Melissa Q. Teng is a Chinese American multimedia artist, designer, and researcher living around Boston, MA. Often in collaboration or community, her work is concerned with creative presence and the interdependence of memory and imagination in healing after state violence. Currently she is working on a documentary about memory workers in Argentina with filmmakers Rodrigo Caprotti and Luisina Pozzo Ardizzi, as well as doing lots of walking. She is also a virtual graduate student in the Dept. of Urban Studies + Planning at MIT.

She previously worked as a civic designer at the Engagement Lab, where she created a program for women transitioning out of prison, using peer-supported conversations, 360° videos, and VR, as well as co-taught a studio course at Emerson College in partnership with the City of Boston’s Office of Returning Citizens. Melissa has exhibited or curated artwork with Boston CyberArts, the Distillery Gallery, and EMW Community Space (where she now lives). She worked as a UX + data visualization designer at Datawheel, and her team’s work was recognized by the Webby’s, Kantar’s Information Is Beautiful, Awwwards, FastCompany’s World Changing Ideas, the New York Times, and others.