Emma Ongman is an interdisciplinary artist, self-taught musician, and arts administrator. Primarily working with images, video, and sound, Emma is interested in everyday environments, the evolution of relationships, and the impact of technology on both nature and humanity. She embraces tech-accidents, the recycling of materials, and explores the intersection between magic, science, and art.
Ongman has shown her work in Canada, the United States, France, and Greece. She holds a dual major Bachelor of Arts Honours degree with Distinction from the University of Guelph and has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Guelph Arts Council. Emma currently lives and works in Montréal, Québec.
email: emma.ongman@icloud.com
instagram: @emmaongman
(also known as @teckbro11)
Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council, the Guelph Arts Council, and the University of Guelph for their generous support.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree with Distinction, Double Major in Studio Art, and Criminal Justice and Public Policy, University of Guelph
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
(Upcoming), Cool kids never die, The Drake Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
2021
Screen Time, Zavitz Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
2020
irl, The Project Space, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
irl, The Project Space, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
Technology and Failure, Zavitz Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND SCREENINGS
2023
Lament Configurations, Feature Creep, Toronto, Ontario, Online
DJ'S DON'T DANCE, ponyHAUS, Toronto, Ontario
Spring, Open Studio, 5333 Casgrain, Montréal, Québec
Centre Lartigue, Écomusée du fier monde, Montréal, Québec
2022
RoundTable 2022, Toronto, Ontario, Online
Fall, Open Studio, 5333 Casgrain, Montréal, Québec
Billbored, Factory Media Centre, Hamilton, Ontario
KITCHEN, Fabricated Gallery, (Toronto, ON and Halifax, NS), Online
2021
Unfolding, Boarding House Gallery, RBC Emerging Artist Mentorship Program, Guelph, Ontario
Elements, with Artist Collective “38N”, ArtFarm, Caledon, Ontario
Clubhouse T.V., Alice Street Clubhouse, Guelph, Ontario
Shared Space, with Artist Collective “38N”, Ashlar Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
Top 10, Juried Art Show, Zavitz Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
Gateway | Zavitz Gallery | University of Guelph and Winthrop University Exchange Show | Rock Hill, South Carolina
Lot. 14, Specialized Studio, Boarding House Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
Temporary Collection, Ed Video, Guelph, Ontario
2020
2020
A Thousand Miles from Nowhere, Specialized Studio, Zavitz Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
Virtual Juried Art Show, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph, Ontario
Show and Tell, The Graham, Brooklyn, New York
2019
Something Special and Nothing Important, Boarding House Gallery, Guelph, Ontario
Juried Art Show, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph, Ontario
2016
Larger than Life, Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville, Ontario
Larger than Life, Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville, Ontario
ART FAIRS/PERFORMANCES/BIENNALES
2023
Black Holes, Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu Pavillion, The Wrong Biennale
Rayons, Le Basement (MTL Improv Club), Montréal, Québec
2022
Calling All Alien Cyborgs, LUMEN, Waterloo, Ontario
Pseudo Band, Kazoo! Fest, Guelph, Ontario
Women in Space Festival, Collaboration with LCON at the Tranzac Club, Toronto, Ontario
2021
Together Apart, La Station - Gare Des Mines (Paris, FR), Long Winter Music and Arts Festival (Toronto, ON)
Spurious Anniversary, ponyHAUS, Toronto, Ontario
Mimema, Platforms Project Net, Ed Video Booth, Athens, Greece
SELECTED AWARDS, GRANTS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2022
Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2021
Project Grant for New Generation Artists, Ontario Arts Council
Jane Graham Memorial Award, Guelph Arts Council
BMO 1st ART! Invitational Student Art Competition, Photography Nominee
Faculty Award, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph
Technicians Award, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph
Top 10 Award, Juried Art Show, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph
2020
Michael Scotchmer Scholarship for Visual Arts, University of Guelph
College of Arts Student Union Award, University of Guelph
College of Arts Student Union Award, University of Guelph
Directors Award, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph
Printmaking Award, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph
2019
Photography Award, School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph
2017
Excellence in Applied Research, University of Guelph
2016-2021
Dean’s Honour List, University of Guelph
2016-2017
Entrance Scholarship, University of Guelph
RESIDENCIES
2022
Roundtable Residency, Roundtable, Toronto, Ontario
Amateur Radio Operator Certificate, Basic Qualification with Honours, Radio Amateurs of Canada
Call sign: VE2TKB
2021
Equipment Residency, Ed Video Media Arts Centre, Guelph, Ontario
Guelph Emerging Artist Mentorship Program, Mentee under Lisa Conway (LCON)
2020
Digital Residency, University of Guelph
Co-Create, Collaborative Residency for Creatives, Otherwise Studios and Bumaroo, Guelph, Ontario
JURIES AND CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2022
Platforms Project Curator, Ed Video Booth, Athens, Greece
Media Art Juror, Juried Art Show, Ed Video Representative, Guelph, Ontario
2021
Zavitz Gallery Coordinator, 2020-2021, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2023
Gallery Associate, McBride Contemporain, Édifice Belgo, Montréal, Québec
2022
Media Art Installer, Art Gallery of Guelph, 2021 - 2022, Guelph, Ontario
Staff Member, Ed Video Media Arts Centre, Guelph, Ontario
Curator for Platforms Project (2022)
Amateur Radio Coordinator (2022)
Technology Coordinator, Temporary Collection (2022)
Residency Coordinator (2021-2022)
Volunteer (2020-2021)
Studio Assistant to Shannon Garden-Smith, Toronto, Ontario
2021
Studio Assistant to Suzy Lake, 2020-2021, Toronto, Ontario
Editor, Kaleidoscope Magazine, 2020-2021, University of Guelph, Ontario
Layout Designer (2020)
Juried Art Show, University of Guelph, Ontario
Coordinator (2020-2021)
Photographer and Installation Assistant (2020)
Board Member, Fine Arts Network, University of Guelph, Ontario
Juried Art Show Representative (2020-2021)
Chairperson (2020)
Secretary (2019)
Studio Art Representative, Student Services Fees Committee, School of Fine Art and Music | 2020-2021 | University of Guelph, Ontario
360° Photographer for Virtual Exhibitions, Art Gallery of Guelph in partnership with the Interdisciplinary Design Lab at the University of Guelph, 2020-2021 | Guelph, Ontario
2020
Undergraduate Research Assistant to Susan Dobson, University of Guelph, Ontario
2019
Studio Monitor, Photography Department, University of Guelph, Ontario
Studio Art Social Media Manager, University of Guelph, Ontario
Printmaking Department Assistant, Print Show and Sale, University of Guelph, Ontario
Latcham Art Centre, Volunteer, Stouffville, Ontario
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2023
Richard Williams, "Ever Approaching, Never Arriving: Emma Ongman's Black Hole," Feature Creep, Toronto, Ontario
2022
Tom Beedham, Pseudo Band @ Kazoo! Fest, "Kazoo! Fest Makes Its "Long-Overdue Goodbye" by Doing What It's Always Done," Exclaim! Magazine, Toronto, Ontario
2021
Guelph Art's Council, "Emma Ongman, Guelph Emerging Artist Mentorship Project", Guelph, Ontario
Guelph Arts Council, "GAC Jane Graham Memorial Award Recipients", Guelph, Ontario
Athens Up Radio, "Platforms Project Net", Athens, Greece
Emil White, "Emma Ongman: The Interviewing Artist Series", Kaleidoscope Magazine and the Juried Art Show, Guelph, Ontario
The Ontarion, Arts Issue, "Emma Ongman", Guelph, Ontario
Ahmri Vandeborne, Interview, Experiential Learning, Co-operative Education & Career Services, University of Guelph, Ontario
2020
Anna Cox, Turning My Bedroom into a Camera Obscura, Research Notes: I Keep My Worries in My Teeth, Necessary Fiction, Boston, Massachusetts
Anam Khan, Guelph artists paired during quarantine showcase works of art online, Guelph Today, Ontario
Kaleidoscope Magazine, Corrupted Wood Grain #1, Issue 15, University of Guelph, Ontario
Otherwise Studios, February Featured Artist, Guelph, Ontario
2019
Kaleidoscope Magazine, Corrupted Image Series, Issue 14, University of Guelph, Ontario
TEACHING
2020
How to Make Cyanotypes, Bumaroo Festival, Guelph, Ontario
How to Make a Camera Obscura, Photography Department, University of Guelph, Ontario
SELECTED WRITING
2020
Suzy Lake: Innovative Professor and One of Canada's Most Important Photographers, Her Story: Women Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County, Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory
