Sydney Ly

Since 2013, the DMG has enjoyed an ongoing partnership with local arts organization Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, who annually provide the space for an exhibition of U of T Scarborough student artworks. This exhibition is curated by a current U of T Scarborough student, through a six-month curatorial mentorship opportunity – this year, we will be working with Sydney Ly, a Studio Art student in the Department of Arts, Culture & Media at U of T Scarborough.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sydney Ly (she/her) is a Canadian-born Chinese emerging artist whose works investigate and dive into the intersections of her personal experiences and diasporic identity growing up in an Asian immigrant household in Canada with her grandmother. Her fascination with art and storytelling from an early age led her to further pursue the arts in her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, soon earning her Honours of Bachelor of Arts degree specializing in Studio Art and a minor in Art History programs. Her works serve as a reflection of her own experiences and also explore the questions of identity and cultural narratives by utilizing a diverse range of materials and objects, merging traditional with contemporary artmaking methods and techniques. Storytelling plays a huge role in her practice, working with objects and adding an artistic purpose to them to speak on personal experiences, inviting viewers to engage with the dialogues of identity, memory and nostalgia and aim to reach audiences that can resonate with these experiences.

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY

With the guidance and support of DMG staff, the DMG @ Cedar Ridge Curatorial Mentorship Program provides a U of T Scarborough student with the opportunity to gain experience in every aspect of exhibition planning and develop an understanding of the curatorial process, including attending class critiques to select artwork, developing a curatorial theme, finalizing the placement of work within the site, and writing the interpretive materials accompanying the exhibition. This mentorship program offers important practical experience and the unique opportunity to present work in a professional setting and have it seen by the wider community.