Meet the ArtWorksTO Advisory

The ArtworksTO Advisory Committee is designed to advise and provide feedback to partners on the two-year ArtWorksTO project, funded by Future Skills Centre.

Advisory members:

  • Provide input and support with the outreach and engagement strategy to reach young artists identifying as IBPOC and 2SLGBTQ

  • Leverage networks to facilitate new connections to further advance the mandate and impact of ArtworksTO

  • Provide input into the ArtworksTO application, intake processes and project based contracts design

  • Provide advice and input to the ArtWorksTO evaluators on the effectiveness of program structures, processes and recommend changes as required

  • Participate in sub-committees, as necessary

  • Meet a minimum of 4 times per year 

 

The ArtworksTO advisory committee members are:

Andrea Raymond-Wong

Andrea Raymond-Wong is Senior Arts Development Coordinator with the City of Toronto's Arts and Culture Services. She has been leading the Cultural Hotspot initiative since its inception in 2014. In this role, she works collaboratively with community stakeholders, artists and local businesses to support arts, culture and community in the city's inner suburban neighbourhoods. With nearly 20 years of experience in the arts sector, Andrea has held positions with Scarborough Arts, the Latcham Gallery, Red Sky Performance, and within City of Toronto's Arts & Cultural Services with both Arts Services and Museums.

 
Anthony Gebrehiwot

Anthony Gebrehiwot is a passionate photographer and community leader whose creative lens re-visions photography as an ongoing dialogue of social change between subject and society. A self-taught photographer, Gebrehiwot founded XvXy-photo in 2014 focusing on studio portraiture. To date, he has worked with several notable brands such as Nike, Royal Bank of Canada, Vice Canada, Absolute, Hudson Bay, The City of Toronto and Linkedin to name a few. His work has been featured in over thirty local and international publications such as the Star, the Globe and Mail, PAPER Magazine, Elle UK and Yahoo Lifestyle.

Instagram Social Media@tonyxtones

www.xvxyphoto.com

Biju Pappachan

Biju Pappachan is committed to systemic change; his efforts are focused on developing innovative solutions that convene business, government, and community to tackle complex social issues. By fostering and facilitating an environment of creativity and learning, Biju has spent the last decade as a catalyst, leveraging resources and expertise to form sustainable collaborations that provides economic and social benefits for underrepresented groups across Canada. Through this work, he hopes to contribute to the growth of the collaborative culture within the social sector, offering insights, ideas and evidence-based practices that can help to shape future policies and interventions.

Instagram Social Media@POVfilm

http://pov3rdstreet.org/

Charles Crawford

Charles Crawford, better known as CJ, is a writer/creative working in advertising in Toronto. He has a passion for crafting brand voices to authentically connect with the audience and loves interesting commercials. He is also passionate about getting black youth into the creative industry an hopes to someday tear down each door by the hinge that once kept them out.

Instagram Social Media@___Seejay

creativecrawford.com

Cole Stevens-Goulais

Cole Stevens-Goulais is an Ojibwe filmmaker based in Toronto, Ontario. Originally from Nipissing First Nation, Cole strives for compassion and acceptance within the arts. Cole trained and honed his craft at the “Big Medicine Studio” while working with the group Aanmitaagzi. Cole has written and directed various independent short films that have been screened at film festivals including ImagineNATIVE, Toronto Queer Film Festival, and the Vancouver International Film Festival. Cole is a recipient of the Ken and Ann Watts Memorial Scholarship and of the James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Award. He is the 2019 recipient of the ImagineNATIVE + LIFT Film Mentorship, and a 2020 Artist in Residence as a part of the Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab. He is a graduate of the Video Design and Production program at George Brown College. He is grateful to represent his community in all of his artistic pursuits.

Instagram Social Media@
Facebook Social Media@
Twitter Social Media@

Dwayne Holness

David Seymour is the Director of Member Services at Directors Guild of Canada Ontario District Council (DGC Ontario). Prior to that, David worked in the film and television industry for 18 years as an Assistant Director.

Instagram Social Media@dgCTalent

www.dgcontario.cam

Dwayne Holness

Dwayne Holness' pioneering spirit, knowledge of the industry and humble beginnings have allowed him to use his company as a bridge between aspiring creatives and prospective clients. He mentors young, enthusiastic creatives by providing internship opportunities. Innovative, passionate and a visionary are some words that could be used to describe Dwayne. His creativity and entrepreneurial skills have led him to establish Corex Creative, a digital media agency that specializes in corporate videos and branding. Established in 2015, Corex Creative agency has collaborated with TD Bank, Umbro, Coca-Cola, the CSA group and many others to bring their companies’ visions to light.

Instagram Social Media@dukeydukez

www.corexcreative.com

Ezra Li

Ezra Li (‘e’, Citizen Li, he/him) is an artist and filmmaker traversing queer, trans, and racialized identity politics. His work gestures towards a horizon defined by the radical embodiment of queer racialized lives.
Studied in filmmaking, he works in video, animation, as well as in graphic design. As a genderqueer Chinese artist and Canadian immigrant, he strives to expand creative growth opportunity for queer, Asian, and otherwise marginalized communities.

 

Gary Newman Gary Newman is the Founder of The Library for Social Change, where Gary curates trauma-informed services and resources for social change makers, including an Ambassador Living Lab, high-performing team coaching and mentoring, and Asset-Based Community Development.
 
Lianne Rañopa Lianne Rañopa is a graphic designer, with combined experiences and knowledge of marketing and branding. She's invested in using these skills to support programming and opportunities for IBPOC and 2SLGBTQ youth.
lianneranopa.wordpress.com
Niya Abdullah Niya Abdullahi is a Multidisciplinary Artist, and the founder of @Habasooda, a platform dedicated to sharing the richness of the Muslim experience through a variety of storytelling avenues including through films and data-based graphics. Themes of identity, liberation and resistance informs her work.

Instagram Social Media@Habasooda

Ryan-Felix

Ryan-Felix is a graphic designer, web designer, and founder of Loop: Design for Social Good. As a social enterprise, Loop is driven to use the power of design to call people to action and foster positive change. Loop's work spans global NGOs to community developments -from environmental action to human rights. He brings human-centred design and design thinking to create bold, creative & impactful brands and websites.

On his free time, Ryan enjoys riding his bike around the city and reading at parks. He enjoys art, architecture, and urban design and listens to hip-hop, soul and jazz music.

Instagram Social Media@ryanfelix

weareloop.com

Sean Lee

Sean Lee is an artist and curator exploring the notion of disability art and accessibility as the last avant-garde. His methodology reframes embodied difference as a means to resist traditional aesthetic idealities. Orienting towards a “crip horizon”, Sean gestures towards the transformative possibilities of a world that desires the way disability can disrupt.

Sean is the Director of Programming at Tangled Art + Disability, and an independent curator, lecturer, and advisor. Sean sits on the board of CARFAC Ontario, Creative Users Projects and is a member of OAC’s Deaf and Disability Advisory Committee and TAC’s Visual and Media Arts Committee.

https://tangledarts.org/

Syrus Marcus Ware

Syrus Marcus Ware is an Assistant Professor in SOTA at McMaster University. He is a Vanier scholar, visual artist, activist, curator and educator. Syrus uses painting, installation and performance to explore social justice frameworks and black activist culture, and he’s shown widely in galleries and festivals across Canada. He is a core-team member of Black Lives Matter – Toronto, a part of the Performance Disability Art Collective, and an ABD PhD candidate at York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies. His on-going curatorial work includes That’s So Gay (Gladstone Hotel, 2016-2019) and BlacknessYes!/Blockorama.

Instagram Social Media@syrusmarcusware

www.syrusmarcusware.com

Tash Naveau

Tash Naveau is of the Deer Clan, is Dene and eastern European, and was raised in and is from the Anishnaabe community of Mattagami First Nation. Her varied career in advocacy, project coordination, and media arts brought her to many places, nations, and waters, all contributing to her growth and practice as an artist. She is currently the Indigenous Program Manager at Toronto Arts Council.

Instagram Social Media@tashnavo

moontimeproductions.com

Theresa Casarin

Theresa Casarin is currently the VP, Talent at Creative Niche, where she has been matching great talent in the creative, marketing and digital industry for almost 15 years. Thersea is experienced at providing resume feedback, portfolio reviews, interview tips and techniques, as well as job search advice. She also counsels clients with their organizational needs and hiring process to help ensure a long lasting fit, and is passionate about fostering career success and making a difference in people's lives and livelihood.

www.creativeniche.com