I was invited to create projections for a spoken word performance night called Roots to Sky, put on by Shone Thistle and Priscilla Cherry.
What a magical night! I got to meet amazing fellow queer artists and meet local legends.
It was a special treat to project on such unique architecture as the interior of the church, so I jumped at the chance.
Due to time constraints and creative capacity, I kept things simple and worked with textures on the different planes. I didn’t want to take away from the incredible poets and musicians performing in the evening.
MEMORY + NOSTALGIA: Meet me at the intersection of time and space was a projection mapping exhibition in partnership with EMMEDIA and Particle + Wave Festival.
Featuring 3 incredible artists: Jacqueline Huskisson, Meryl Prendergast, and Nicole Anne Santangelo
Curated by me, Mackenzie Bedford!
Curating a gallery exhibition involved finding artists working on similar themes, tracking them down and getting them to commit, and trusting them to ship their work to EMMEDIA in time. It was a nailbiter!
I also needed to write the “why” behind the exhibition, it was my first time writing something so serious!
Thank you to EMMEDIA’s Joe and Janira for an incredible installation and artist reception!
Curatorial Statement
Projection and memory share an ephemeral nature. The soft glow of projected light can mimic hazy memories passing through the mind’s eye. Neither can be touched, yet both can be felt.
Each of the artists in “Meet me at the intersection of time and space” have uniquely tapped into this intangible connection and use projection mapping as a method to ferment their memories into nostalgia, resolution, and even new narratives.
With “Play It Again!” Prendergast creates portals to visit familiar dreamscapes by combining childhood archives and woven textiles.
Santangelo transcends the physical plane using projection to channel the memory of her loved one in “Out of Reach”.
Huskisson’s “Reminiscence” examines the abstraction of grief and memory by distorting projections on dynamic, moving surfaces.
By using projection mapping to examine their memories, these artists process the emotions that accompany them. In a world of rectangular screens and doom scrolling, it is easy to become emotionally detached from reality. Projection mapping disrupts this detachment with a grounding experience of light and spatial connection in the shared reality of the exhibition space.
“Meet me at the intersection of time and space” features projection mapping to illustrate the fleeting nature of memory, but also to transform the traditional gallery into a gateway for reflection, reverence and restructuring. This exhibition encourages its audiences to find comfort in the intangible, and to consider processing emotional memories in new, illuminating ways.
I returned to Yellowknife in March 2026 to project hand-crafted animations for a local theatre production by Tin Can Collective. I animated panels from the graphic novel by Alison McCreesh and created dynamic scenic backgrounds for the actors.
I had to get the production team to sort out projectors and throw distance, which took some trust but in the end felt like being pampered. It was nice to just walk up and only worry about the mapping.
Mapping was simple once I was on site. However, I made the mistake of basing animations on an early sketch, instead of the finalized set. I had to do a lot of adjusting!
Theatre projections are extra work because you need to design the transitions for each scene and program it into a queue stack. This always takes longer than I think it will!
In the end it was a rewarding project to collaborate with other art makers, and not work alone. I was proud of this production and all of their efforts!
I was invited to teach a projection mapping workshop at Yellowknife International Film Festival 2026! It was my first time getting paid to be somewhere for my art, and my first time in Yellowknife (but definitely not the last).
YKIFF gave me a star studded treatment with a jam packed goodie bag and all-access passes to the festival. We got to watch horror movies in blow up hotdog chairs and watched a film entirely in Inuktutut.
I taught 6 participants at Makerspace YK the basics of TouchDesigner and Kantan Mapper. It was pretty cool how they took to it so quickly!
I loved being able to bring my parter with me, we enjoyed the aurora and wandering around Old Town.
In the summer and fall of 2025 I got the opportunity to work with local youth through Urban Society of Aboriginal Youth and EMMEDIA Media Arts Gallery. Together we created outdoor projection installations on a local tipi and a historic building at the Confluence.
This was my first time installing a stand alone projection setup that would withstand the outdoor elements for over 2 weeks.
Key components:
A projector enclosure – we went with a DeerTV Small Projector Enclosure. It is made of steel, waterproof, and keeps the internal temperature cool enough for the projector to work 24/7.
A 24/7 projector – not all projectors can run all day and all night. I borrowed my friend’s Optoma long throw. It’s low voltage and can run continuously. It also fits in the enclosure with room for other gadgets, like power bars and media players.
Event truss structure – how we kept the projector out of the way to avoid shadows and ne’er do wells. I worked with Starlite Event Rentals and they helped with installation and getting the projector up 12′ in the air.
A long power cable – we purchased a 100′ power cable and pinned it down with landscaping staples to avoid tripping.
Overall this installation was a success, and the incredible works of 4 different youth artists looped against the Confluence building for two weeks.
This prepared me for my next outdoor installation, set in the dead of winter: Chinook Blast 2026.
2025 Calgary AB – Throughout the year I worked with the Ramsay Community Association and Calgary Arts Development Association to transform three traffic signal utility boxes in the neighborhood.
I held an in-person community engagement session at nvrlnd boutique, a fantastic event space near some of the favourite watering holes of residents. I also put up posters in foot traffic hot spots to get some online opinions.
The survey:
Ramsay Utility Box Community Engagement Survey
The location of these boxes is in three transitory spaces:
1048 21 Ave SE , across from the rail line cutting through Ramsay
1021 8 St SE up the hill from MacDonald bridge
625 25 Ave SE by one of the largest intersections giving access
To celebrate the “in-between” of Ramsay, the murals on these transformer boxes will act as portals for the neighbourhood. What does your portal look like?
Are you coming home from a long day or popping by for a morning coffee at the dog park? Is this a place you come to learn, rest, or try to make sense of it all?
Local visual artist, and Ramsay resident, Mackenzie Bedford is asking these questions to inform their transformer designs. By completing this questionnaire, you will be helping shape your neighbourhood’s visual landscape!
Do you live in Ramsay?
Why do you visit Ramsay, or why did you move here?
How often do you go in and out of the neighbourhood?
How long have you been visiting/living Ramsay?
Optional
Age
Gender
Self-identify:
Through the engagement process I discovered how Ramsay was a place to nurture families, a common place to celebrate, and the spot to establish careers for so many. I considered these facets and the locations of my mural sites and came up with the 3 following concepts:
NURTURE, near MacDonald Bridge and the dog park.
COLLABORATE, in the parking lot next to the Calgary Water Centre.
CELEBRATE, just outside of nvrlnd. boutique and down the road from Dandy Brewing.
Official Artist Statement:
The In-Betweens: NUTURE; COLLABORATE; CELEBRATE.
Ramsay is a beautifully diverse community that also enjoys many visitors throughout the week. Restaurants, schools, places of worship, boutiques, and parks all welcome swells of residents and regulars.
To celebrate the “in-between” of Ramsay, this suite of murals will act as a portal for the neighbourhood. Are you coming home from a long day, or popping by for a morning coffee at the dog park? Is this a place you come to learn, rest, or try to make sense of it all?
Each of the utility boxes shares a different story of what Ramsay means to its community.
“Nurture” A myriad of star sprites are ushered off together by their cosmic guardians, while reciprocating the care.
“Collaborate” Interdimensional beings work together to tidy up the stars and create a new one in the process.
“Celebrate” Celestial neighbours enjoy their favourite performer while collaborating on an art piece.
Inspired by risoprint graphic styles and the eclipse. The Festival of Animated Objects happens during the spring equinox, so this was a celebration of the celestial bodies that follow our day to day.
Process: Created with a risograph process in mind, using limited layers and colour blending to create a riso effect. Hero poster set the tone for the rest of the festival’s annual designs including stickers, social media, event collateral and merch.
