(Or listings for: All Artists involved in QAF 2011 | Facilitators | Performers | Visual Artists | Writers)
Exhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
A true polymath, !Kona has been actively involved in her local and international communities since 1998. Earning her lucre as a bureaucrat in the arts and culture sector, she is also a professional film and TV actor, a writer, an event producer, an educator/advocate, a singer, and a media commentator/ socialite.
Abegail JacksonExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
I was born on the west coast of British Columbia and spent my early years being educated barefoot by the natural wonders of the rain-forests of the Sunshine Coast. At age 13 I moved east with my mother where I remained until 2007 when at age 27 I returned to British Columbia. Most of my life has been spent below the poverty line except in 2009 when I spent a year living as an immigrant in a small Dutch city; welcomed into an affluent family as a partner to their youngest.
Born and grew up locally in a blue-collar family. Returned to school to get my BFA, and have always been gifted/cursed with inspiration and ideas that cannot be resisted. I work in any media and medium that I encounter, and often overlap my projects. Met a great man 12 years ago, and married to him for 7. The days fly by.
Afuwa Granger self-portrait
Afuwa Granger is a visual artist, youth art facilitator and writer who uses myth and constructions of identity to question just about everything. She started out by writing all over her canvases, and finally stopped painting over the words.
Amy DameExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
i love typewriters, glitter, doilies, black lace, grain elevators, swearing, people who fuck with gender, modern quilting, thrifting, anti-oppression politics, fishnets, chipped nail polish, sewing machines, collections, pompom trim, needlework, flocking, mail love, subversive crafting, my tuxedo kitty sofie-bean, and so much more. i spend most of my time making stuff. and sleeping. and cuddling sofie the kitty baby. all good things.
Angelina CantadaExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Angelina Cantada is a visual storyteller based in Vancouver. She uses photography and filmmaking to tell stories that are thoughtful, inspiring, and always, personal. With over 15 years experience in the art of image-making, Angelina knows she will always tell her stories in pictures.
Read more on Angelina Cantada…
Belle AncellExhibiting in the Pride in Art Community Visual Art Show, July 26-August 13
Born and raised in the Kootenays, Belle Ancell currently lives in the beautiful city of Vancouver, BC.
I have always loved to make things! Having been engaged in the DIY queer craft scene since moving to Vancouver in 2000, I was one of the founding collective members of Seamrippers Craft Collective and I also organized ‘I Heart Crafts Bazaar’ for several years. Currently, I am working as a Education Assistant in a wonderful inner city school where, among other things I get to teach art to 6 and 7 year olds. In contrast, with this body of work I am excited about the adult’ness’ of the theme. I enjoy working with textiles and paper – creating works that bring you in close to examine the details.
Read more on Charlotte Hewson…
Dana Ayotte – UnspeakableArtist Statement:
With this body of work I aim to represent the idea of all that is left unsaid in our day to day lives and in our society. Like an elephant in the room, at times I sense an almost palpable presence of the unspoken. Growing up in a religious family meant that many subjects were considered taboo, particularly any discussion of sex or sexuality. In my daily life I am aware of what I choose to reveal or not to reveal in certain situations; by agreeing to the rules of this game I collude with unseen forces that define acceptable subject matter. What I choose to keep hidden can give me power, but when I am unable to express myself fully my human experience is limited. These paintings are motivated by both the joy of self-expression as well as the struggle to overcome the fear of vulnerability.
David SandfordExhibiting in the Pride in Art Community Visual Art Show, July 26-August 13As a kid I always drew, so it was only natural for me to go to art school. In the late 80′s I attended Emily Carr where I studied film and animation.
credit: Dzee LouiseExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Dzee Louise is a Vancouver based artist with a particular interest in biology, health and holistic perspectives. In her practice, she works in a variety of mediums including drawing, painting and installation. She is interested in how we are constructed and how we create ourselves. Her investigations have focused on the subtleties of the body and human experience, creating spaces that slowly reveal their subjects, referencing both the internal, external and their interactions.
Exhibiting in Games People Playcurated exhibition July 26-August 13
Emma Kivisild is an artist, writer and performer living in Vancouver. In 2004, she participated in curating two shows: Ripping it Up at the Interurban Gallery in May was a collectively organized group show by artists with disabilities, protesting the provincial government’s review of disability benefits; and Extraordinary Lives is the visual art component of the KickstART2 Festival of Disability Arts, at the Roundhouse in September. She is new to curating, but a very experienced collaborator and art group member (Kiss & Tell, Vancouver Association for NonCommercial Culture)
www.garthandpierre.com
Over the last ten years they have been working side-by-side on topics ranging from domestic motifs to immigration and identity politics. Their work primarily uses hundreds of vintage photographs found in thrift stores and antique shops as well as personal snapshots that have been collected for the past 25 years.
Read more on Garth Amundson & Pierre Gour…
Exhibiting in the Pride in Art Community Visual Art Show, July 26-August 13
James Sullivan“A Thought, Painted” –
“My work is inspired by a quest to create visions that are arresting yet pleasing. I have struggled with the same things that many abstract artists do, Form, Colour, and Design; yet my muse for the abstract will not let go of me. Many times people look at my art and say, “Oh, I could do that really easily.” I create abstract art for many reasons. I find it very challenging. My challenge is to create unity and harmony in objective and some non-objective forms. It fully engages my imagination.”
Jen Crothers and Kona Katranya, photo by Sarah RaceExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Jen Crothers is a film maker, artist and organiser. Hailing from Tasmania she has lived in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada.
Katherine AtkinsExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Katherine has always needed to create. Up until about 15 years ago she satisfied this need with endeavors such as ‘arts & crafts’ projects as a child, drawing & painting as a teen, making sculptural center pieces for buffets, costumes for the stage or a decadent events and flashy leather work as an adult. Then, a tragic family illness propelled her into asking herself, “if I was on my deathbed, what would I regret no having done?” Within a heartbeat she knew that she had to go to art school and immerse herself in art making. At the time she had no other intent but to gain creative technical skills and be open to the process of learning about visual culture. Without really planning it, she ended up earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at Emily Carr University.
Read more on Katherine Atkins…
water – Kimberley FrenchExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
kimberley’s new body of work is an evolution of her photographic series “surface”. both ethereal and painterly, her work expresses the soul of her urban and natural landscapes.
Read more on Kimberley French…
Photo Credit: Jack McKeown
Exhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13, and performing in Boulez Contra Cage, July 28
Flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor is the winner of numerous honours, including the CBC Pacific Spotlight and Debut Young Artists competitions, and has collaborated with many respected musicians, from Stephen Isserlis to Björk. Described as a musician of “huge physical energy,” McGregor’s performances have been lauded by the press as “mind-blowing” and “verging on the superhuman.” He has performed in festivals and music series throughout Canada, Europe, Australia and Israel.
Exhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Naufus Ramirez-Figuroa is an interdisciplinary artist creating work in performance art, video, and painting. Ramirez-Figueroa explores issues of colonialism, hybrid identity, and power dynamics (usually through the politics of food production and consumption). He co-founded, with Irene Loughlin, the performance art collective EFIMEROS.
Read more on Naufus Ramirez-Figuroa…
Pride in Art | Vancouver's Queer Arts FestivalExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
I am a self taught artist. As a youth, art was my passion but there was no Joseph Campbell in my life encouraging me to ‘follow my bliss’. I turned down entrance to the Ontario College of Art to spend 3 cold years in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba. Disillusioned with my bachelor’s degree and a conflicted emotional life, I changed direction. I traveled East for 2 years across Europe, N. Africa, the Middle East, India and the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. I learned yoga, meditation and sketched the friends I made on my journey. Trekking alone I reached the glacier base camp of Mt Everest. I was happy and made the decision to be an artist but I was shy of academia. I headed home and West to the Kootenay Mt. and lived in relative isolation in an abandoned cabin next to Eagle Creek for 4 years. In spring the creek exploded with energy as boulders the size of the bears were rolled downstream by the force of the snow melt. Here I began the slow process of learning to paint by trial and error while earning a living as a tree planter.
Exhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Oscar Sanchez – Self Portrait
Patricia Atchison – Lesbian DebaucheryExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Classically trained in 2D animation, at Capilano College in her hometown of Vancouver, Patricia’s career in the industry spans over a decade. Her experience as a designer, storyboard artist and artistic director allows her to bring versatility to her work in the industry accompanied by great integrity. With a recent win at the 2009 Elan awards, for Best Art Direction in an Animated Series for “Zeke’s Pad” (YTV Spring 2010), Patricia continues to push the limits in her field.
Read more on Patricia Atchison…
For the past 35 years, Persimmon Blackbridge has worked as a sculptor, writer, curator and performer, as well as being a fiction editor, cleaning lady and very bad waitress. She is known internationally as a pioneer in feminist, queer and disability arts and culture. She is the author or co-author of six books, including Prozac Highway, finalist for a 1997 Lambda Literary Award; Sunnybrook, winner of the 1996 Ferro-Grumley Fiction Prize; Her Tongue on My Theory (with Kiss & Tell), winner of a 1995 Lambda Literary Award; and Slow Dance (with Bonnie Sherr Klein), winner of the 1998 VanCity Book Prize. Her work has appeared in anthologies such as Hot and Bothered (Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, B.C., 1999), The Click (McFarlane, Walter and Ross, Toronto, Ontario, 1997) Forbidden Territories (Cleis Press, San Francisco, California, 1995), and Collaboration in the Feminine (Second Story Press, Toronto, Ontario, 1994). Winner of the VIVA award for visual arts in 1991 and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000, Blackbridge’s art has been shown across Canada and the U.S., as well as in Australia, Europe, and Hong Kong. She currently lives on Hornby Island in British Columbia.
Read more on Persimmon Blackbridge…
Rodrigo CervantesArtist Statement
Since many years ago were created the Queer Tango Festivals in Europe with a special feature: were open to the experience of dance between same-sex couples, and not only, but open to the possibility of exchanging roles to the couples that commonly dance in the male-female role. The European experiences of Hamburg, Stockholm, Sweden and the very recent experience of Copenhagen, as well as the experiences of Buenos Aires, San Francisco and New York in the Americas, demonstrate that the passion for the tango goes beyond the confines of the sexes and nations.
Read more on Rodrigo Cervantes…
Rosamond NorburyIf you’re born in the Himalayas and schooled in Paris, France, how could you not grow up to be a photographer of cowboys and kink?
Read more on Rosamond Norbury…
Sakino Sepulveda
Facilitator of Life Drawing Workshop, August 6-7
I was born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1965. Self taught artist.
In 1988 I made contact and start to work with the art movement of the 80s through Arte Actual Mexicano gallery in Monterrey city. In 1991 I worked and studied through my artist friends like Julio Galan and in the studio of artist Cesar Garcia Cavazos, a painter from The Mexican Modernist School of art.
Read more on Sakino Sepulveda…
by Sarah RaceExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Sarah has a BA in Political Science and a diploma in commercial photography.
Sarah has been working as a photographer since 2005.
Stephen Middleton – JoanStephen is a perfectionist who strives to excel at whatever he attempts.
As well as attending the Banff School of Fine Arts, he has a BA from the University ofGuelph where he majored in drama with minors in fine art and psychology. His formal art training and early work was focused primarily on black and white portraits and figure drawing using charcoal, pencil and ink mediums.
Read more on Stephen Middleton…
Suzo Hickey – InvitationExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Suzo Hickey is a painter and multidisciplinary artist living in Vancouver, BC. Born in 1959, she migrated from coast (Prince Rupert) to desert (Kamloops) before settling in Vancouver in 1990. She graduated from Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1994, and has exhibited around BC and internationally on themes of queer mothering, namecalling, narrative and death in the family.
credit: Suzy StroetExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Suzy Stroet was born and raised in Vancouver and continues to live and work in the city. She is an emerging artist whose work focuses on people and how they interact with, and inhabit the spaces they create.
Tillie King, photo courtesy Out on ScreenExhibiting in Games People Play curated exhibition July 26-August 13
Q: What do you get when you combine an artistic childhood, a B.A. in Anthropology (SFU), years of community volunteering and organizing and some corporate administration? A: Tillie, also known as a queer femme who enjoys yoga, hiking, kitchen experiments and making things with her hands. She’ll be busy this summer preparing a textile art piece for her first show at the Queer Arts Festival.
Exhibiting in Games People Playcurated exhibition July 26-August 13
Wendy Sexsmith is a Vancouver-based artist who is known for her transgressive oil paintings of performers who push gender boundaries and traditionalist notions of beauty and success.
Queer Arts Festival proudly presented by the Pride In Art Society. 