Who am I, and what do I do?
Bridging Cultures Through Art and Storytelling
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.
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"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.
