
I am Ryan David McLay, a Canadian multidisciplinary artist and storyteller based in Santiago, Chile. My work explores cultural memory, migration, and place through visual art, film development, and research-driven storytelling.
My practice spans independent artistic production, historical research, and international collaboration. I am currently developing a film project rooted in Swiss–Canadian heritage while continuing to engage with Chile’s cultural landscape through long-term creative initiatives.
This website presents selected works, research projects in development, and collaborative practices focused on cultural exchange, preservation, and contemporary storytelling.
Soy Ryan David McLay, un artista multidisciplinario y narrador canadiense residente en Santiago de Chile. Mi trabajo explora la memoria cultural, la migración y el territorio a través del arte visual, el desarrollo cinematográfico y la investigación creativa.
Mi práctica abarca la producción artística independiente, la investigación histórica y la colaboración internacional. Actualmente desarrollo un proyecto cinematográfico basado en la herencia suizo-canadiense, al tiempo que mantengo un vínculo activo con el contexto cultural chileno a través de iniciativas creativas de largo plazo.
Este sitio presenta una selección de obras, proyectos de investigación en desarrollo y prácticas colaborativas centradas en el intercambio cultural, la preservación y la narración contemporánea.
"The Journey of a Melody" is a transdisciplinary research project and moving image installation exploring the Swiss-Canadian diaspora (1890–1910). This initiative delves into the "cultural memory" associated with migration storytelling, utilizing visual anthropology to reconstruct sensory landscapes of migration. The accompanying sizzle reel serves as a developmental "visual sketch," conveying atmosphere rather than narrative, and will inform the future creation of a site-specific sod house intervention and a multi-channel gallery installation that highlights the intersection of visual art and memory.

"The Journey of a Melody" is a transdisciplinary research project and moving image installation exploring the Swiss-Canadian diaspora (1890–1910). This initiative delves into the "cultural memory" associated with migration storytelling, utilizing visual anthropology to reconstruct sensory landscapes of migration. The accompanying sizzle reel serves as a developmental "visual sketch," conveying atmosphere rather than narrative, and will inform the future creation of a site-specific sod house intervention and a multi-channel gallery installation that highlights the intersection of visual art and memory.
This project is currently in a research and development phase. Research to date has focused on historical, linguistic, and cultural sources related to Bernese migration to Canada (circa 1890–1910), supporting ongoing script development that emphasizes migration storytelling and cultural memory.
Further research—particularly in Switzerland—will help strengthen historical accuracy and cultural authenticity, ensuring that the visual art created for the project resonates deeply as it moves toward a future production phase.
"Atemporalidades Refractadas" La Casa Cultural Heredia Alfredo Gonzales Flores, San Jose, Costa Rica
Mexico City, Mexico
A two-person show called "Sharing Pixels", Anyang, South Korea
Arturo Duclos
Carlos Ampuero
Raul Pizarro
Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
