Jeff Garcia, 25 years old. Spadina and Richmond.

Is 'art school' an oxymoron?

They're not all bad, of course. You can learn the nuts-and-bolts of a discipline at school, and you can meet and collaborate with like-minded people. If you're lucky, you can find a mentor figure in one of your teachers.

The problems arise with the politics of 'schooling' students; timetables, marks, and academic standards don't always mesh with the creative process.

Jeff Garcia is a screenprint artist, illustrator...and art teacher. He was born and bred in one of our vast Toronto suburbs.

Daryl Vocat. Queen St. East.

What makes a rebel?

I went to a liberal, arts focused High School...you'd think there'd be a lot wild sex and drugs at an establishment like that. Not so much. None of the girls got pregnant, none of the boys got into car crashes...the Catholic high school next store had a lot more action than we ever did.

If you made it out to a film at the Bloor Cinema last summer, there's a good chance you caught an episode of the 'Popcorn Trilogy'.

A throwback to the pre-show serials of the 1940's, these short films follow the sex lives of Nigel, Peter and Joey; employees at a second-run cinema. Russ Meyer-esque in spirit, they're rife with beautiful women, double entendres and dirty miracles.

Luke Correia-Damude, 24 years old. Chinatown.

If you're talented, driven, well connected, lucky...it's no guarantee you'll have a notable career in the arts. The people finding success in the scene right now are artists who make their own opportunities.

Dylan Hayward, 25 years old. Leslieville.

There was a time when studying art in University was seen as a ridiculous pursuit. It's somehow become the status quo of my generation; film majors, dance majors, music majors lining the halls of our top institutions.

There won't be much work for these people once they're finished studying. New media outlets are hacking away at the earnings potential of artists all the time. Are these schools giving a generation of Canadians false hope about making a living in the arts?

Sarah Kolasky and Daniel Grant, 25 and 26 years old. Yonge and Wellesley.

When working in film it's important to find colleagues that have talent, that you can trust, that you can get along with...

In the final installment of our independent filmmakers series (Alison S. M. Kobayashi, Winston Hacking...) we bring you a story about collaboration.