Jess Mac

Jess MacCormack is a queer, mad artist and white settler based on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Their art practice critically explores the intersection of institutional violence and the socio-political dimensions of personal trauma.

Jess Mac's digital artworks have garnered international attention and have been featured in prestigious publications including Artforum International, Hyperallergic, Canadian Art, VICE Creator’s project, White Hot Contemporary Art, Bitch Magazine, PAPER Magazine, and Art F City. Their animations have reached a global audience, screened at notable festivals such as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, MIX-26 the New York Queer Experimental Film Festival, LA Film Fest at UCLA, Transcreen Amsterdam Transgender Film Festival, Inside Out Film and Video Festival in Toronto, and the Mix Brazil Film Festival of Sexual Diversity across various Brazilian cities.

Jess MacCormack's interdisciplinary practice has received support from and been exhibited at institutions like the Academie der Künste der Welte in Cologne, arbyte in London, articule in Montréal, and Western Front in Vancouver, among other esteemed local and international galleries.

Holding an MFA in Public Art and New Artistic Strategies from the Bauhaus University (2008), Jess previously served as an Assistant Professor of Studio Arts at Concordia University from 2010 to 2013. They are currently an instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and are pursuing a PhD in Contemporary Art at Simon Fraser University. Jess MacCormack's work continues to challenge and inspire dialogue around the crucial themes of trauma, identity, and resistance within contemporary society.