Concordia MFA candidate Teresa Dorey set to explore ecological materiality in Denmark and Sweden
Teresa Dorey at the Clay Museum in Denmark, constructing a rocket kiln at the Clay Museum in Denmark during the Genjord Sustainability Symposium. Photo by: Daniel Gillberg.
Teresa Dorey, an MFA candidate in Concordia’s Studio Arts program, is the 2025 recipient of the William Blair Bruce European Fine Art Travel Scholarship. The annual $5,000 prize supports a graduate student in visual arts for a research-creation project in Europe.
Dorey is an interdisciplinary artist who works primarily with sculpture and ceramics. Her practice explores how materials connect the human body to the environment. Through tactile processes like shaping and firing, Dorey explores how hands-on making can deepen our understanding of the world. Drawing on environmental psychology and socio-ecology, her work investigates how sensory experiences—like touch and texture—enhance awareness of ecological systems, time, and place. “This award is a meaningful affirmation that my work is connecting,” says Dorey. “It offers me support to engage with sites where geological and cultural histories intersect. I’m thankful for this time to listen, learn and make in ways that directly inform my practice.”
Installation by Teresa Dorey, featuring reclaimed clay, recycled glass, local organics and local minerals. Photo by Stephen Phelps.
For her project, Dorey will travel to Bornholm, a Baltic island renowned for its ceramics, where she’ll visit artists working with local materials and explore their collaborations with industry partners. Her research will then take her to the Royal Danish Academy and nearby material sites, including 1.7-billion-year-old granite and Kaolinsøen in Rønne. She also plans to study the Risegård Formation, known for its red, yellow, and green clays long used by both artists and industry. The project will culminate in a return to Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center—where she previously held a Canada Council–supported residency—to create new work informed by her investigation into material ecologies and embodied knowledge.
“I’m interested in co-shaping - how our environments shape us, and how we shape them. These materials are not just geological but historical collaborators,” Dorey mentions. “They shape the shifting relationships between land and labour, culture and industry, and ecology and extraction. By working directly with them, I aim to develop materially grounded and critically responsive methodologies”.
Dorey is also set to visit Sweden, where her trip will culminate with a public lecture at the Brucebo Foundation in Visby. Her presentation, Material Ecologies and Embodied Engagement with the Environment, will feature images from her portfolio and documentation from her travels. Themes will include sustainability, localized material practices, and how environmental conditions shape access and inclusion.
"It is our responsibility to cultivate hope, as an antidote for the disparity we face. Finding ways to remain in relation, be attentive and slow down offers a way of processing. This award will enrich my artistic practice by integrating cross-disciplinary knowledge of materiality and landscape, ultimately strengthening my ability to create ecologically informed art that is materially thoughtful and rooted in care,” she adds.
Teresa Dorey in her studio at Concordia. Photo by: Florence Viau.
Bridging disciplines through sustainability and community
Dorey’s approach to research-creation is grounded in collaboration and community-building. She received a second CCSL grant to expand Sustainable Studios, a collaborative initiative that earned the top Environmental Prize from Forces AVENIR. Her work has also been previously supported by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Canada Council, and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles. Currently, she is pursuing her MFA with scholarships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Concordia University, while highlighting the ongoing support of her cohort and co-advisors, Linda Swanson and Kelly Jazvac.
“My experience with community-oriented practices is vital to how I think as an artist and researcher,” she notes. “It's an opportunity to connect with international artists, offer knowledge in return, and build lasting exchanges aligns with my ethics and creative goals.”
Informed by her background in both theory and tactile material engagement, Dorey’s work seeks to imagine speculative futures for sustainable art. “This award supports not only the development of my practice, but also a broader conversation around environmental ethics in contemporary art - one I look forward to contributing to and sharing.”
Learn more about the MFA in Studio Arts.