Eve Atoms
Born in Toronto (formerly Etobicoke), currently residing in Niagara Falls, ON
Eve is a performance artist and producer using a multimodal approach to craft. She is intrigued by the complexity and fluidity of human nature and uses art to make meaning of the richness of being. For Eve, all people contain the magic seeds of stories worthy of our attention, care, and understanding.
Penny J. Bowers
Born in Gowanda, New York, USA, currently residing in Ridgeway, ON
Penny is a daughter, mom, auntie, and grandma who works as a licensed massage therapist / reflexologist and has been singing from a very young age, winning local contests over the years. Her musical adventures have her singing internationally and cross country on the Pow-Wow Trail, with a local women’s hand drum group, and singing contemporary music with various bands. Music is a massage for the soul.
Dian Marie Bridge
Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, currently residing in Montreal, QC
Dian Marie Bridge is an award-winning writer, director, and creative producer, providing platforms to artists through mentorship, access, and training. She is Artistic Director of Black Theatre Workshop and founder of the Club Zed Playwrights’ Festival. Dian was previously Associate Artistic Director at Toronto’s Luminato Festival, Assistant Producer at the Stratford Festival, Artist-in-Residence at Necessary Angel, Artistic Director Intern at Obsidian Theatre, and a member of the Stratford Festival’s Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction.
Phil Davis
Born in Grimsby, Ontario, currently residing in Fort Erie, ON
Phil is a fifty-nine-year-old man of Haudenosaunee descent from both sides of his family, working in various capacities in the Friendship Centre movement and developing a Niagara Region UNESCO Geopark. A long-time established community musician, he enjoys sharing traditional Haudenosaunee songs, as well as Pow Wow and Cree Round dance songs; and is co-founder of the 7-piece blues/rock/funk/jazz jam band, Ol’ Child. His travels carry him across the country learning about Indigenous Ways of Life of his Indigenous brothers and sisters because he has learned the beauty lies in the unknown.
Haui
Currently residing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Haui is an award-winning mixed-media artist who eschews categorization and is known for directing, designing, and devising cross-disciplinary pieces that blur theatrical mediums and explore history, myth, race, gender, and orientation. In 2023 Haui received the Toronto Metropolitan University’s Alumni Achievement Award for his contribution to the arts community. Career highlights include Private Flowers (commissioned by Toronto History Museums), associate directing Choir Boy (Canadian Stage), and directing his feature-film debut MixedUp (produced by Jack Fox Media in association with OUTtv). Haui will direct his operatic opus Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White in 2024, produced by the Canadian Opera Company. www.howardjdavis.com.
Kattawe Henry
Born, raised, and currently residing in the Niagara Region, ON
Kattawe (she/her/hers) has both a lived experience of intersectional feminist issues of the Niagara Region as well as an academic understanding of the theories and complexities of feminist issues. She is moved by the resilience of vulnerable communities and has committed her research and professional career to understanding the themes of racism, mental health, sexism, and sexual violence and harassment to understand and draw parallels to the social and structural nature of racism.
Deanna Jones
Born in Niagara Falls, ON, currently residing in St. Catharines, ON
Deanna is a creative writer, performer and the artistic director of St. Catharines-based company Suitcase in Point with whom she has created and performed in over twenty original productions, including the Dora Award-nominated The Keith Richards One Woman Show. She grew up in Welland, Ontario, and has an abundant history of collaboration with an array of theatre, music, film, literary, and installation artists. Bringing creative impulses to life in unsuspecting places is one of her favourite things to do.
Roselyn Kelada-Sedra
Born in Hamilton, ON, currently residing in Toronto and St. Catharines, ON
Roselyn Kelada-Sedra is a playwright and filmmaker recognized with national and international awards, and an actor. Roe Izis Creative Corp, owned by Roselyn, makes theatre, film, and installations for and about women of colour. Roselyn is a series regular on the fantasy-adventure podcast Arcane Ninja RPG, and you can follow through roselyn.ca. As an artist, Roselyn explores how women go through trauma to come into their power. She works to inspire and encourage women because we are resilient when we are loved and love others. For invitations to artistic works, subscribe to roselyn.link/news. Body of Work accessible through patreon.com/RoeIzisCreativeCorp.
Iain Ellis Lidstone
Born and currently residing in St. Catharines, ON
Iain Ellis Lidstone is a queer, trans-masculine multi-disciplinary artist interested in exploring the relationship between identity, nature, ancestral lineage, healing, and art in all its forms. Iain comes from a background of music and physically devised theatre, and is currently working on a project connecting him back to his roots as a songwriter, composer, and producer.
Jermaine Marshall
Born in Jamaica, currently residing in Kingston, ON
After graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the West Indies and a Master of Arts in Social Justice and Equity Studies, Jermaine Marshall joined the HRE Office at Queen’s University in 2021 as the Inclusion and Anti-Racism Advisor. Jermaine is a central point of contact for individuals and units who wish to access all related anti-oppression and anti-racism initiatives, processes, and services at Queen’s. As an advisor, Jermaine pulls from years of academic and professional experience in order to facilitate an intersectional approach to addressing issues of racism, discrimination, and oppression.
Diana Myrie
Born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, currently lives in St. Catharines, ON
Diana is a financial services professional, a licensed Registered Retirement Consultant, and Insurance Broker in Ontario, and speaker. She is also a published author of the book Overcome Lack and Step into Abundance, and the creative force behind the podcast Conversations with Diana. As a former board director of Suitcase in Point, a multi-arts organization in St. Catharines, Ontario, she actively contributes to her community through volunteering and making a positive impact. Diana has also been a finalist for the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce’s Community Impact Award. Follow and connect with her on Instagram and YouTube @dianamyrie.
Samuel Nkomo/Yung Dashiki
Currently residing in Edmonton, AB
Currently residing in Edmonton, Alberta, Samuel Nkomo—formerly known as “Yung Dashiki”—is a vocal artist/producer who now produces work under the alias “Murdock Altas.” His nomadic background spans North America, the UK, and Africa, with work centred on the “individual under the skin” battling his worldly reflection. As a child of Zimbabwean immigrants, Nkomo has the cross view of being Black in two contexts. The events of 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement inspired him and a few other students of Laura Secord Secondary in St. Catharines, Ontario, to make a stand in solidarity with the victims of racism and police brutality. It is this protest that led to the creation of “fly high as a remembrance of those lost.”
Vicki-Lynn Smith
Born and currently residing in St. Catharines, ON
Vicki-Lynn is a fifth-generation St. Catharines resident. Her ancestor, freedom-seeker Adam, settled here after travelling the Underground Railroad. Vicki-Lynn and her four siblings faced discrimination growing up in St. Catharines, but always fought back. It inspired Vicki-Lynn’s activism. A federal civil servant in Toronto and Ottawa for thirty-six years, and a single parent of one girl, she was deeply involved in her union. Upon retirement in 2016 Vicki-Lynn returned home and joined the fight against the development of Thundering Waters Forest. She was a member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association and is a current member of the Coalition for a Better St. Catharines. She also helps out with the Harriet Tubman Tours at the Salem Chapel BME Church. At present, she works part-time at the Habitat for Humanity store.
Barry Stewart
Born in St. Thomas, Jamaica, currently residing in Stoney Creek, ON
Barry is currently employed as Facilities Co-ordinator for a real estate and facility management company, Jones Lang LaSalle! He grew up in England and attended high school before spending four years in the British army and then immigrated to Canada in 1990. Barry’s role model growing up was his now-deceased father, Albert, who strived very hard to take care of his wife Hazel, and six children, Clive, Jennifer, Kevin, Gary, Jackie, and Barry (the eldest). Albert was also a stalwart of the Black community in Bristol. When Barry is not working, he enjoys listening to music and watching various sporting events, as well as riding his bicycle during the summer months. Barry would like to mention how proud he is of his three children, Nadine, Marcel, and Aisha as they continue to make waves in their various careers. “I hope that I’m as good a dad to them as my dad was to me.” Special mention of John Fisher and Rudy Cowie who are two friends that Barry has known for over fifty-five years!
Tethered The Ghost: Meryl Ochoa and Kaylyn Valdez-Scott
We are Tethered The Ghost, a theatre collective based in Southwestern Ontario founded by Meryl Ochoa and Kaylyn Valdez-Scott. Our mission is to address the complexities of the Filipin* Canadian diaspora by putting on stage the narratives that we and our families live through. As a collective, Tethered The Ghost is committed to actively seeking out Filipin* and other BIPOC creatives to work with in all iterations of their work. Tethered values the lived experiences and connection with ancestry of the people they collaborate with. Tethered The Ghost is grateful to be part of projects that uplift the stories of our ancestry, our voices, our freedom. We would like to thank Marcel Stewart and Deanna Jones for their support since day one.
Meryl Ochoa
Born in Pasay, Philippines, currently residing in Stratford, ON
Meryl (she/they) is a multidisciplinary storyteller who employs movement, sound, music, and poetry. She has fallen in love with audio storytelling and finds joy and pride in sharing these skills to youth volunteers. In her spare time, she rocks out on the lead guitar with Stratford-based band, Le Pinoy. Lately, Meryl finds herself constantly asking the question, what does it mean for me to create here and now?
Kaylyn Valdez-Scott
Born and currently residing in Toronto, ON
Kaylyn is a half-Filipina, half-Scottish artist from Toronto, Ontario. Kaylyn’s work is rooted in her passion for devised physical creation through song and movement. Kaylyn has recently wrapped a contract as Artistic Associate with Suitcase in Point multi-arts company and is looking forward to an upcoming research trip to the Philippines.