NAPP Cohort 2

Written By Toyin Oladele

Newcomer Arts Professional Program

Previously called Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program (IAMP)

2022-2023 Pairs

 
 

Ciza Zoya

Multidisciplinary Artist

  • Ciza is a multidisciplinary artist who recently moved to Calgary in December 2021 from Kerala, India. With a solid foundation in arts and design, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from TKM College of Engineering in Kerala and a Master's degree in Arts Management from Cattolica University in Milan, Italy. Drawing inspiration from her rich roots and deep connection to the traditions of Kerala, India, Ciza's artistic journey revolves around sharing narratives, particularly those of a newcomer Indian woman adapting to a Western environment. She uses photos, installations, and performance art to connect with the audience and explore the nuances of life in this unfamiliar environment. Through her art, she invites people to experience and understand different cultures and perspectives.

 

Aldona Barutowicz

Publicist, Communications Expert & Arts Manager 

  • Aldona B has been a publicist for the past 14 years with a focus on theatre and entertainment. Her clients include the Calgary International Film Festival, the Calgary Black Film Festival, Downstage, Hit & Myth Productions, StoryBook Theatre, to name a few. Her work also includes assisting fellow entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and help them to identify their unique voice. Through Aldona B Creative she offers communications, photography and fashion styling services.

    Aldona is also on the Board of Directors with the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focusing on supporting visual artists in Calgary. Constantly striving to enhance our communities and city’s profile, it is her infectious passion for her work - and clients - that set her apart.

 

Diane Din Ebongue

Interdisciplinary Artist

  • Diane Din Ebongue is a Cameroonian-born and French-raised interdisciplinary artist and arts manager passionate about intangible cultural heritage and empowerment processes. Her artistic repertoire includes visual, literary and media arts. After gaining experience in script supervision, cinematography and editing, she earned a Master's degree in Science, Arts and Techniques of Image and Sound from the University of Aix-Marseille. Her debut film, 'À chaque jour suffit sa peine', was featured at the Aubagne International Film Festival in 2013. In 2016, her second film, "La Relève", marked the introduction of a community-oriented approach to her art. Diane's work was recognized by the International Council on Archives in 2018, where she showcased the project “Palabres” and led a workshop on the construction of collective memory. Her work has since been exhibited globally, including in Europe, Cameroon and Canada, through artist residencies, exhibitions, publications and festivals.

 

Lanre Ajayi

Artist, Arts Manager & Community Builder 

  • Lanre Ajayi is a Nigerian-born visual and new media content creator who uses his artistic skills to build forward-thinking communities and tell stories through lived experiences. He is responsible for creating platforms that share unique identities through art and cultural activities, thereby promoting equity and diversity in Canada and beyond. His creative leadership skills enable him to relate well with stakeholders at all levels and his enthusiastic spirit has led him to create community initiatives that have gained international recognition.

    As the founder, artistic and creative director of Ethnik Festivals Association, he dedicates his talents to building connections and opportunities within many communities. These initiatives include working with individual artists, community associations, corporate entities, persons with developmental disabilities, and members of BIPOC using his art and craft skills to teach, educate and entertain.

    He is the host, producer and lead writer of My City Speaks To Me, a show about People, Places, and Events, showcasing the rich and cultural tapestry of communities all over Alberta and beyond. Throughout the pandemic, Ajayi collected stories from cab drivers and worked with Calgary’s Checker Transportation Group to create the 48-minute film Yellow Legacy to showcase the work needed to keep Calgarian communities moving during the pandemic lockdown. These stories have been shared internationally, and the film was selected as a finalist entry in the Festival del Cinema Di Cefalu in Italy, as well as the SideReel Festival in the United States.

    He has been blessed and recognized for his many artistic contributions in Calgary as the Mayor’s Art Champions Legacy Award Winner in 2018, Winner of the Alberta Government Northern Lights Award, and nominated for the Community Leader of the Year Award 2020 by Diversity Magazine, named Top 25 Canadian Immigrant 2021 and Community Advocate, Individual, City of Calgary Awards 2022.

 

Hanieh (Honey) Jalali

Multidisciplinary Artist, Art Teacher & Arts Therapist

  • With 20 years of experience Graphic Design Master and Bachelor’s degree at the Art and Architecture Azad university of Tehran. She focuses on art production, painting, graphic design, photography, material installation and theater. Artistic production and cultural promotion. She has been teaching Graphic Design for 15 years at university and her healing is painting. She loves contemporary art, photography, collage, illustration, poetry and also Honey has profound experience in theatre as a Scene Secretary and actress.

 

Allan Rosales

Artist & Arts Therapist

  • Allan Brent Rosales is a second generation Filipinx multidisciplinary Artist, Art Therapist and Community Connector. Born and raised in Moh’kinstsis/Calgary Allan’s artist practice includes drawing, photography, painting, illustration, digital media, murals and poetry. Allan has a Masters in Art Therapy and has worked in arts-based, healthcare and education settings for over 15 years. More recently, Allan has been working in Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility at both the organizational and grassroots level.

 

Hesam Ohadi

Electronic Musician & Mixing Mastering Engineer

  • Hesam Ohadi (b. 1987 in Tehran) is an Iranian Canadian interdisciplinary artist and creator currently residing in Calgary, Canada.

    Aside from his sonic explorations in experimental electronic and electroacoustic music under the moniker “Idlefon”, Ohadi creates New Media artworks under his alias “Kino” which span across various mediums such as performance, kinetic sculpture, interactive installation and net art.

    He is interested in making abstract art forms and algorithm-driven pieces. To achieve this, he uses his computer in combination with custom-made software and utilizes creative coding, generative design, and nature-influenced processes.

 

Krzysztof Sujata

Multidisciplinary Artist

  • Krzysztof Sujata is a Poland born, Calgary based, electronic musician and mixing/mastering engineer. Recording under the name Valiska, he has collaborated with artists both locally and abroad on numerous projects since 2010, across various genres and disciplines. Having completed a Bachelor degree in Computer Sciences at the University of Calgary, he makes use of both digital and analog technologies alongside self-designed tools to create highly melodic and textural music.

 

Kyung Eun ‘Kay’ Heo

Visual Artist

  • Kyung Eun 'Kay' Heo, from South Korea, is a writer with eight years of experience and a visual artist specializing in oil painting for the past six years. As a writer, she has mainly explored ethnic groups' diasporas and reunification, conflict and resolution, and the coexistence of differences. She is particularly curious about unfamiliar worlds, and her quest to understand them is reflected in her books: travel essay (2014) and a collection of testimonies on North Korean human rights (2015). She has written over 300 articles and interviewed more than 200 people. Kay has also been passionate about painting since 2016. She mainly paints on the theme of nature. She revealed her artwork for the first time through a group exhibition in 2019 in Seoul. To gather broader and more diverse ideas, she moved to Canada in 2021 and is currently involved in several Calgary-based art organizations as a visual artist.

 

Sydonne Warren

Visual Artist

  • "Syd The Artiste" - Sydonne Warren - is a Jamaican-Canadian Contemporary Visual Artist who specializes in large-scale expressive paintings, murals, and digital design. Her artwork often showcases a combination of high contrast subjects, bold colour palettes, and a mixture of expressive strokes, drips and rigid lines. Her themes reflect her experiences as a Jamaican-Canadian immigrant woman and mother. She uses her perspective to share her desire for the African diaspora to occupy, impact and own space.

    Sydonne’s work has appeared in locations across Calgary including the Core Shopping Centre, the Jamaican Canadian Association, Centre Street and Kensington. In 2020, Avenue Magazine listed Sydonne’s Black Lives Matter mural as one of the “Good things that happened in Calgary”. That same year she was named “Artist of the Year” by Diversity Magazine’s African Caribbean Awards for her impact on the city as a person of colour.

 

Margarita Rebetskaia

Associate Artistic Director & Dancer

  • Margarita Rebetskaia - dancer, choreographer and dance instructor. Was born in Moscow ( Russia), started doing rhythmic gymnastics at 5. At age of 14 was accepted to Igor Moiseyev Dance Academy where she was trained ballet and jazz, and mostly character and international popular dances such as Russian, Polish, Ukranian, Moldovian Argentinan, Spanish, Korean and many others. After graduating was accepted to Igor Moiseyev Ballet – worldwide famous international popular dance company founded by soloist of Bolshoi theater Igor Moiseyev in 1937. In the company she performed as a Carmen in “Spanish ballade” (music by Pablo Di Luna), had solo part in Argentinian Tango, Bulgarian, Gypsy and etc. Margarita toured with the company around the world and performed in the main stages in Europe, North America, China , Dubai and many others such as Bolshoi theatre in Moscow, Palais des Congres in Paris, New York City Center etc..

    Also graduated from Russian Academy of Arts as a theater critic and founded an inclusive theatre company called InterAction. Moved to Canada with her family in 2021. In 2021-2022 did Professional Training Program in Decidedly Jazz Dancework in Calgary. Recently was hired by Alberta ballet school and Decidedly Jazz as a character and ballet teacher. Currently as a dancer joined Dancing Monkey Laboratory for their new theatre production “Sublimity”.

 

Col Cseke

Arts Manager

  • Col is a theatre artist based in Calgary and the Artistic & Executive Director of Inside Out Theatre, Calgary’s Deaf and Disability Theatre company. His work as a theatre artist and community organizer revolves around disability justice and Mad pride, poverty reduction and labour rights, community belonging and supporting artists to spur social change.

 

Patricia Peixoto

Photographer & Media Producer

  • I am Patricia. I graduated in Information Systems back in Brazil and came to Calgary three and a half ago to study New Media Production and Design at SAIT.

    My husband and I moved to Canada to seek a better quality of life, learn English and live an enriching multicultural experience.

    Photography became part of my life in 2016 as a hobby to relieve stress during a hard time. I fell in love and never stopped photographing. Natural landscapes are my favorite scenarios. Nature is where I feel free, put my problems aside to enjoy life to the fullest and learn about gratitude and miracles. That is what moves me. When I am out in nature, I try not to take for granted the simplest moments.

 

Sam Obadero

Photographer, Performer & Arts Manager

  • I am a lifestyle photographer and experienced stage performer. I love to lend my voice to social issues.I received the new Canadian Artist Award in 2019 after I migrated from Nigeria. Since then, I have curated 4 exhibitions in the city. The latest being the Project Red exhibition at the Central Library where I was also the Artist in Residence. I am also a Rozsa Arts Management Program (RAMP) graduate where I learnt about "Transformational Leadership in Arts".I believe I am a growing voice in the arts community in the city. I also find myself contributing through other platforms such as Calgary Arts Development, Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI), Action Dignity, and Woezo Africa Music and Dance Theatre.

 

Mario Obeid

Movement & Dance Artist

  • Mario (he/him) is a movement artist and choreographer based in Treaty 7 (Calgary, Canada). Having discovered dance through bboying and breakdance, Mario played a significant role in the establishment and strengthening of both urban and rural hiphop dance communities in Syria before receiving training in contemporary, classical ballet and jazz at the Damascus Institute of Higher Arts. Together with Zaria Rajha, Mario has recently co-choreographed and performed work for Quick+Dirty Festival DSW (they win the festival selection award), The Grande Residency (Theatre Grande) and FluidFest (Springboard Dance). Mario is interested in how the dance expresses the body's yearning for both freedom and connection through the scales of our deepest relationships and the communities through which we find belonging.

 

Jordan Baylon

Poet & Spoken Word Artist

  • Jordan Baylon (they/she/he) is a second generation PilipinX artist, critic and community worker imagining justice and abundance for equity-deserving peoples within the spaces of all our relations: personal, communal and societal. As an artist, Jordan explores queer and racialized identities as liminal spaces: both and neither; between, across and through; both inside and outside; and both literal and imagined. Jordan’s community practice leverages a decade of experience in the non-profit arts and culture sectors, where they developed their critical lens around equity, anti-racism and systems change. After many years navigating institutions, Jordan now devotes their interest and attention to working at grassroots alongside equity-deserving individuals and communities.

 

Yu Chen

Visual Artist

  • Yu Chen is a Chinese artist based in Calgary, who specializes in oil painting. She has a BA degree from Western Oregon University and the GuangXi Arts Institute. She is inspired by Western-style painting and Eastern culture. She explores these elements through a wide variety of media and techniques, such as photography, traditional makeup, and installation. Her current art practice focuses on her self-exploration of cultural identity, specifically her Han heritage.

    Yu Chen exhibited her solo show “Meditation” and participated in a group show “Hanfu beauty” at the Alberta Society of Artists in 2022. She was an artist in residency at Sparrow Artspace during September 2022. Her work has also been selected for the Juror's Choice Award at the Dan and Gail Cannon Gallery, Western Oregon University, in 2017.

 

Claudia Chagoya

Interdisciplinary Artist

  • Claudia Chagoya is an interdisciplinary artist born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and based in Calgary, Canada. She holds an MFA degree from the University of Calgary, and a BFA from Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Her artistic practice explores topics related to gender violence and her socio-political background, through the use of materials rooted in Mexican culture tied to various rituals such as: rebozos, salt, copal and sawdust.

 

Zaria Rajha

Movement & Dance Artist

  • Zaria is a dancer, choreographer, and researcher of the body, hailing from Damascus, Syria. Currently based in Treaty 7 Calgary, Alberta. She grew up learning Hip-Hop, jazz, and contemporary. Later, Zaria became a graduate of The Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts, Damascus, Syria where she held her bachelor’s degree in dance movement. Zaria is deeply drawn to absurd theatre studies and to her research about human existence.

    In 2018, She worked as a professional performer with Leish physical theatre troupe Damascus, Syria and choreographed many dance productions based on the idea of contradiction by combining two opposites movement, themes, methods together. During her career journey Zaria trained in multiple theatre, mime and dance techniques.

    In 2022, together with her husband Mario Obeid co-choreographed and performed works for Quick+Dirty Festival (Dancer Studio West) awarded “the audience choice prize”, the Grand Residency Cabaret (Grand Theatre) and Fluid Festival (Springboard Performance). Most recently, she and Mario Obeid have co-collaborated with Kawalease Act to create movement workshops that introduce people to the art of dance and choreography.

 

Elaine Weryshko

Physical Theatre & Practitioner of Live Performance

  • Mohkínstsis||Calgary, Canada. My medium is the poetic body for a Post-Britney world, a practice based out of extensive worldly training in Mask, Clown, Greek Chorus/Ensemble and Puppetry. I write, perform, produce, teach, design and kamikaze live events in alternative spaces all over Alberta. Typical projects are inspired for Greek-like choruses and large mass gatherings, casting anywhere between 6 to 35 people, searching for group catharsis on and off the stage - I celebrate the need for epic ideas and encourage our collective exploration into our shared profane experiences with the natural world.

    I am interested in creating work that is unimaginable and unreproducible. Inspired through a visceral live honesty to keep pushing the collision of genres and be paving greater roads of permission for how we make live art and how we experience it.

    Through this physical and visual lens, I have found my voice as a protester, punk and artist; an emotional expression which apart from being anarchistic and slightly chaotic, is essentially visual and poetic. I am trying to work in a way that encourages the un-traditional, sparks surrealism and reinvigorates how we gather Together

    Creative highlights include a 35-member Prairie-Gothic extravaganza loosely based on Romeo & Juliet, presented in a condemned warehouse in Edmonton, each night accompanied with burning pianos and full singing chorus, titled Of Love And Wheat co-created with Kristine Nutting. In 2018 I wrote & directed my Greek-Chorus comedy rollercoaster called The COWS, where I brought my love of these grasslands to the stage combined with my personal and deeply emotional turmoil of weather it is better to be human or to be devoid of emotional torment and just be a simple Cow in the field. Most recently, I have been creating my first full length puppetry show titled DOT, a surrealist show about an ever-evolving spec transforming from the molecular to the galactic, using manipulated colours, shapes, wind, liquids and plastic bags. It is an experience that tries to encapsulate the diverse shades found within our humanity, from the delightful to the cantankerous, viewed from the distance of the stars.

    Elaine is the co-Educational Director of the Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry, creator and coordinator of The WunderBriefs series at the Animated Objects Festival and co-curator of the AWE, an once reoccurring risk-based performance series in Calgary. In the past I have worked with or presented at: The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, Alberta Gallery of Art, Mile Zero Dance, Sage Theatre, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, Springboard Performance (Fluid Festival & ContainR), Skipping Stones, Swallow A Bicycle, Theatre Junction, the Pacitti Company (UK), The Invisible Dog (NYC), and mentored with immersive theatre giant PunchDrunk in their London production A Drowned Man. I have trained around the world at: The London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA), Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre, The Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance, Song of the Goat and with the SITI Company NYC Summer Viewpoints Intensive.

 
 
Toyin Oladele
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