Dillon Lew'chuk
Dillon Lew'chuk (he/him) is a queer, (dis)abled, Ukrainian-Canadian artist based on Vancouver Island, currently residing on the unceded land of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, the LÉ™k̓ʷəŋən-speaking people (Victoria, B.C.). From 2014 to 2024, Dillon worked under the artist pseudonym Ryan O’Lewis as a response to discrimination.
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Originally from Treaty Four Territory in rural Saskatchewan, Dillon holds undergraduate degrees in Education (2015) and Visual Arts (2016) from the University of Regina, as well as a Master’s in Art Therapy (2020) from Concordia University.
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Throughout his career, he has served as Director of the Fifth Parallel Gallery, curated exhibitions, and received the Creative Spirit Award for his advocacy within Regina’s queer arts community. His work has been exhibited in galleries, online publications, and print media across Canada. He remains committed to collaboration, working alongside fellow queer artists and volunteering with non-profit artist-run centres.
art practice.
My multidisciplinary practice explores the intersections of identity, resilience, and resistance. Working primarily in sculpture, painting, mixed media, textiles, and installation, Dillon’s work delves into themes of queer visibility, disability justice, cultural reclamation, and ancestral memory. His practice is deeply informed by the political climate, his lived experience with invisible disability, and a commitment to storytelling that honours both personal and collective histories.
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Drawing from his Pre-Christian Slavic ancestry and the vibrancy of his Ukrainian-Canadian roots, Dillon weaves traditional folk motifs with contemporary social commentary. A significant influence in his work is the enduring magic of his family’s travelling circus, Lewchuk Midway & Shows (1918–1960s). This legacy of spectacle, performance, and itinerant wonder shapes his sense of colour, play, and theatricality. The carnival serves not only as an aesthetic reference but also as a metaphor for survival, reinvention, and finding joy amidst precarity.
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Through his art, Dillon creates space for queer futures and diasporic belonging, challenging colonial narratives and inviting viewers into intimate acts of remembrance and repair. His practice often engages community through collaborative projects, public artworks, and participatory installations that foreground accessibility and care.
Contact.
Email: dillon.lewchuk@gmail.com
Instagram: @dillonlewchukart