OPEN STUDIO SERIES

Liz Ikiriko is a Tkaronto/Toronto-based artist and curator. Drawing on her experiences as a mixed Nigerian Canadian, prairie-raised queerspawn daughter and mother, her projects and curiosities engage, question and confront strategies of oppression and systems of power.

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS:

• Jan Swinburne: janswinburne.com
• Marie Ruisseau
• Althea Knight: altheaknight.com
• Ghazaraza: ghazaraza.ca

Sarah Edo is a curator and writer based in Toronto.

Sarah has curated exhibitions and programs with the Toronto Biennial of Art, Gardiner Museum, Art Gallery of Burlington, BAND Gallery, Images Festival, and Whippersnapper Gallery. Her writing has been featured in Studio Magazine, Gallery 44, Topical Cream, BlackFlash Magazine, and CMagazine.

She has formerly held curatorial support positions at MOCA Toronto and the Mackenzie Art Gallery. She is currently a TD Curatorial Fellow at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS:

• Stephanie Avery: stephanieavery.com
• Shannon Taylor-Jones: shannontaylorjones.com
• Merle Harley: merleharley.com
• Brandon Wulff: bwulffandco.com
• V Vallières (@v.vallieres)

Heather Canlas Rigg is an independent curator and writer based in Toronto. Her practice is rooted in investigating how artists employ the materiality of camera technologies to interrogate imperialist structures, and in thinking critically about institutions.

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS:

• Georgia Whist: georgiawhist.com
• Leslie Ordal: (@frontoparietal)
• Casper Sutton-Fosman: caspersuttonfosman.com
• David Shuken: davidshuken.com

Dr. Warren Harper (he/him) is a curator, researcher and writer currently based in Toronto, Canada. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has worked with various arts organisations and institutions internationally. He is a member of the plumb, an ad hoc collective of Toronto-based artists, writers, and curators, and is currently Exhibition Manager at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto.

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS:

• Diana Bershadsky: dianabershadsky.com
• Jenny Chen: jennychen.me
• Michele Anne-Marie Dickson (@missdeesaccount)
• Serena McCarroll: serenamccarroll.com

Marina Fathalla (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, programmer and access worker.

She grew up in the suburbs alongside the Credit River on the unceded ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee, Attiwonderonk, Anishinaabeg and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. A process of piecing together archives, colonial legacies of place as seen in architecture(s), flowers, plants and mental health filter through all aspects of her work.

She centers collaboration and art education that supports youth, community and artists working at the margins of institutions.

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS:

• Clare McIntyre: claremcintyre.ca
• Mei Chan-Long: meichanlong.com
• Sam Paboudijan (@thementalmaker)
• Julie Riemersma: julieriemersma.ca

Alana Traficante is a gallery director, writer/editor and curator based in Toronto, Canada.

“The keys to my practice are remaining adaptable, motivated, and curious —listening, looking and thinking critically through every aspect of my work, be it the day-to-day minutia of the job, or the big picture, long-term outlook. I believe that all facets of this work have a creative component, even the administrative, behind-the-scenes, less glamourous parts.”

– Alana Traficante

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS:

• Marisha Pula
• Rick Miller (@rick_miller_photography)
• Dinesh Subramanian (@dinesh.at.toronto)

Samantha Lance is a Canadian curator and writer who creates exhibition experiences that bring hope and spark meaningful bonds between artists and communities from diverse backgrounds. She holds a Master of Visual Studies in Curatorial Studies degree from the University of Toronto and a BFA with Distinction in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University. Her current role is the Curator for the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, located in Bowmanville, Ontario.

PARTICIPATING BEING SCENE ARTISTS

• Kayla Free @kayla_free_illustration
• Alsa St Rose @thegloomyangel
• Tara Hakim @tarahakimm