Project Lead / Mentor

Raheel Patel (He/Him) is a mixed media artist / art and museum curator. Born and raised in India’s first world heritage city Ahmedabad, inheriting the cultural values, art, craft, practices, myths, legends, and faith from his family, and Sampradaya (cultural & religious system), Raheel has not only learned these traditional art forms but also applies them to the modern world to understand Indian art and techniques at a deep level. As an artist, he nurtures the child within him, permitting him to live within a secret world, using the memories of his childhood as both object and subject in his work.

He studied Fine Arts and Arts History from INDIA wherein he learned the professional and systematic practices of the arts world. After immigrating to Canada in 2014, he completed ‘The Culture and Museum Management’ program and ended up doing his internship at the Peel Art Gallery Museum + Archives ( PAMA ) where he solo curated show on the board games of INDIA “The Art Of Kreeda” He was fortunate enough to receive a grant to start a Art Business ( Holy Cow Studio ) with the help of city of Mississauga entrepreneurship programme his Art practices are environment friendly his workshops are offered at Peel Public schools, Markham public Schools, wellness centres, Museums & Art centres. He is a Project lead of LOVE LAB at Art Gallery of Mississauga and served as a Public Art Advisory Committee Also Worked on contract as a Community Engagement Agent Mississauga Arts Council / Art Educator at Dundas Valley School of Art.

His most recent project is “the Lost Museum” is a part of Insitu Festival 2021 of Creative Hub 1352. The Outreach Project: The Lost Umbrellas Outreach Artist and Creator: Raheel Patel.

Mentor

Canadian artist Fausta Facciponte works primarily in photography, though her practice diverges into installation and text-based works. Fausta graduated from the University of Toronto in 1990, and received her MFA from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2016.

Fausta is the recipient of numerous OAC project grants, the D.L. Stevenson and Sons Award, Talens Award and the Toronto Image Works Award. In 2018 she was a finalist for the K.M. Hunter Artist Award. She recently received a grant from the Canada Arts Council to create a series of digital originals for online sharing in response to the pandemic.

She has been acknowledged for her work by Globe and Mail, Carousel Magazine, Now Magazine, Eyes In, and Flavorwire Magazine and exhibited throughout North America, Latin America and Asia. Her photographs are in the collections at McMaster Museum of Art, Peel Art Gallery Museum + Archives, Art Gallery of Mississauga and Shelter Hotel in LA, California. Her work is part of a project and publication with the John Hopkins University of Medicine (Baltimore), and MAPS – a project co-organized by the McMaster Museum and the School of Nursing that teaches medical students visual literacy. Fausta is represented by Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.

Mentor

James Fowler’s practice as a visual artist is complimented by his curatorial pursuits and his community involvement. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and English from York University and an early career in photography and film. James’ artistic practice concerns identity defined by landscape and environment. His work challenges notions of traditional landscape painting, borrowing from cartography and geometric abstraction. James is the creator of The 10X10 Photography Project which he has curated annually since 2011, and maintains a full time studio practice in Toronto.

Facilitator

Kelly McCray has exhibited and curated extensively over the past 30 years. His steam portraits were exhibited at the Gladstone Hotel for the 10 x 10 Portrait Project and in 2015, the Stephen Bulger Gallery hosted his photo-based Lens Krafter book project. His 2003 Ken Portraits series, was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) and in 2001, the Gnawts Project was exhibited in the Breath Taking show at Gallery TPW, for which he received the US – based Pollock-Krasner award.

Recent curatorial projects include the 2013 Rare & Raw show for the Leslie & Lohman Museum in New York as well as numerous Edward Day Gallery exhibitions. In 2016 He directed/curated the First Canadian Place Gallery and public lobby spaces from 2014 to 2019 and was co-founder of the Artists Protest Projects for the 2019 Nuit Blanche projection walls. He is currently completing his MFA at York University.

Facilitator

Teneshia T. Samuel (Hon. B.A., M.A., M.A., RYT 300).  Teneshia Samuel is a Narrative Therapist, Mental Health Peer Support facilitator, Corporate Mental Health Trainer, Consultant and Artist. They are an advocate for mental health, harm reduction and diversity, equity and inclusion. Teneshia serves on the Board of Directors for Moyo Health & Community Services and Black Mental Health Canada.