MiR Cohort 2
Mentors in Residence
July-October, 2023
Ciza Zoya
Multi-Disciplinary Artist | Storytelling Associate, Rozsa Foundation
Areas of Support:
Networking and Community Connections
Creative Strategies
Resources for Arts Managers
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Ciza is a dynamic and multi-talented professional with a passion for creative content, art, and architectural design. With a diverse background encompassing various artistic practices, she brings a unique perspective to her work. Ciza holds a degree in architecture from TKM College of Engineering in Kerala, India, where her inquisitive nature led her to explore the art of business dynamics further. She pursued her master’s in arts management from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, where she deepened her knowledge in arts, design, and management.Having experienced the global art scene and collaborated with renowned curators in Italy while working for Kooness, Ciza's perspective is enriched by her exposure to multicultural and ethnic groups. Her international outlook has proven valuable since her immigration to Calgary in December 2021. In a short period, she quickly established herself as a valuable member of the arts community in Calgary.Currently, Ciza holds the position of Storytelling Associate at the Rozsa Foundation, where she utilizes her creative strategies and storytelling skills to make a significant impact. Additionally, she serves as the Project Coordinator for creative strategies and outreach at the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women. Her dedication and expertise in these roles contribute to fostering inclusivity and empowerment within the immigrant community.Ciza was selected as one of the ten mentees for the Immigrant artist mentorship program (IAMP) 2022 by the Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI). This prestigious program allowed her to further develop her artistic abilities and connect with influential mentors.Her latest work "I Smell Curry: Beyond the Blanket Term" is an attempt to challenge the reductive stereotype that "curry" is a one-dimensional representation of Indian culture. This Current project is driven by my personal experiences exploring the nuances of life as an Indian woman in a new and unfamiliar environment.
Vicki Van Chau
Filmmaker and Arts Administrator
Areas of Support:
Arts administration and management
Well rounded board member knowledge
Filmmaking and video production
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Vicki Van Chau is a filmmaker and arts administrator based in Calgary, Alberta. She was the Programming Director at EMMEDIA Gallery & Production Society, a non-profit media art centre, where she co-founded the PARTICLE + WAVE Media Arts Festival and co-published Luma Quarterly, an online publication focussed on film & media art. She left in 2020 to pursue her film practice full-time and has since directed and produced several award-winning short films that have screened across Canada and internationally. She recently received the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award and the Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal for her contribution to the arts & culture in Alberta.
As a freelance arts administrator, her clients include the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society and CanAsian Arts Network. She is an active arts community member and has sat on the Board of Directors for the Untitled Art Society (now known as The Bows), EXPOSURE Photography Festival, Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS), and most recently, the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF). She also consults with the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Calgary Arts Development and the Independent Media Arts Alliance.
Ligaya Domingo
Multi-Disciplinary Artist | Communications Specialist, Freshwater Creative
Areas of Support:
Arts administration and management
Well rounded board member knowledge
Filmmaking and video production
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Ligaya, a native of the Philippines, is a versatile artist who has cultivated a diverse range of skills across various artistic disciplines, including painting, performance, video, and photography. Her artistic journey began with a formal education in Fine Arts. Fueled by her passion in art, Ligaya furthered her studies in art history at the University of the Philippines.
Throughout her creative endeavours, Ligaya's artistic journey has been intricately intertwined with her dedication to social justice work and active participation in art collectives in the Philippines. By actively engaging in advocacy campaigns for non-governmental organizations, she has utilized her art as a potent medium for shedding light on the experiences and roles of women. Driven by an innate love for visual storytelling, Ligaya has also worked in film production, contributing her creative vision as a production designer to a wide array of independent and commercial projects in the Philippines.
Her current creative endeavours are centred around a profound exploration of connection. With a desire to reconnect with her roots and document her immigrant experience, Ligaya captures the fragments of her bond with the concept of home in a thoughtful and introspective manner. Since moving to Calgary, Ligaya simultaneously pursues her art while working in a creative agency in Calgary.
Ligaya was also a participant of the Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program in the first cohort.
Titilope Sonuga
Poet | Playwriter | Performer
Areas of Support:
Performance related resources and opportunities
Community engagement
Grant writing
Playwriting
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The story of Titilope Sonuga’s emergence as a globally renowned poet, playwright and performer is a testament to the transformative power of storytelling. She renders, both in verse and performance, a quality of rootedness and unflinching womanhood that extends beyond the bounds of a single poem or poetic performance.
She is the author of three collections of poetry: Down to Earth (2011), Abscess (2014), and This Is How We Disappear (2019) and has composed two spoken word albums, Mother Tongue (2011) and Swim (2019). She is a writer who blends a remarkable elegance of craft with an ever-present human quality that carries her words into expansive realms scripting campaigns for global brands, including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, and the White Ribbon Alliance. She served a two-year term as an ambassador for Intel Corporation’s She Will Connect campaign, a program dedicated to empowering women and girls through technological literacy, commerce, and opportunity.
Titilope Sonuga has written three plays: The Six (an intergenerational exploration of womanhood), Naked (a one-woman play) and Ada the Country (a musical). She played a lead role as an actor in the hit Nigerian television series Gidi Up. She was the first poet to perform at a Nigerian presidential inauguration in 2015 and is the 9th Poet Laureate of the City of Edmonton.
Sayonara Cunha
Community Liaison, Calgary Arts Development
Areas of Support:
Community engagement
Funder and other organizations connections
Grassroots knowledge of Calgary arts ecosystem
Exhibition and performance related resources
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Sayonara Cunha (she/her/hers) is a community liaison at Calgary Arts Development. In this role, she is responsible for connecting the arts community in Calgary and working as the primary liaison between the community and staff equity working group.
Before joining Calgary Arts Development, Sayonara volunteered for different organizations in Calgary and worked for almost 10 years to preserve Brazilian Cultural Heritage living in Brasilia, Brazil. One of her main goals and passions was to humanize processes, laws, and policies to make them accessible to everybody. She also holds a master’s degree in public management from the University of Wellington in New Zealand. Navigating new challenges excites her, and what puts her in this state of flow is getting to know people, learning news views and understanding the different needs.
In her spare time, you might find her biking around the city, hiking in the mountains, drawing, reading in coffee shops, or falling in love with every tree she sees.
Ishita Singla
Founder and Artistic Director, Madhuban Performing Arts
Areas of Support:
Media and communications
Performance organization management
Music and choreography
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Ishita Singla, Founder and Artistic Director of Madhuban Performing Arts, is a passionate, self-taught artist who has been performing in the community for more than 14 years. Ishita has worked tirelessly to promote South Asian art and heritage through the means of dancing by collaborating with various charitable and not-for-profit initiatives.
Madhuban Performing Arts’ core team currently consists of dancers, musicians and singers. Since its conception in April of 2016, Madhuban has volunteered performances for more than 75+ different cultural organizations, charitable and not-for-profit initiatives. In January of 2020, Ishita was honored as a finalist for the Immigrants of Distinction Award in the Arts and Culture Category. She has also been awarded the South Asian Excellence Award for being an inspiration to the youth and a Top 50 contender from 18,000 auditions in Dance India Dance North America. Ishita has spearheaded a promotional campaign with a Bollywood Feature Film as part of their worldwide release and has also been featured on CBC Calgary.
She recently choreographed the opening act for University of Calgary's Dance Montage and worked with 21 professional dancers to create a visual masterpiece. Amidst COVID-19, Ishita has been continually teaching virtual dance classes, and coordinated live streamed performances for various initiatives including Calgary Pride, TedxYYC, Arts Commons, etc.