This program is made possible thanks to support from the Province of Ontario, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Ontario Culture Days are excited to welcome its third lineup of residents in the 2022 Creatives in Residence program. Since launching the residency in 2020, the program has become a key component of the Ontario Culture Days Festival showcasing the vibrancy of the Ontario arts and culture community.
Over the next 5-months, the residents will work in communities across Ontario to explore themes of access (or lack thereof) to resources such as food, community space, local history and technology, all of which have been heightened issues since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The creatives will focus on community collaboration with their projects culminating in community-based activities and exhibits presented during the 2022 fall festival.
Dave Dyment
Dave Dyment’s practice explores tropes and memes in cinema in an attempt to better understand the language of film and the forces that shape culture. Dave’s project investigates the site of Toronto’s Casa Loma and its representation on screen, which functions as a microcosm for the larger city, in the same way, that Toronto often stands in New York City or other large cities.
Sarah Gartshore and Adam Francis Proulx
Sarah Gartshore and Adam Francis Proulx are the leads for Project Nishin. Together they will explore community spaces for Indigenous creatives in Sault Ste. Marie. In connection with Fringe North, they will offer a unique focus on innovation and collaboration, and prioritizing process over product.
Tanya Lukin Linklater
Building upon recent collaborative work with dancers and composers, North Bay artist Tanya Lukin Linklater will produce a creative, movement-based score, shedding a light on her ongoing methodologies and practices with dancers and composers.
Photo by Liz Lott
Isorine Marc
Isorine, the artistic director of Jamii, an arts organization in Toronto’s Esplanade, is initiating a project that will see three artists from Toronto co-creating with artists and community members of Pikangikum First Nation as part of a partnership with the Eenchokay Birchstick School. While the project evolves organically, it comes from an intention of connecting two communities together through the arts – a journey that started in 2018 and is growing with time.
Tonya Sutherland
Tonya Sutherland is a member of the Jackson Park Project which aims to uncover and champion the history of Windsor’s Emancipation Day celebrations that took place between the 1930s and 1960s. Tonya will focus on traditional foods consumed at parades including community BBQs, picnics, street vendors, as she gathers memories and recipes from part celebration participants and community members. Tonya will then host a picnic in Windsor with foods linked to traditional Emancipation Day Parades. In addition, she will share her research process through online and in-person talks and Q&A.
Uju Umenyi
Uju Umenyi’s residency is co-presented with Port Perry’s Theatre on the Ridge to create a new play inspired by the life of Samuel Stout, the first Black resident of Port Perry. Uju will develop and lead workshops focusing on both the theatre creation process and exploring local Black history. Uju will also present a public reading and performance, coupled with an audience feedback session and artist talk.
Angela Walcott
Angela Walcott is a Toronto-based artist and writer who will collect oral histories from urban farmers to chronicle the work of people who help bring quality produce to our markets. As a result, Angela will produce an art journal and eco-friendly art workshops for participants to understand the process and importance of sustainability.
In addition to the signature programming, Ontario Culture Days in partnership with Toronto Public Library has selected four local creatives to produce programs specific to local communities. These programs will continue to highlight the core themes of the Festival.
Meghan Cheng
Meghan Cheng is a digital technologist and musician, will host a workshop on how to visualize sound, use motion sensors and create interactive digital art. Her workshop will examine the works of women in digital media in Ontario through “Introduction to TouchDesigner” (a Canadian-made software that is free and accessible online). Meghan will also create a performance featuring projections of a dancer and musician triggered by the audience’s movements.
Amanda Lederle
Amanda Lederle’s artistic work is influenced by their lived experience with mental illness and work towards personal growth. They will lead a series of in-person illustration workshops to create “Emotional Maps”, an illustrated series that highlights one’s experience with the chosen emotion, as well as a digital art challenge people can complete at home.
Photo by @sarahcollierphotography
Qirou Yang and Sahar Askary Hemmat
Qirou Yang and Sahar Askary Hemmat are an artist duo exploring ideas of home through photography and architecture. Their practice, as well as making their home in the neighbourhood of Chinatown, has led them to wonder when the next cultural symbol will disappear from our life. They will create a multi-sensory exhibition with a collection of stories and memorabilia from Chinatown residents focusing on their experiences as the neighbourhood around them changes.