CJM Scholarship 2025: Jessica Szeto
My dream is to create a work that helps people remember something about themselves that they may have forgotten.
We are excited to announce the recipient of our 2025 intake of the Chris J. Melnychuk Memorial Scholarship and Residency: Jessica Szeto!
About Jessica:
Jessica Szeto is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, and computer programmer who was born in and is currently based in Calgary, Alberta. Her practice involves continually exploring and experimenting with different forms of storytelling. Her work often explores themes of nostalgia, memory, personal history, technology, and the diaspora. She holds a BSc Honours in Computer Science from the University of Calgary. She has recently exhibited works at The New Gallery, TRUCK Contemporary Art, Heritage Park, The Lougheed House, and the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre.
CJM Project Summary:
“My Mall” will be a 3-minute animation using stop-motion paper collage techniques to tell a story about my personal relationship with a mall that doesn’t exist anymore. This work will feature physical materials like photographs and analog animation techniques to evoke a sense of a time that seems to have passed us by. Animation is the perfect tool for me to tell this story with because it can bring dreams, memories, and imaginations to life. My dream is to create a work that helps people remember something about themselves that they may have forgotten. When we unearth these memory fragments of extinct spaces, past feelings, or people who don’t exist anymore, we can then decide which pieces we want to carry with us into the future, and which are worth leaving behind.
Also see our Previous CJM Scholarship Recipient, Morgan Whalan!