts as a writer-in-residence, participating in college events and meeting with students for one-on-one mentoring sessions related to all forms of writing. The establishment of the visitorship commemorates the achievements of faculty member Barker Fairley (May 12, 1887 – October 11, 1986).