U of R Grad Student Invites You to Help Create a Living Artwork

What does home mean to you?

Kadence Meredith, a Computer Science graduate student at the University of Regina, and Yujie Gao, an internationally recognized media artist and researcher, invite you to explore that question through Becoming Home, an AI-powered artwork shaped by the voices and drawings of people across Regina.

Home doesn't have to be one place, or a place at all. It can be transient, evolving, searched for, and felt. Through storytelling, drawing, speaking, and viewing, I hope participants can feel closer to knowing what home means to them. — Kadence Meredith, MSc Computer Science (Thesis) graduate student, University of Regina

Becoming Home is hosted by the Dunlop Art Gallery at the Regina Public Library’s George Bothwell Branch and is curated by Wendy Peart, Curator of Education and Community Outreach.

When Science Meets Art

When the Dunlop Art Gallery reached out to the U of R’s Creative Technologies and Design department in search of a technological artist to collaborate with Gao, department head Charity Marsh and assistant professor Evie Johnny Ruddy recommended Kadence Meredith.

As a standout student who completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Science with a concentration in Creative Technologies, Meredith is now pursuing her master’s degree, researching artificial intelligence and exploring its creative potential.

“Almost everything I knew going into this project, I learned from the U of R,” says Meredith.

She credits her background in computer science for teaching her to approach problems logically and work with complex systems such as AI, while the Creative Technologies program, with its focus on experimentation and play, taught her to allow ideas to be tried, tossed, and evolved in a way that cannot be planned beforehand.

To many, AI can feel unsettling, like something out of a sci-fi movie that hasn’t been fully explained or understood. But for scientists like Meredith, especially one with a foot in both the technical and creative worlds, AI is something to be explored.

“I’m still figuring out how—or if—AI should be used in art. I’m experimenting with these technologies in real time, while they’re still being developed and released.”

In her graduate research, she studies AI from a scientific and mathematical angle. Through Becoming Home, she has the chance to test how those same systems can be used creatively, while collaborating with an artist who has been exploring similar ideas for years.

“Getting this opportunity has truly meant a lot,” says Meredith. “I appreciate the intelligence, organization, and creativity of Yujie, and I feel so lucky to be mentored by her.”

Visit and Participate

As Becoming Home continues to grow, so too will its meaning, shaped by the voices, memories, and imaginations of the community. Through storytelling, Meredith hopes participants can feel closer to knowing what homes means to them.

“Home doesn't have to be one place, or a place at all. It can be transient, evolving, searched for, and felt,” she says.

Want to contribute? Drop by the Creation Cube at the George Bothwell Library to record your story or make a drawing about what home means to you. Your creativity will become part of a larger, AI-powered public artwork shown at Nuit Blanche Regina on August 30, 2025.

Drop-in Dates:

• July 16, 12–5 p.m.
• July 18, 12–5 p.m.
• July 19, 12–5 p.m.
• July 23, 12–9 p.m.
• July 25, 12–5 p.m.

Curious about the intersection of technology and creativity? Explore the departments of Computer Science and Creative Technologies and Design at the University of Regina.