Esmond Lee 李春錦 is a community-engaged artist, researcher, and architect based in Scarborough. Lee explores long-term, intergenerational experiences of migration in peripheral spaces. He holds a Master of Architecture and is pursuing a Doctorate in Critical Human Geography. Lee draws from these seemingly diverging backgrounds to examine identity, belonging, and nuanced cultural and political borders in the built environment. Recent public artworks include two photographic sculptures for Nuit Blanche Toronto (2019, 2022) and a 30-foot tall installation at Malvern Town Centre presented by the Doris McCarthy Gallery for CONTACT Photography Festival, nominated for a 2022 Heritage Toronto Public History Award. Lee’s current projects include two photobooks: Below the City, recognized by the Edward Burtynsky Grant, and community-driven book for Woodside Square Library as the Toronto Public Library Artist-in-Residence. His work is in the permanent collection of The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Michael Garron Hospital, and Doris McCarthy Gallery (DMG) at University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). Lee is supported by the Toronto, Ontario, and Canada Art Councils.
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