The ArtBridges Team
Through 2013-16, ArtBridges/ToileDesArts has an exceptionally large network of support. We have been able to engage amazingly talented people through the generous support of our funders.
ArtBridges is a project of Tides Canada.
As a registered Canadian operating charity, Tides Canada has full fiduciary and governance responsibility for Project: ArtBridges/ToileDesArts, and as such receives all donations and provides charitable tax receipts for gifts to the ArtBridges/ToileDesArts Project. Tides Canada provides a shared administrative platform for a number of self-financing projects to further its mission of social justice and environmental sustainability.
Our Volunteer Advisory Committee:
- Bridget Goldsmith, Chair of Steering Committee ArtBridges; Business owner. Past Board President of ShelterNet
- Chris Little, Treasurer for ArtBridges; Senior Manager, Finance & Strategy, Scotiabank; member of the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario
- Ruth Mandel, Philanthropist and Artist
- Rosemary Masemann, Lawyer
- Stephanie Whitehouse, Exhibit designer at The Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg
Project Founders
Seanna Connell & Kate Austin met in March 2008 for a breakfast and during 5 hours of bottomless coffee, the idea for ArtBridges was germinated.
2016 Staff, Consultants & Volunteers
Just about everyone at ArtBridges works or volunteers part-time, some as little as 1.5 hours/wk and some on short-term contracts. But each person contributes unique and diverse skills, experience and expertise, which combined helps to shape the development and growth of the ArtBridges/ToileDesArts project.
Co-Founder & Project Director (f/t), Seanna Connell
Seanna Connell is Co-Founder & Project Director of ArtBridges/ToileDesArts (2008 - present). Founder & Executive Director of A Home for Creative Opportunity/ ArtHeart Community Art Centre (1991-2008). Community-engaged artist & visual arts project & program coordinator for numerous inner-city Toronto drop-ins for street-involved youth & adults and disadvantaged children (1988-2000); Artist with: Artist’s Environment Forum (Toronto), Amazon Awareness Expedition (Ecuador & Puru), San Juan Bosco orphanage (Honduras), Pambazuko & Majengo orphanages (Tanzania). Boards: Current Co-Chair: ArtHeart Community Art Centre, Children’s Own Museum.
Co-Founder & Creative Partner (Volunteer), Kate Austin
Textile designer, artist and knitting/art entrepreneur. www.kateaustindesigns.com and www.theknitcafetoronto.com/
Social Media & Content Coordinator (p/t), Lisa Tran
Lisa Tran studied English Literature and French Studies at York University (Glendon). In 2008, Lisa audited the York University course, “Community Art for Social Change,” where she and Seanna Connell worked on a community art project together. During this project, they bonded over the importance of arts in under-served communities and research methods. Lisa has worked with ArtBridges since April 2009, when she began as a Community Arts Research Assistant, working on its initial research phase. After returning from a school year abroad in Norway, she returned to ArtBridges in June 2010 and is currently working as ArtBridges’ Social Media & Content Coordinator. Her interests are in photography, creative writing, juggling different languages and trying to keep up with all things community arts.
Indigenous Community Arts Coordinator & Communications Assistant (p/t), Cora-Rae Silk
Cora-Rae Silk is a graduate of the Graphic Design program at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario. Her previous work experience spans from commercial artist representation to the development and launch of a not-for-profit arts magazine showcasing the work of new and emerging Canadian artists. Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Cora joined the ArtBridges team in February 2011 after relocating to Toronto from Vancouver. She has identified and profiled many inspiring community arts initiatives working in northern and First Nations communities across Canada and has played a key role in the recent overhaul the ArtBridges website.
Info Resource Developer (p/t), Skye Louis
Skye Louis is a Toronto-based artist and cultural worker whose interests include community engagement through the arts, resource and information sharing, and organizational development in non-profits. Skye has worked with a broad range of arts organizations, including Inkstorm Screenprinting Collective, Anchor Archive Zine Library, Mural Routes, Om Laila Bellydance, and the Federation of Community Organizations; Skye also played an instrumental role in the growth and development of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Neighbourhood Arts Network. Currently, Skye is the workshop coordinator for ArtReach Toronto, as well as the Information Resource Developer for ArtBridges/ToileDesArts’ Web portal.
Membership Developer (p/t), Tiffany Nyklickova
For ten years Tiffany has worked in the non-profit sector. She specializes in building memberships where people can share information and resources and watch their ideas develop and take shape. Her motivation is for an effective, sustainable civil society which is built upon partnership and collaboration. Currently, she is working with ArtBridges to build a strong membership of art-based organizations who want this, too.
French-English Translator, Jacinthe Laforte (consultant)
www.humbleseditions.com and www.jacinthelaforte.com
Novelist, writer, French editor, small-scale (heart-sized) publisher, and translator, Jacinthe Laforte thrives on paths for a world of awareness, peace and beauty.
In 2013, she translated ArtBridges/ToilesDesArts new website content.
Note: Many people from across Canada have contributed French texts or translations in French over the past few years to ArtBridges. ArtBridges/ToileDesArts has not had this original material revised.
Francophone Community Arts Coordinator/ Coordonnatrice francophone en art communautaire (p/t), Catherine Lamaison
Catherine is a PhD candidate at OISE/ University of Toronto in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Justice Education department. Her research focuses on the African and Caribbean Diaspora, and cultural production as a site of political resistance and community empowerment. As a former ESL and French teacher both in France and in the United States, she has used visual arts, music and cinema as a medium and pedagogical tool to help students to become better critical thinkers, empowered community members and storytellers. Encouraging the access to arts to marginalized or isolated communities has always been a priority in her work. Catherine joined the ArtBridges team in 2014 and has been working on reaching out and connection community arts initiatives throughout Canada.
Francophone Community Arts Outreach Coordinator/Coordonnatrice francophone des communications et engagements en art communautaire (p/t), Catherine Turcotte
Catherine is an Honours student in the Environmental Studies Faculty at York University. She is also a student in the Community Art for Social Change Certificate program at York and is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. Originally from Quebec, she is a co-founder of H20 Let Your Art Flow, which is a Montreal-based collective, combining dance and positive social change. Catherine is a Hiphop dancer, teacher and educator. She has been a Specialized Intervention Coordinator at ALDI, a Quebec centre for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Using dance as an alternative way to raise awareness about our social realities, she believes that art can be used as a peaceful tool of expression in order to stand on the front line for humanity. By joining the ArtBridges team, she aims to bring greater access to art for under-served and under-resourced communities.
Development Officer, Patty Porretta (consultant)
Patty Porretta has worked in the fundraising profession for the past 18 years for numerous community-based organizations at the grassroots level. Since 1997, she has worked on a freelance basis. Patty has raised funds for many worthy causes including homelessness, international development, refugees and immigrants, poverty, children and youth, mental health, HIV/AIDS, prenatal care, violence prevention, human rights, seniors, crime prevention, social justice, and the arts. Over the course of her career, she has helped to raise over $20,000,000 and assisted numerous organizations to enhance their fundraising capabilities.
Website Developer, ViUU Inc. (consultant)
ViUU Media Group is providing custom solutions to clients in various industries. You certainly understand it takes more than stellar designs and code to deliver a truly great web solution. Just to name a few, they are in-depth business understanding, careful planning, integration with marketing strategy, quality control and project management. Because a company relies on its people, we have mixed the best talent in town and in France to achieve our goal... improving each and every website we work for.
viuu.ca
Outreach Coordinator, Sonya Young (consultant)
Sonya is a nature photographer who exhibits in local galleries and cafes. As a community artist, she teaches digital photography for non-profit organizations, specializing in classes for senior’s centres, and organizes photography projects and events. She took darkroom photography classes and earned a B.A. in English at Roosevelt University in Chicago, a Certificate in Publishing from the University of Chicago Centre for Continuing studies, and attends classes on social media, marketing and photography.
Graphic Artist/Illustrator, Courtney Wotherspoon (consultant)
Courtney Wotherspoon is an award-winning artist, illustrator and designer based in Toronto. www.spoonstudio.com
Evaluator, Radha Nayar (consultant)
Nayar Consulting is a sole proprietorship that has been offering services to the non-profit sector for the last five years. The principal of Nayar Consulting is Radha Nayar. Building on 17 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Radha is a results-oriented consulting professional that consistently exceeds her deliverables and supports her clients to maximize their impact. Radha’s exemplary abilities to build strong relationships with clients, support the right balance between process and outcomes and bring anti-oppression principles to life in her work enable her to excel as a specialist in strategic planning and evaluation. She has supported organizations to develop their evaluation capacity, and has conducted numerous evaluations of direct service programs and special multi-stakeholder initiatives, including SmartSaver, an project of the Omega Foundation. Radha is a member of the Canadian Evaluation Society.
Videographer, Andrea Dorfman (consultant)
Andrea Dorfman is a filmmaker, animator and artist who has made numerous experimental and dramatic short films, music videos, documentary and animated films. She has also directed three feature fims - Parsley Days (2000) and Love That Boy (2003) and Heartbeat (2014). Her video, How to Be Alone, in collaboration with poet, Tanya Davis, turned into a viral YouTube sensation and was turned into a book published by HarperCollins with painted illustrations by Dorfman.
Web Developer, Ted Snell (volunteer consultant)
Web Production Consultant, Professor New Media, Business School, George Brown College
Student involvement 2016 (volunteers)
Previous Student Involvement, Staff & Volunteers
Past Student Volunteers
- The Strategic Foresight and Innovation Masters Programme at Ontario College of Art and Design University – (ArtBridges/ToileDesArts case study)
- George Brown College Faculty of Business, Arts & Design third-year marketing students – ArtBridges Case Study (2012)
- Students from Centennial College New Media and University of Toronto/Centennial College Joint New Media programs used ArtBridges/ToileDesArts for their client projects (2011)
- Humber College, Post Graduate Certificate, International Development (internship hours): Raisa Kassam
Past Staff/Consultants
- Maxine Sidran, ArtBridging Ontario Researcher (consultant)
- Tara McMurtry, Evaluator (consultant)
- Robin Cory, Partner, Colbeck Strategic Advisors (Innoweave consultant)
- Margot Smart, Partner, Colbeck Strategic Advisors (Innoweave consultant)
- Simon Constam, Sponsorship Director (consultant)
- Susan Ward, Sponsorship Developer (consultant)
- Dawn Comber, Web Copy Writer (consultant)
- Alexa Macaulay de Repentigny, p/t Assistante de Recherche Francophone (2009-2012)
- Alli Melanson, p/t Assistante de Recherche Francophone (2012)
- Ania Stypulkowski, p/t ArtBridging Ontario Coordinator (2009-10, 2011-12)
- Virgil Kpodar, p/t Assistant de Recherche Francophone (2010)
Past Volunteers
- Susan Koch, ArtBridges Researcher
- Gillian McQuade, ArtBridges Logo Contest Winner
- Aurelia Bizouard (http://artaureliabizouard.blogspot.ca) p/t Assistante de Recherche Francophone (2010)
- Kim Snell: Writing and Editing (2010)
- Dr. Christina Halliday, Advisory (2008-2015)
- Lola Rasminsky, Advisory (2008-2010)
