معرفی
Jillian McDonald is a Professor of Art at Pace University in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, where she has taught since 2003 and co-directed the Pace Digital Gallery until 2014. She is based in Brooklyn and Troy, New York, and maintains an active international presence through exhibitions, residencies, and curatorial projects.
- MFA, Hunter College at CUNY, 1999, Combined Media
- BFA, University of Manitoba, School of Art, 1993, Fine Arts (Honours)
McDonald’s research and creative practice centers on new media, video, performance, and drawing, with a focus on horror, eco-horror, and speculative fiction. Her work often reimagines genre tropes—such as zombies, haunted landscapes, and masked figures—through digital manipulation, augmented reality, and AI-generated imagery. She explores themes of environmental anxiety, fan participation, and the uncanny in urban and natural settings.
Her recent works, including Tunnel and Radio Skies (2024), ASMR For Plants (2017), and From the Valley of the Deer (2014), demonstrate a consistent engagement with technology and the supernatural. These projects often combine live footage with digital interventions, soundscapes, and interactive elements, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach.
McDonald has received significant recognition through awards and grants, including:
- Canada Council for the Arts (2021 Media Arts Grant)
- Glenfiddich Canadian Art Prize
- Multiple artist residencies: Arctic Circle, Headlands Center, Banff Centre, Western Front, and LMCC
- Support from NYFA, NYSCA, Verizon Foundation, and Turbulence.org
She has advised and mentored students through her teaching and independent study courses at Pace University. Her curatorial work includes Great Outdoors! and Me, My Camera, and I at the Pace Digital Gallery, as well as Cosmic Rhythm and Bang at the Simons Center. She has also been supported by research grants such as the Amelia A Gould Research Assistantship.
McDonald is affiliated with collaborative and experimental art spaces such as TempFiles Co-op and has been artist-in-residence at Wave Farm, Eastern Edge Gallery, and Anderson Ranch. Her studio practice integrates drawing, video, performance, and digital tools, often blurring the boundaries between physical and virtual realms.
