“A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Melanie Garcia

Melanie Garcia is an artist with her practice rooted in collage. She is a Filipino born and raised in Côtes-des-Neiges; she is a twin and a Taurus.

Melanie believes in the accessibility and societal value of art making and art education. Her artwork has been exhibited in galleries in Canada and Europe, and her commissioned work has appeared in publications such as the Guardian, the Walrus, and the Marshall Project.

She loves surrealism, nineties music videos and bouldering (she is very average despite climbing for twenty years). She is currently pursuing an MFA at Concordia University in Studio Arts.

Melanie Garcia
A view from a walk from Champ de Mars métro station towards Old Montréal.
Melanie Garcia
One of my professors is demonstrating a polymer plate print on the Vandercook letterpress.
Selfie at artist-run-center Céline Bureau’s fundraising party, complete with merch.
Most of my photos are notes or reminders. This one is the order of the blankets for the presses.
Attended a vernissage of Le Lin’s work at Atelier Circulaire. They utilized every single printing technique the studio could offer. Much of Le’s work for this show was collaborative and felt very fruitful.
Some experiments with burnout printing on handmade papers using abaca and denim fibres.
A laser engraved woodblock ready for printing.
Documentation of The Glass City by Painter8 Arts Society in East Vancouver in November 2025. This was a public outdoor art project that brought Canadian artwork into the community. Artworks were projected through the windows after dark, making the illuminated work accessible to anyone at street level and nearby. Each window features a different artist. You can spot my work in the top row with the pointing hand!

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Which ‘hood are you in?

I live in the Plateau/Mile End, in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal

What do you do?

I’m a freelancer in the arts. When I’m not in the studio mulling over my own art practice, I give art workshops to youth and create editorial collages for publications or supporting visuals for musicians and poets.

What are you currently working on?

Working on getting through the end of my semester (!) and then one month in Iceland for a field school at the Icelandic Textile Center in Blönduós.

Where can we find your work?

Website | Instagram

 

About Emilea Semancik 239 Articles
Emilea Semancik was born in North Vancouver. Emilea has always always wanted to work as a freelance writer and currently writes for the Vancouver Guardian. Taking influence from journalism culture surrounding the great and late Anthony Bourdain, she is a recipe author working towards publishing her own series of books. You can find her food blog on Instagram: