2020 Presenters
Anne Riley is an Indigiqueer multidisciplinary artist living as a Slavey Dene/German guest from Fort Nelson First Nation on the unceded Territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlí̓lwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-waututh) Nations. Her work explores different ways of being and…
Anu Radha Verma has lived, worked, studied, played, struggled and agitated in both Canada and India. Her work has cut across sectors and places, but is always focused on the intersections of social justice, community and creativity. She has been…
Ben Finley is a performer-composer specializing in acoustic bass and electric bass (in multiple tunings and with effects). He grew up on a music festival farm, witnessing many ecosystems of music making. The seeds of co-creative agency were sewn; Ben…
Bonnie Devine is an installation artist, sculptor, painter, video maker, curator, and writer. A descendant of the Anishinaabek of Genaabaajing, (Serpent River First Nation) on the north shore of Lake Huron, Devine’s work emerges from the storytelling and image-making traditions…
Dr. Cash Ahenakew is a First Nations’ scholar whose research experience and interests focus on the areas of international indigenous studies in education, indigenous curriculum and pedagogy, and indigenous health and well-being. He has been a research associate in international research…
Cots is a new project from Steph Yates (Esther Grey, Cupcake Ductape). Borrowing elements of bossa nova, folk, jazz, and classical, Yates’s subtly unconventional composition style and poetics are at work here in a hushed and more naked voice. The…
Doomsquad is a Toronto-based experimental trio formed by siblings Trevor, Jaclyn and Allie Blumas. Self-described as less of a band than an “art project,” their musical creations tend to veer to the abstract, psychedelic and ominous. Their new album, Let…
Elwood Jimmy is a learner, collaborator, writer, artist, facilitator, cultural manager, and gardener. He is originally from the Thunderchild First Nation, a Nêhiyaw community in the global north. For close to 20 years, he has played a leadership role in…
Eric Fischl is one of the most influential figurative painters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Born in New York in 1948, he now lives in Sag Harbour with his wife, the painter April Gornik. Fischl is represented…
Guelph Symphony Orchestra was founded as the Guelph Chamber Orchestra in 2001, through the passion and vision of Simon Irving, and the commitment of dedicated Guelph Community arts supporters. The GSO gave its first concert in March 2001 under the baton…
Haruko Okano is a Sansei Japanese-Canadian born in Toronto during the last year of WWII. A single mother who passed away at the age of 42 raised her. Okano then became a permanent ward of the Ontario Children’s Aid Society…
Jason DaSilva has been a prolific filmmaker for the past 15 years. He has directed four short films (Olivia’s Puzzle, A Song For Daniel, Twins of Mankala, First Steps) and two feature length-documentary films (Lest We Forget and When I…
Judith Yan is a Canadian conductor. Equally adept at conducting opera, ballet, and symphony, her career has taken her internationally, conducting for major companies in Europe, Asia, and North America. She has held Staff Conductor positions at San Francisco Opera,…
Khaled Barakeh is a Berlin-based conceptual artist and cultural activist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, Syria in 2005, completed his MFA at Funen Art Academy in Odense, and a Meisterschuler study at the Städelschule Art…
Leslie Kachena McCue is a member of the Mississaugas of Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario, Canada. Leslie is an artist who also works freelance for various organizations in arts administration, facilitation, project coordination and curation. Her work is driven by…
Lisa Hirmer is an interdisciplinary artist who works across visual media, social practice, performance and occasionally writing. She is primarily concerned with collective relationships: that which exists between things, rather than simply within them—particularly in relation to collective beliefs and…
Marianne Trudel is a multi-talented pianist, composer, improvisor, and arranger. At once energetic and passionate, her music cross-cuts a wide swath of musical interests. As a performer, she pursues an active career in a variety of settings ranging from solo…
Dr. Marta McCarthy, Conductor, is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph, where she has been directing the choirs and teaching musicianship, pedagogy, and research since 1995. She is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Princeton (M.Mus), the…
Nathalie Bujold is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Montreal. In 1985, she was one of the founders of the artist-run centre l’Œil de Poisson in Quebec City. She obtained an undergraduate degree from Université Laval in 1992, where she…
Patricia Cano was born in Sudbury, ON where she grew up in a Peruvian household. Upon graduating from University of Toronto in Theatre and Spanish Literature, Patricia spent five years working in Paris (France) with the world-renowned theatre company Le…
Philip Mayer is a New York City based percussionist and multi-instrumentalist. With a deep interest in music traditions from around the world, Philip has spent much of the last 15 years absorbing the offerings of a diverse group of master percussionists including…
There’s a difference between when something enters your periphery and when you can truly see it. Sight, the enveloping new album from Toronto electronic explorer Brad Weber, aka Pick A Piper, focuses on authentic connection. The Caribou collaborator’s follow-up to…
Sangamithra Iyer is a writer and engineer who holds a B.E. in Civil Engineering from the Cooper Union, an M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering from UC Berkeley and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College. Sangu was an Emerging Writer…
SOuLBEAUTiFUL (CEaSaRO JAi, Jenna Oxley, and CHRiS ROuSE) is a collective of multi-talented artists in their own right. Each member of the team is uniquely and diversely skilled in a variety of artistic modalities. The members of SOuLBEAUTiFUL have come…
Stephen Surlin is a Toronto-based sound artist, designer, musician, and graduate of the Interdisciplinary Master’s in Art, Media, and Design at OCAD University. His current PhD work includes sound and visual design and interactive movement technologies with aging and elder…
Suzy Xu Shuang (徐爽) is a storyteller of traditions, ancient and contemporary cultures. She also explores portraiture and landscape in a poetic way.
Taeyoon Choi is an artist, educator, and organizer based in New York and Seoul. Choi co-founded the School for Poetic Computation where he continues to organize sessions and teach classes on electronics, drawings, and social practice. His art practice involves…
Taqralik Partridge is a textile artist, writer, and spoken word poet originally from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. She is currently based in Guovdageaidnu, Sápmi, Norway.
Based in Guelph Ontario the Guelph Youth Jazz Ensemble (GYJE) provides young musicians with the opportunity to learn about and explore the world of jazz and improvised music. The program was started in 2001 by the director Brent Rowan as…
VERSA is a Guelph-based audiovisual collective led by Monika Hauck and Alex Ricci. The duo create powerful instrumental music written around live looping bass guitar, and pair this with responsive projections that visualize sound. Low frequency sound is passed through…