Derek Michael Besant, RCA, was born 1950 in Alberta, BFA (Honours) University of Calgary 1973, elected to Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 1978, Distinguished Alumni Award University Calgary 1999, McKinney Scholar Lecturer, University of Indiana, Bloomington USA 2016. Collaborations with writers, sound practitioners, and other visual artists have resulted in hybrid projects across Besant's career, including large-scale outdoor art installations. Capital City - Public Art Projects include art commissions for University of Ottawa's LRT Station and the STEM Architectural Design Team 2019, with topics of "pollution of international waters" set for Amsterdam, Holland and "homelessness" for Sydney, Australia to install in 2021.