McCoy Chance - Experimental Artist & Filmmaker
McCoy Chance is an experimental artist and filmmaker pushing the boundaries of analog technology. His approach to art is a blend of experimentation, collaboration, and care through thought-provoking dialogue.
McCoy Chance is an artist, musician, composer, and educator based in Baltimore, MD. His work focuses on revitalizing discarded analog technology, collaborating with local repair professionals, musicians, and Baltimore’s vibrant creative communities to reimagine how we consume, use, and understand contemporary technology.
Through his practice, McCoy delves into the complex relationship between humans and machines, transforming technological waste into evocative moving images, installations, and performative experiences. His work challenges conventional notions of obsolescence, decay, and care, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and repair in fostering sustainable relationships with the tools that shape our world.
McCoy’s work also highlights the environmental consequences of our reliance on disposable technology, drawing attention to the toxic materials in discarded electronics and their impact on global ecosystems. By repurposing and repairing e-waste, he underscores the urgency of sustainable practices in addressing the environmental legacy of consumer culture.
McCoy’s interactive and experimental CRT installations and films have been exhibited at the Peale Museum, Area 405, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Brown Center, and the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) as part of the Americas Film Festival. His experimental films have also been screened internationally in Venezuela, Spain, Toronto, India, and at the Lviv Art Palace and Art Museum in Ukraine.
Education
2019 B.A. Music Technology, UMBC, Baltimore, MD
2019 B.A. Media and Communication Studies, UMBC, Baltimore MD
2022 - 2025 M.F.A. Candidate, Intermedia and Digital Art, UMBC, Baltimore MD (Current)
Exhibitions and Screenings
2021 & 2022 What is Contemporary (Short Film), Livewire 11 and 12 Music Festival, UMBC, Baltimore, MD
2022 Father/Doors (Sculptural Installation & Interactive Sound Sculpture), Created in collaboration with Mariia Usova for the Ukrainian Refugee Relief Fundraiser organized by ‘Haver’.
2022 Father/Doors (Sculptural Installation & Interactive Sound Sculpture), Created in collaboration with Mariia Usova, selected for Artist Against-War (AAA) online Exhibition
2023 Roll For Punishment (Composition and Performance Piece), The Music Box (World Premiere), UMBC Percussion Ensemble, Composer, Contemporary Music Composition for Percussion Ensemble, Baltimore, MD
2023 Transmission Override (Film Screening and Installation), Spark 6 Projections at the Peale, The Peale Museum, Baltimore, MD
2023 Transmission Override (Nominee: Official Selection), International short Film Festival “La Cruz Y El Mar”, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
2023 Transmission Override (Official Selection), Film and Nature Festival “Valle De La Fuenfría, Madrid, Spain
2023 Transmission Override (Nominee Best Experimental), Couch Film Festival, Toronto, Canada
2023 Meditation for Microbes and Trees (Official Selection), Alibag Short Film Festival, Alibag, India
2023 Meditation for Microbes and Trees (Official Selection), Kerela Short Film Festival, Kerela, India
2024 Transmission Override (Official Selection), The Americas Film Festival, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, New York, New York
2024 Transmission Override (Official Selection), Max Sir International Film Festival, Lviv Art Palace, Art Museum, Ukraine
2024 Feedback For Nature (Official Selection-World Premiere), New Works Baltimore, Current Space Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland
Fall 2024 Group Show, Sweaty Eyeballs: Animation Adjacent, Area 405, Baltimore, MD
2024/2025 Group Show, Baker Off The Web, The Peale Museum, Baltimore, MD
Guest Artist/Residency’s
Spring 2023 Guest Artist, The Vigil, The Brown Center, MICA, Baltimore, MD
Guest artists at MICA’s all night music festival where I set up a live feedback installation on three CRT’s for the festival while students were video mapping the architecture of the building and venue at the Brown Center.
Fall 2024 Guest Artist/Collaborative Video Artist Residency, UMBC Improv Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Patrick Crossland, UMBC, Baltimore, MD
This semester-long collaboration and residency culminated in an hour-long improvisation concert, where musicians actively responded to the visuals displayed on their CRT monitors while I improvised alongside them. Throughout the semester, we explored the dynamic connection between live audio and video, fostering a process of mutual listening, watching, and creative collaboration. This exchange emphasized the interplay between sound and image, highlighting the responsive and performative nature of our work together.
Reviews and Mentions
2021 LN LA NACIÓN, “Ordinary Soul: the first EP of the Paraguayan singer-songwriter who makes music from the United States”, by Micaela Cattaneo
Review of the record ‘Ordinary Soul’ that I produced for recording artist Pramuk
2022 Doxa Journal Feature of: Father/Doors (Sculptural Installation & Interactive Sound Sculpture) Created in collaboration with Mariia Usova
2022 Swings Magazine Feature of: Father/Doors (Sculptural Installation & Interactive Sound Sculpture) Created in collaboration with Mariia Usova
2024 Bmore Art, BmoreArt News: Amy Sherald, Sweaty Eyeballs: Animation Adjacent,
Baltimore Jazz
2024 UMBC Magazine, Baltimore-based international animation festival Sweaty Eyeballs
returns with a visual feast
Professional Development and Artist Talks
Spring 2024 MORE Faculty-PHD Student Mentoring
Spring 2024 Guest Critique for Undergraduate Senior Reviews, MICAs Interactive Media and Sound Art Majors, May 9th, 2024
Fall 2024 Artist Talk at MICA for Interactive Media and Sound Art studies, Animation Students and Guests, November 21st, 2024
Professional Experience and Teaching
2018 Production Intern, The Magpie Cage Recording Studios with J. Robbins
2018_2021 Production Specialist, Maestro Classics, New York, New York: 200 years of Bach
2019_Present Multimedia Technician, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Department of Music, Baltimore, MD
2021_Present Creative Research and Achievement Team Member at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Department of Music
Spring 2022_Present Student Org Advisor for Retriever Music Society at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Spring 2023 - Present Guest Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Surround Sound and Video Production (MUSC 417)
2024_Present Adjunct Professor, Department of Visual Arts, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Visual Concepts IV, Moving Image (ART 213)