Cyril W. Chen

Cyril Chen (they/them, any pronouns) is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher and educator based in the Treaty 3 (Hamilton, ON) and Treaty 4 (Regina, SK) territories of so-called Canada. Their debut experimental, animated short film 'Transfusion' has been supported in part by CARFAC Saskatchewan, Canada Council's Emerging Media Artist- Concept to Realization program and the University of Saskatchewan's Capacitor program. They hold a Master of Arts in Communication Studies and New Media program from McMaster University, an Honours Bachelor of Animation from Sheridan College, and have studied Expanded Media and Liberal Arts and Sciences through NSCAD & Dalhousie University. In 2024, they presented on their Master's research-creation project, which involves graphic novel and game storytelling, 'Transing the Narrative: Positing/Digesting Grief into Dialogic+Equitable Frameworks', through the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and the Intersections/Cross-Sections online conference, both held in Toronto, ON. They frequently work as a contract juror and workshop instructor across the arts sector, within the topics of arts exhibition, animation filmmaking, visual storytelling, digital arts and arts archiving. You can find them online at the username @cyberspacevoid

gender free

I wish I was free

from the roots

—which tether

—--- and ground me ….for…

Maybe I wasn’t meant for the Sky

but just the Earth instead

Because I will always be associated with how I look

For better or worse –

If only I can be unperceivable

But to live is to be seen

We take these physical bodies

and we do what we can with them

they are our blessing and curse

But more importantly

our shared responsibilities

To the extent where my body is mine

and yours is yours

please never tell me what you

think I should be

Our trans bodies are sacred