2009 Exhibiting Artists
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Gary Allen
Toronto born artist Gary Allen studied illustration at Sheridan College, where he graduated in 1999. He then continued his education in computer animation and special effects at the International Academy of Design. Gary now balances his time between pursuing his art and his work as a Hairstylist for World Salon, in downtown Toronto. -
Daniel Botterill
"Daniel Ross Botterill. Age 25. Long walks on the beach. Virgo.
Well... everything but the last part.
Didn't go to school or nothin'
Just a guy who likes to do things ('specially the boys)
These Artwherk cats said they were doing a show of gays, and being a gay who loves a good show, I said I'd be there.
And voila...
Happy Pride, boys!" -
Adam Brooks
Adam Brooks is a Toronto born artist who communicates through several mediums including painting, illustration as well as some graphic design work. His most recent work uses figures emerging from dark and ambiguous backgrounds to convey a sense of displacement. Subtle expressions and body language explore the beauty of vulnerability and awkward, sadness. The figures manifest a quiet uncertainty which allows the viewer to project personal bewilderment on the images. Adam attended the Ontario College of Art and Design in the field of Industrial Design where he gained an appreciation for the importance of design in our daily lives and as a device with which to strongly communicate ideas. During this time Adam exhibited at several small art shows culminating in the participation in a group show in March of 2009. He curated the Flydentity art collective exhibit at the Whippersnapper gallery in Toronto with the intent of showcasing the art of genuine, young, emerging artists and to further submerse himself into art world. He will be returning to the Ontario College of Art and Design to continue his growth in the fine arts. -
Julien Buxton
This year has been one of great change, great challenge and great joy. In this newest period of personal metamorphosis I have observed and explored in further detail the concept of the Microcosm reflecting mysteries of the Macrocosm, and vice versa. In this journey, I have endeavoured to show, through my art, the connection with the subtle energies that surround all of us, and how that energy can so quickly shift, bringing us to worlds yet unknown. The work I have included in this exhibition deals with cyclical patterns which present themselves in our lives, in familiar yet new forms, always giving us the opportunity to see ourselves reflected in the mirror of Creation. -
Kevin Charlie
Kevin Charlie is a Toronto based wedding + lifestyle photographer available for destination travel worldwide. When not shooting commercial assignments and commissions, Kevin can be found wandering the city with both film and digital camera's in hand by focusing on creative elements, light, texture and manipulating visual perspective. Kevin was born with an innate passion for photography and seeks out decisive moments in time that will cease to ever exist again.
Kevin recently exhibited his 'tiny town' series, an on going body of work exploring visual manipulation, during the Contact Photography Festival in May and was recently named one of Toronto's Top 5 Photographers by Metro News readers. -
Luis Cisneros
'Cisne' (which is the Spanish word for Swan) was born in Mexico City and lived across the United States before settling in Toronto, Canada. Cisne completed a Graphic and Communication design degree at the Autonomous Metropolitan University, drawing on his surroundings and various artistic forms for inspiration.
Cisne is now an established visual artist in the Toronto scene. While gaining experience as a graphic designer, Cisne is also performing at events like Fruit Loopz the Pride Youth Stage, exhibiting in art shows across the city, and volunteering his time to organizations like ARTWHERK! (poster design) and Supporting Our Youth. -
Sadok Derbel
Sadok Derbel, a naturally gifted artist born in a picturesque small seaside Tunisian town in 1979. Since early age, Sadok discovered a natural talent and a true passion for art. His passion consumed most of his age of innocence. His youthful days were spent sculpting, sketching, designing and painting...In Sadok's hometown Mahres there are plenty of sunny olive groves, endless flawless golden sandy beaches and all the magical charms of a small Arabian village. It is a haven of tranquility and is also home for a prestigious international art fair.
He often paints overtop of his works and most canvases have several, if not dozens of former paintings beneath the surface. Like a city that tears down and rebuilds houses over the same foundations generation after generation his paintings represent layers upon layers of history and of emotions, just as each of us is constituted by layer upon layer of life experiences.
If you look closely at Sadok's paintings, you might see a hint of something peaking through; perhaps a little boy playing in the sand on a small seaside town, or maybe a young man discovering the heart of Paris for the first time or an innocent soul longing, searching for dreams of pure love, of peace, of every beautiful thing life can offer. -
James Ian Morgan
Montreal born artist James Ian Morgan is a landscape painter that specializes in oils, acrylics and watercolours. Both his mother and grandmother were artists, and his great grandfather F.C. Morgan was founder of the Decorative Arts collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. James has always been surrounded by an environment that nurtured his creativity, raised in rural Ontario in the Kawartha Lakes, the natural beauty of this region has left a lasting mark on his work. Currenty working full time as a graphic designer and photographer in Montreal, James has never strayed from his rural roots, preferring subject matter taken from nature. When not working you'll find James travelling and exploring the for things to paint or photograph. -
Leah Newbold
Leah Newbold is a Toronto visual artist, promoter, DJ and community organizer. Her art is about the experience of queer Blackness and the appropriation of queer/Black culture in North American popular culture. She has exhibited in Montreal, Rhode Island and Portland, Oregon. Dedicated to creating spaces for queer Black/people of colour, Leah is a promoter of a Gladstone's Wednesday night party, Fresh to Def. This year during pride, Leah will be performing with Les Blues, Colour Me Pride and showcasing work in the AGO's Artwherk festival. -
Mathew Palmer
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Mathew is a left brain thinker (with right-brained motives). Since his first crayon, he has always loved drawing. Never ceasing to enjoy the refreshing feeling of discovering new mediums and techniques.
Although predominately trained in music (playing the violin since High School), he has always had a passion for illustration. Doing graphic design (including a restaurant in NYC's Hell's Kitchen, and the Artwherk! logo) lead to a desire for formal training.
Living in New York City since 2000, Mathew currently attends The School of Visual Arts, where he is studying Animation. -
Heather Quinsey
Once upon a time there was a girl named Heather Quinsey. With a trunk full of cameras, costumes and cut-and-paste supplies she set forth to attended the Ontario College of Art & Design. She spent her days playing dress-up and contemplating identity and outdated gender binaries. She fell in love with the spirit of Dada and artists such as Sophie Calle and Francesca Woodman. One day, she got married to herself and and graduated majoring in photography. Bike rides, polariods and the colour purple make her smile. -
Paulo Senra
Paulo Senra was born in Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal in 1984. At the age of 6, his family moved to Hamilton, Ontario where he proudly grew up and his family remains. After graduating from St. Lawrence Elementary School and Cathedral High School in Hamilton, Paulo chose The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario for his undergraduate degree. In his 3rd year of university, Paulo was one of only 3 undergraduate students accepted to participate in the Canadian Exchange Program at McGill University in Montreal Quebec.
It was not until January of 2008, that art became a part of Paulo's life. After coping with several personal challenges, Paulo decided to take up painting as a hobby. Paulo describes his work as simply "putting feelings and thoughts down on canvass." It was not until several of his friends commented favourably on his paintings that Paulo knew he could be onto something. He continues to be inspired by his large family, personal relationships, Canadian and international politics and traveling.
Paulo continues to be uncomfortable with the idea of calling himself an artist and admits that: "At the end of the day we all strive to find happiness in life. That is humanity in our simplest form. Waking up to a clean sheet of white canvass, some paint and not knowing what the end result will look like excites me." Until that feeling is gone, I'm going to continue to experiment and explore the art of painting. That's how life should be lived. -
Joey Suriano
Joey Suriano has recently graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University with a major in Textiles. He has also completed the textile design program at Sheridan College. He takes inspiration from art, animation, design and illustration and applies it to his craft. Joey explores handmade textiles through two dimensional, three dimensional and functional objects. He hopes to build a career through education and to inspire others through his craft. -
Hannah Taylor
An emerging artist living in Toronto, Hannah Jordyn Taylor's oil paintings are primarily focused on the theme of bodily integrity: she produces distorted portraits of women from the 1920s in order to comment upon societal notions of disability and autonomy. Hannah Jordyn briefly studied at the Academy of Realist Art and will be continuing her studies at the Academy of Art Canada beginning in September. -
Shannon Taylor
Shannon Taylor is a Toronto-born painter and illustrator. Cells, clouds, maps, viruses, nebulae; Shannon's works draw from scientific disciplines like astrophysics and microbiology, observable phenomena in nature, as well as the underlying patterns of the everyday. Her textural, multi-layered paintings are deeply involved with exploring the rhythms and patterns connecting all things, as well as the way technology informs contemporary visual language. Shannon Taylor lives and works in Toronto, and earned her BFA in Painting from OCAD in 2006. -
Alexandre Thorne
Alexandre Thorne is a Toronto based Illustrator, primarily working with ink on paper. Born on the island of Flores in the Azores archipelago, he Immigrated to Canada in 1987. His early experiences with culture shock and assimilation is reflected in his work today. Alexandre uses multi-cultural images in conjunction with artistic elements from past aesthetic periods to reflect of Toronto's many faces and layered history. Media use helps punctuate the intended message, bold ink draws the viewer into the piece, accompanied by a wide range of texture which adds dimension in an other wise flat plane. Alexandre studied Industrial design and Illustration at the Ontario Collage of Art and Design and debuted his work at the Whippersnapper gallery in Toronto. -
Tanja-Tiziana
Tanja-Tiziana lives and creates in Toronto, Canada. Though squinting through her first viewfinder late in life, she makes up for lost time with a simple oath to carry her camera(s) everywhere she goes. Much of her work, both film-based and digital, seeks out old world style and substance within modern society -- revealing the historic, hidden and hybrid sense of time upon which urban life is built. Daily observations can be viewed online at DoubleCrossed.ca. Voted Best Local Photographer by readers of Xtra! Magazine in 2008. Tanja-Tiziana's first book of photos, entitled, CIRCA: An Urban Retrospect, was published in 2007.
2009 Performers
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Ryan G. Hinds
Crossing genres, blending lines, and mixing politics and art since 1979, Ryan G. Hinds is a versatile Toronto-based performance artist. Combining high-octane vocals, high kicks and high fashion with strong identity poltics and outrageous words, Ryan believes in finding the art in entertainment (and vice versa).
Also an unrepentant media whore, Ryan has appeared twice on the cover of Xtra, (notably appeared on the cover of the Millenium issue); ABC's The View; The Camilla Scott Show; and countless other places. One of the founding members of Dady K & The Rhythm Method and ARTWHERK!, Ryan's dedication to the promotion of queer performative spaces and activism is a motivating factor in his ARTWHERK! involvement. Wanting to do an event for pride that went a bit deeper than the traditional circuit party or beer garden, he says "ARTWHERK! is about mixing personal thought with political action. That a bunch of young queer people, in many cases queers of color, can inhabit these spaces and create new work and experiences is a fierce, fierce thing." -
Amai Kuda
Amai Kuda is a singer/songwriter, community activist and the mother of a young child. The name Amai Kuda means "mother to the will of the creator" in the southern african language shona. Through parenthood, community work and art, amai is a vehicle for creation and for change. She co-founded and coordinates two organizations, moyo wa africa and iia for landculture and resistance, dedicated to the decolonization of african peoples and to indigenous solidarity respectively. -
Ill Na Na
ILL NANA is a multiracial queer and queer friendly gender bending dance crew. ILL NANA utilizes both classical dance techniques and urban dance forms of hip hop, ballet, jazz, house, vogue, step, latin, modern, and wushu kung fu creating all style all their own. These performers are fearlessly out and proud, sexy, masculine, feminine, all that is in between, human, and most importantly real. Through dance they represent many people and promote loving oneself, our differences, and coming together.
2009 DJ
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DJ Craig Dominic
Craig Dominic has emerged in the last year in the Toronto scene using a combination of skills for production, composition and editing. Having given a new perspective on the DJ scene and spearheading the Battle Pop movement, Craig is branching out to new parties and opportunities across the city. He can currently be found regularly at: The Barn (Sat) Battle pop (held at the Barn) and Baby Huey (Sundays).
2009 Artists' Panel
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Cole J. Alvis
Originally from rural Alberta, Cole's recent theatre credits include, Lefranc in Deathwatch by Jean Genet (Pride Toronto), Travis in his new play Disciple (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), Ryan in Four Ways 'Til Rain (Toronto Fringe), Private Wicks in The Fort At York (Crate Productions), the lead role in Nelly Boy (SummerWorks - Outstanding Performance, NOW Magazine) and the Dora nominated Gorey Story (The Thistle Project - Outstanding New Play & Production).
Directing credits include The Kente Cloth by Tawiah M'carthy in the SummerWorks Theatre Festival (plural productions), CHAT on the solo-stage at the Rhubarb! Festival (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), Auto-Da-Fe by Tennesse Williams (Red Deer College), a reading of The Dreamer Examines His Pillow by John Patrick Shanley and a new play workshop of There You Go And Here You Are by Natalia Goodwin (Theatre Best/Before).
Producing credits include the short dance-film, SLIP, directed by Chelsea McMullan and funded by BRAVOFact! and the Toronto Arts Council (Vision Entertainment), Creon by Ned Dickens, an outdoor production of a Canadian adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone (Stone Circle Project) and the award winning short film, PARK, official selection of the Toronto Urban Film Festival '07 (plural productions).
Cole holds a BFA in Acting from York University and is the Co-Artistic Director of (plural productions) a new interarts collective that encourages collaboration, support and innovation while actively seeking out artists in various disciplines around the world -
Carmen Elle
Carmen Elle was born and raised in Toronto. Since her early teens she has been an active member of the Toronto Indie scene. One of her early bands were queer darlings the Whoremoans. Her guitar playing talent has allowed her to collaborate with bands such as Spiral Beach (then on tour with the Hidden Cameras) Dance Yourself to Death, and Katie Stelmanis. -
Luka Sidaravicius
Luka Sidaravicius is a genderqueer/trans immigrant of colour who has experimented with drag, spoken word, theater and video. Luka is all about pushing the envelope and asking the question, "why?". With an energetic personality. Luka has been a hit at Pride Cab '07, the Inside Out Queer Youth Digital Project '07, the Hysteria Festival '07, "The Panopticon", "Write from the Hip/Groundswell festival '08" and "Wake"(2009). This past pride, Luka co-organized the Fruit Loopz Youth Stage with SOY. This past year, Luka received a Youthline award for outstanding contribution to art and leadership. -
Tanja-Tiziana
Tanja-Tiziana lives and creates in Toronto, Canada. Though squinting through her first viewfinder late in life, she makes up for lost time with a simple oath to carry her camera(s) everywhere she goes. Much of her work, both film-based and digital, seeks out old world style and substance within modern society -- revealing the historic, hidden and hybrid sense of time upon which urban life is built. Daily observations can be viewed online at DoubleCrossed.ca. Voted Best Local Photographer by readers of Xtra! Magazine in 2008. Tanja-Tiziana's first book of photos, entitled, CIRCA: An Urban Retrospect, was published in 2007.