Julya Hajnoczky was born in Calgary and raised by hippie parents, surrounded by unruly houseplants, bookishness and art supplies, with CBC radio playing softly, constantly, in the background. It was inevitable, then, that she would grow up to be an artist. She holds a BA in French from the University of Calgary and a BDes in photography from the Alberta University for the Arts. Her multidisciplinary practice seeks to ask questions and inspire curiosity about the complex relationships between humans and the natural world. Julya has completed artist residencies at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (Vancouver, BC), Kinnship House (Vulcan County, AB), and the Empire of Dirt (Creston, BC). Her work has been exhibited internationally, and has been acquired by public and private collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Her most recent adventures, supported by grants from the Calgary Arts Development Authority and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, involved building a mobile natural history collection laboratory (a combination tiny camper and workspace, the Alfresco Science Machine), and exploring the many ecosystems of Canada including in Alberta’s Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve in BC, Wood Buffalo National Park, NWT, Point Pelee National Park, ON and many points between. If she’s not in her home studio working on something tiny, she’s out in the forest working on something big.