WORK Experience
Producer / Director / Editor Falling Forward documentary (New York City) 2019 I oversaw all aspects of making this film from pre-production to marketing. I directed, filmed and edited Falling Forward and the animations and story are my own.
Designer / Facilitator Color Connects, Third Street Men’s shelter (New York City) 2018 I designed, produced and facilitated a series of art workshops at 3rd Street Men’s shelter and lead the repainting of the detox unit with the clients. I documented the project through photography and video, worked closely with counsellors and clients and wrote a publication around my research findings. I am still volunteering with the shelter to this day.
Gallery Director / Community Coordinator OCAD University, Ignite Gallery (Toronto) 2010 -2016 I curated gallery events and exhibition programming and was in charge of gallery administration. In addition to this I trained and supervised staff and mentored artists and designers. I oversaw budgets, grants, publicity + media relations and developed community partnerships within the University at beyond. Gallery attendance increased by 400% under my leadership.
Fellow Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice, Italy) 2010 As a fellow at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection I helped manage the galleries, assisted visitors on a daily basis, staffed the ticket office and gave tours of the collection. In addition to this I researched various aspects of the collection and gave public presentations on my research.
Manager Annandale Galleries (Sydney, Australia) 2008 As manager at Annandale galleries I managed administrative work and oversaw the installation of exhibitions. I assisted the directors with gallery openings and related events such as the Sydney Bienalle. I looked after shipments, made art sales, trained interns and wrote press releases. I had the great pleasure of working directly with artists from around the world, including William Kentridge, Zadok Ben-David and Wanyubi Marika.
Director / Producer PartyTime Learning Lab video series (instructional videos for SickKids Hospital) 2016 Kensington Market portrait series (web video series) 2012 Quiero Que Te Vaya Bien (Lido Pimiento music video) 2011 I produced and directed these videos, while working closely with a team of collaborators to on animations, soundtrack and the visual feel of each video.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Party Time Learning Lab, SickKids Hospital (2016): Party Time waas a Learning Lab made up of a series art parties designed for SickKids Hospital. For each party, my team and I transformed a sterile common room into a colourful, vibrant art studio where patients and their family members are invited to stop by, hang out and make art. A series of animated instructional videos were made for patients who are too unwell to attend the parties. Patients were given the appropriate art materials and the videos were played on their bedside TV screens so that they could join in on the fun. The project was meant to address issues of loneliness and isolation among patients.
Hang at Home (2014 – 2016): Essentially a dinner series, Hang at Home brought OCAD U students together with creative community leaders over meals served in private living spaces that double as either exhibition venues or studios. The Lab promoted the value of overlapping personal life and professional practice. The guest lists, intimate settings and models for inspired, integrated creative living combine to give participating students an enlightening experience. Campus community, studio and exhibition space, student housing and art school romance are all lacking at OCAD University, making Hang at Home critically novel.
Ultra Rare: A Creative Placemaking Lab, OCAD University (2014): Planned in partnership with OCAD University’s new Creative Placemaking Committee, Ultra Rare was a collection of projects and events that seek to beautify and animate our corner of campus. This project modelled how civic stakeholders, including governments and private businesses, can empower artists to enhance public space and nurture community values in urban areas.
The Good Bike Project, (2011:)The Good Bike Project was a public art project with sites across Toronto during 2011 in which I recovered rusting, broken bicycles from the City dump, painted them bright colours and used them to construct alternative maps of Toronto.
The Good, (2010-2013): The Good was a blog created by Vanessa Nicholas and I that celebrated Toronto’s creative community from 2010-2013. The blog sought to reclaim Toronto’s historical nickname and shed light on those people and places that make the good a great place to be. Celebrating local artists, galleries, designers, musicians, cafes and the like, The Good was about finding and feting gems close to home.
EXHIBITIONS
Places in Relation, George Pompidou Center (2017): In a world where a large majority of the population lives and works in cities, the role and responsibilities of them are bigger every day. Perhaps more aware of global interdependencies, often more open and progressive than nations, they start to connect, to talk in synergy about the great challenges of our planet. In same time, are constantly growing and citizens are henceforth in front of giant administrations, hard to afford. Urban design students working in Sunset Park combine design, planning, policy and activism to tackle the problem of overcrowded schools in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. Their process and publication will be exhibited in Places in Relation along with like-minded projects from around the world.
Hang in There Baby, Ignite Gallery (February 2016): Hang in There Baby was a celebration of positive, restorative vibes through art and design. The exhibition illustrated how medical institutions can benefit from art, colour and creative energy. The goal of the artists and designers included in the show was to create work, through print, video, photography, textiles or performance that will inspire, energize and uplift. Hang In There Baby demonstrates how creativity can facilitate positive social change. All artwork was donated to Interval House, a local women’s shelter.
Apathy/Action: A Campus Community Lab, Ignite Gallery (2015): Apathy/Action brings together two projects that responded to incidents of idleness and alienation on campus, transforming the gallery into a makers lab, meeting place and events hub for students and designers.
Electric Circus // for the love of neon, Ignite Gallery (2012) Neon love is on the rise; but neon light production is in decline. This show celebrated all things neon to shed light on a dying art and the local designers working to keep the lights on.
Publications
The West End Phoenix (The Death Issue) 2018: “Love now, Don’t Wait”
Chickpea Vegan Quarterly (2017): “Love Is an Action”
Third Atlantic (2017): The Persistence of Settler Colonialism within "The Urban”
Color, 2nd edition: A Workshop for Artists and Designers (2005) by David Hornung, my artwork is included in the book
The Good Bike Project (2011), available at Art Metropole
Education
Public Engagement / The New School Documentary Studies(Graduate certificate) 2019
Parsons / The New School Design & Urban Ecologies (MS) 2018
University of TorontoArt History (MA) 2010
Queen’s University Art History (BAH) 2007
Technical Skills
Avid Media Composer
Adobe Creative Suite
Microsoft Office
Camera operator (Canon c300 mark 1)
Design / Engagement SKILLS
Participatory design
Project management
Visual storytelling
Workshop facilitation / public speaking
Collaborative art-making
Creative problem solving
Human-centered design
Diplomatic communication skills