Joni Cheung
MFA Student, Sculpture and Ceramics
Snack Witch aka Joni Cheung is a grateful, uninvited guest on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, Stó:lō, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh, and Kanien’kehá:ka peoples. They get paid to make art most of the time, sometimes to teach and communicate digitally/IRL, but generally to drive friends and their things around #fulllicenselyfe. Her time is currently occupied by their candidacy as a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Ceramics at Concordia University, where she is investigating the interdependent relationship between objects, place and identity, while navigating discourses of transnationalism, migration, and diasporas. Joni likes to collect and reference still and moving images, texts, audio and soundscapes, objects, places and spaces, popular culture, and digital media in their interdisciplinary research-based practice. Aside from researching and writing, she likes doing snack and beverage reviews, medium length walks at the beach, being wrapped into a blanket burrito & cinnamon bun, and her perfect first date involves a thorough walkthrough at multiple grocery stores + Costco, getting bubble tea, and breads + pastries from all the bakeries.
She has exhibited and curated shows at the CRES Media Arts Committee, Vancouver; the FOFA Gallery, Montréal, Centre A: the Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver; the Audain Gallery, Vancouver; and has been featured in CBC Arts; and the Canada Line Transit BC Public Art Program, among other spaces and platforms.
They are a recipient of numerous awards, including the British Columbia Arts Council Scholarship (2020) and the Dale and Nick Tedeschi Studio Arts Fellowship (2019). She was waitlisted for the SSHRC - Joseph-Armand Bombardier: Canada Graduate Master’s Scholarship (2020).