Dr. Joel Ong

Biography

Joel Ong is an artist-researcher whose work connects scientific and artistic approaches to environmental issues. With over a decade of explorations in contemporary ecological thought expressed through digital art and installation, he engages in socially conscious community practices. Ong's artistic research investigates how objects and spaces operate as repositories of 'frozen sound', where he aims to create systems akin to theorist Jack Burnham's vision of art residing within material entities and the relationships between people and their environment. His work has been exhibited in various prestigious venues, including the Gregg Museum of Art & Design in North Carolina, Ectopia Gallery in Lisbon, the Stamps Gallery in Michigan, El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe in New Mexico, and the Goethe Institute in Paris, among others. Ong has also curated international exhibitions focused on the intersection of art and science. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Digital Arts from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Biological Arts from the University of Western Australia. He has been recognized with awards such as the Petro-Canada Young Innovators Award in 2020 and has participated in significant artistic residencies. Before joining the University of Victoria, he served as the Director of the Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts Technology, and currently holds the Helen Carswell Chair in Community Engaged Research in the Arts at York University in Toronto.

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