Daniel McCafferty

Daniel McCafferty is an Associate Professor at the School of Art, University of Manitoba, where he bridges critical theory, design, and technology. His role involves teaching, advising graduate students, and leading initiatives like the Indigenous Designer In Residence program (2017–2018).

• Education: M.F.A. from North Carolina State University, BFA in Communication Design (Honours) from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, and non-credit studies in Indigenous Studies, BIPOC Design History, and Modernity + Coloniality.

McCafferty’s creative research interrogates systems of authority through analog/digital mediums like print, programming, and projection. Central to his practice are collaborations via collectives such as Public Design Unit and Different Data, which challenge capitalist labor models and marginalized data narratives. His work has been exhibited at Nuit Blanche Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, and institutions in Europe.

He has received recognition for his scholarship, including the Falconer Emerging Researcher Award (2019) and a Design Educator Award nomination (2022). McCafferty’s pedagogy emphasizes DIY methods, open-source tools (FLOSS), and critical intersections of anarchism, mutual aid, and interface design.

• Creative Achievements: Media Artist in Residence at VideoPool (generative Processing projects), Gornisht Zine Residency (Python data scraping for bottled water analysis).
• Teaching: Courses in code, typography, design theory, and senior honors studios.