Salzburg Global Forum
for Young Cultural Innovators

Marika Crête-Reizes

Montreal, Quebec

Marika Crête-Reizes has cumulated a vast experience in the programming and presentation of performing arts in venues and publics spaces, as well as in the development of arts education programs and projects, evaluative research and project management. After working as an educator, her professional path took her to cultural organizations such as the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Conseil québécois du théâtre and Place des Arts where she worked for almost ten years and held the position of Education and Community engagement Manager until June 2020. As Education and Community engagement Manager at Place des Arts, she developed educational and inclusive programs and took part in the revision of the Community engagement pole whose activities are now focused on civic engagement. Driven by the necessity for a strong connexion between the arts and education sectors, she now collaborates with several national and international organizations on projects in arts education and gives training in aesthetic education to teaching-artists, presenters and arts educators. She is a board member of artistic companies Théâtre de la pire espèce and Orchestre de l'Agora.

Trenton Pierre

Katzie First Nation, British Columbia

Trenton Pierre is from Katzie First Nation.  He is deeply rooted with his culture through the avenue of Arts.   He has created his own business (Rain Awakens) in hopes to help inspire other people to follow their true passions from within.  He decided to leave the civil engineering realm to pursue a new found love to become a full time artist.   He shares his story growing up as First Nations in the aftermath of residential school by attempted genocide on his people.  He tries to share his story of how we can uprise and break stereotypes to show the world that no matter where you come from, you belong and your voice deserves to be heard. He presents in universities, high schools and elementary schools to help others awaken their true potential, by conveying his message through a loving heart and an open mind.

Emma Hassencahl-Perley

Nequtkok (Tobique First Nation), New Brunswick

Emma Hassencahl-Perley is a Wolastoqey curator, educator, and visual artist from Nequtkok (Tobique First Nation), New Brunswick, Canada. She is the former curatorial intern at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, an instructor in the Indigenous Visual Arts Program at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, and she maintains a visual art practice. Emma graduated from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2017. Her work explores the term “legislative identity” -specifically, how the Indian Act has influence over the identities of Indigenous Peoples in Canada- as well as her own identity as a Wolastoqey woman.

Samantha Mark

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Samantha is the Senior Manager of Regional and Community Planning with Prairie Wild Consulting Co., a comprehensive planning and research firm based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Samantha joined Prairie Wild in 2011. She leads and co-leads on a number of different projects working with municipalities, regions, Indigenous communities, and organizations across Saskatchewan and beyond. Samantha provides facilitation, policy writing, and project management. Samantha has led and co-led the development of numerous strategic plans, evaluations, needs assessment plans, district plans, municipal official community plans, zoning bylaws, concept plans, and dozens of community-based facilitations.

Su Ying Strang

Calgary/Mohkinstsis, Alberta

Su Ying Strang is an artist and cultural worker based in Calgary/Mohkinstsis on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot/Niitsitapi and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta. Originally hailing from the Southern United States, Strang relocated to Canada in 2006 to pursue her BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts. In addition to Strang’s studio practice, she has been involved in the not-for-profit arts sector since 2010. Strang is currently the Director of The New Gallery (TNG), President of the Alberta Association of Artist-Run Centres, and a Governor on the Board of Glenbow Museum. Strang’s work in the arts is informed by an artist-centred and community-driven ethos – prioritizing artistic excellence, experimentation, and accessibility of programming for audiences. TNG recognized at the 2017 Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts where the organization was presented with the Sandstone City Builder’s Award for making “Calgary a better place to live through the arts.” Other recent accomplishments include Strang’s participation in the inaugural cohort of the Banff Centre’s Cultural Leadership Program in 2017-18, being selected as one of Avenue Magazine’s 2018 Top 40 under 40, and receiving a 2018 AUArts Alumni Horizon Award.

Randell Adjei

Toronto, Ontario

Randell Adjei is a passionate and devoted leader in his community. He serves as the Executive and Creative Director of (Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere) R.I.S.E Edutainment. R.I.S.E is recognized as a Vital Idea and Vital Youth Organization by the Toronto Foundation. Randell is an Inspirational speaker spreading his message of personal alchemy and finding purpose. He's an Arts practitioner working in 3 school boards in the Greater Toronto Area weaving growth mindset into curriculum. Randell did his bachelors at York University in Political Science and Philosophy. He’s a Fellow of MaRS Discovery District's Studio Y cohort 2 program. Randell was a lead consultant for Toronto Youth Equity Strategy. He’s a coach of Toronto Public Library's Poetry saved our lives program. In 2017 Randell received NOW Magazine's Local Hero Award. In 2015, Randell was named CBC Metro Morning’s Torontonian of the year.

Jonathan Astley

Moncton, New Brunswick

Jonathan Astley is a Teaching Artist, a professional artist who performs and teaches, a virtuoso of music and social change in the wider society.

 

Jonathan is Centre Director (Moncton) in Sistema New Brunswick, the largest Sistema-inspired program in Canada, where he is also a French Horn Teaching Artist with more than 20 French Horn students, 280 students attending daily and eighteen professional staff.

 Each year, Jonathan coordinates more than seven concert events with performances from the Sistema NB Children’s Orchestras, reaching more than 11,000 audience members in the region.

As a performer, Jonathan recently performed with Ventus Machina at the 2018 East Coast Music awards and is also a founding member of the East Coast Brass Quintet, which recently completed a 2018 tour. Jonathan is a regular performer with Symphony New Brunswick and Tutta Musica. A member of the 2015 National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the 2014 National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Jonathan is an active orchestral and chamber player. Jonathan recently performed at the 2015 Juno awards backing up the Canadian rock group the Arkells in their hit single Come To Light.

Jonathan earned a Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University with majors in orchestra performance and music theory. As well, Jonathan received an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s prestigious Glenn Gould School. Jonathan currently resides in Moncton, New Brunswick with his wife Caitlin.

Belle Chi-Tung Cheung

Vancouver, British Columbia

Belle is a cultural planner with the City of Vancouver, part of a specialized team working towards community development and possible UNESCO World Heritage Status application for Vancouver’s historic Chinatown. Her work sits at the intersection of arts, culture, and heritage, and advocates for racial equity, representation, decolonization, and cultural histories as important factors in policy to more accurately represent racialized communities in Canada. Her research explores the relationship between colonialism and cultural policy. Belle works within cultural institutions to innovate and imagine how cultural policy can better serve and support racialized communities and artists. In addition to her background in arts administration and stage management, Belle has worked in higher education with international partners, where she led the development of new undergraduate degree programs in the humanities and social sciences. Belle holds an MA in Human Geography and an Honours BA in Theatre from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Katie Green

Executive Director, inPath

City: Montreal, Quebec

Katie Green is an artist, a social entrepreneur, and a community connector at heart. For over 10 years Katie has worked in various capacities developing programs and opportunities for professional artists to connect with youth in a mentorship capacity. As Co-founder and Executive Director of inPath, a social enterprise based in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal, Katie and her team work alongside Indigenous communities, schools and organizations across Turtle Island to co-develop, implement and sustain creative programming. Katie’s passion for developing youth centered, contextually relevant and responsive ‘living’ programs is carried throughout inPath’s work, adapting to the needs voiced by the communities they serve. Katie holds relationship at the center of everything she does, working to inspire agency, build resilience and create environments for shared experiences to collectively learn, grow, share and even fail within a supportive network of creative peers. Katie has a BA and MA in Art Education, a passion for out-of-the-box thinking and a tendency to question and push the boundaries of most existing structures.

Frances Koncan

Playwright, Manitoba Theatre Centre

City: Winnipeg, Manitoba 

Frances Koncan is an artistic director, writer, director, and producer of mixed Indigenous (Anishinaabeg) and Slovene descent. Originally from Couchiching First Nation, Treaty 3 Territory, she is currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 Territory. She is a graduate of the City University of New York Brooklyn College's M.F.A Playwriting Program, where she taught undergraduate English, and prior to that earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Manitoba. Her current work practice includes leading a project in partnership with the Manitoba Association of Playwrights to research and generate new, culturally-sensitive dramaturgical methodologies, and at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, initially as box office staff, then Apprentice Director, Assistant Director, and now a playwright programmed in their 2019/2020 season. For 2020/2021, she will also be joining the Winnipeg Free Press as an Arts Reporter, with a special focus on Indigenous arts. Her practice as a writer, director, producer, and arts administrator aims to explore current artistic practices and methodologies, and create new ones utilizing culturally specific and culturally sensitive practices (i.e. land-based dramaturgy for Indigenous writers), as well as exploring the potential applications of theatre and the arts in the areas of mental health and social wellness.

Michael Prosserman

CEO, EPIC Leadership xChange

City: Toronto, Ontario 

Michael “Piecez” Prosserman empowers social impact leaders to grow and thrive. Michael founded Unity Charity (www.unitycharity.com), an organization using Hip Hop to improve youth mental health. Michael built Unity from the ground up over 15 years out of his passion for breakdancing (“B-boying”). By high school, Michael was accepted into Cirque du Soleil and was featured in the major motion picture “Honey”. Michael grew Unity from a group of volunteers to over 80 paid staff having an impact on the lives of over 250,000 youth. Michael has spoken and run workshops for over 300 groups internationally from Canada to Italy to Asia to the Arctic. Michael speaks from lived experience, bringing a practical, innovative approach to coaching, consulting and teaching. Michael has competed world-wide, placing first in over 26 dance competitions. Michael has been featured in over 60 major media outlets. Michael is currently the CEO of EPIC Leadership Support Inc (www.piecez.ca), a firm focused on mental health in the workplace, leadership transitions, team culture and organizational growth. Michael serves on the board of directors for several charities and has a strong passion for making the world a better place in a responsible and respectful way.

Daniel Rumbolt

Board Member, Canadian Artists' Representation

City: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Daniel Rumbolt is an artist and arts administrator living in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. He received his BFA from Memorial University of Newfoundland, is the Assistant Director of Eastern Edge Gallery, and is on the Board of Directors for Canadian Artists' Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC). His art practice is informed by his experiences as a queer artist raised in rural communities throughout the Great Northern Peninsula of the island, and through earnest contemplation of memory and mourning. He aims to discover and establish tangible connections between rural and urban creators, fostering interconnectivity on a provincial, national, and international scale.

Alison Uttley

Communications Director, Business for Peace

City: Toronto, Ontario

Alison Uttley is the Communications Director of Business for Peace and a marketing consultant. She has worked in marketing and communications at some of Canada’s largest cultural institutions, including Luminato, the Toronto International Film Festival, and Canadian Stage. For three years, Alison also hosted a monthly conversation series in Toronto about topical political issues with the non-profit organization Why Should I Care. Alison holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph. With an aim to combine her interests in culture and social change, Alison started a Masters program in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights at the University of Oslo in 2017. She was also a participant in the inaugural Global Cultural Leadership Program as part of the European Union's Cultural Diplomacy Platform, as well as a Fellow in the Toronto Arts Council and The Banff Centre Leaders Lab.

 

Alyssa Fearon

Curator, Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba

City: Brandon, Manitoba

Alyssa Fearon is a curator, educator, and an arts manager. She actively seeks new ways of organizing art projects within communities that have not traditionally been sanctioned as places of creativity and innovation. Alyssa is currently the curator for the inaugural Scarborough zone of Nuit Blanche Toronto, an annual city-wide celebration of contemporary art attracting an audience of over 1 million. She is also leading the concept development for an artist mentorship program for youth artists. Alyssa has organized a range of projects, from large-scale performances by international artists to community-based youth programs. She has also been involved in advisory boards for social enterprises, art galleries and city-run events. Alyssa holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and an MA in art history from York University, Canada.

Brian McBay

Vice-Chair, City of Vancouver's Arts and Culture Policy Council

City: Vancouver, British Columbia

Brian McBay is an artist and designer based in Vancouver, Canada. In 2005 he co-founded 221A, a non-profit organization that focuses on the research and development of new social, cultural and ecological infrastructure led by artists, where he is currently the Executive Director. During his tenure, 221A has become known for responding to historically low funding conditions in the arts by developing over 40,000 square feet of multi-tenant artist facilities that generate revenue towards its charitable initiatives. Under his direction, the society continues to present an experimental and wide-ranging art program including a public art site and research library, with artists, designers and curators, while also working on utopian ambitions of restructuring economic contexts towards artistic self-determination. Of Chinese-Canadian and European ancestry, he also takes interest in the renewal and demands of multiculturalism towards a more critical practice of diversity. He is the current Vice-Chair of the City of Vancouver's Arts and Culture Policy Council.

Xavier Roy

Director of Marketing, Opéra de Montréal

City: Montreal, Quebec

Xavier Roy is Director of Marketing at Opéra de Montréal, where he strives to build meaningful relationships with Montrealers from all backgrounds. Prior to this position, he developed the business intelligence strategy of Place des Arts, the largest performing arts centre in Canada. In addition to his work, he acts as Chairman of the Board of Orchestre de l'Agora, which blends music and social innovation, and contributes to governmental committees as an advocate for a better use of data in the cultural sector.

Lindsey Mae Willie

Traditional Land and Governance Coordinator, Dzawada'enuxw First Nation

City: Dzawada'enuxw, British Columbia

Lindsey Mae Willie is a member of the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw People, living and working in the remote village of Kingcome Inlet, BC. Her filmmaking explores Indigenous identities, particularly by youth who are hungry to learn their ancestral knowledge and wisdom from their elders. Willie explores the revitalization of her community's language, culture, and arts, and in doing so, helps to recover and sustain Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw artistic heritage. Willies' practice as a documentary filmmaker and storyteller has evolved from eleven years of professional work behind the camera as both camera operator and editor. She has worked with CTV, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), City TV, and OMNI Television. In 2012, Willie was awarded the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network's Emerging Director Award and produced her first film, The Potlatch Keepers (2014), which aired on APTN. As an artist, activist, and researcher, Willie works as the Traditional Land and Governance Coordinator for the Dzawada'enuxw First Nation. In this role, she has helped develop a governance engagement strategy to enhance the capacity of the Dzawada'enuxw First Nation to assert authority over its territory while engaging in the reconciliation process. Willie seeks out her culture by listening to her elders, and through hunting, fishing, traversing the wilderness, constructing traditional shelters, and harvesting plants.

Jenna Winter

Administrator, Producer, Facilitator

City: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Jenna Winter is an arts administrator, producer and facilitator based in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. She has produced artistic projects with local communities (children, teenagers, refugees and senior citizens) in more than twenty cities in Canada and around the world, including in the UK, US, Asia, Australia and across Europe. Her lead artistic interest is in relational practices of social engagement. From 2009-17, she worked with performance company Mammalian Diving Reflex, where she served as Managing Director and Artistic Associate. With a background in music and degrees in art history (B.A. Honours McGill; M.A. York University), she has also worked in music and the visual arts, including for the 2009 Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Jenna is of settler origin (Italian/British) and is humbled to live and work on the beautiful territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.

Marc Pronovost

General Manager & Artistic Director, B21; Curator, Maison de la Photo de Montréal

City: Laval, Québec

Young leader in community arts (or “cultural mediation” as it’s called in Québec), Marc Pronovost is general manager and artistic director for B21. As an artist, as a researcher and a project manager, Marc collaborates with other social and cultural organizations, corporations and governmental bodies in Canada and globally in order to create and curate events that foster citizen participation through the arts. As a choreographer and stage manager, he cofounded a theatre company aimed at the professionalization of the next generation of actors in musical theatre and that explored the questions of immersivity and public participation. He is currently curator for the Maison de la photo de Montréal, arts facilitator for Place des Arts (Québec’s national performing arts complex) and he collaborates with a number of local presenters around Canada to accompany them in creating custom arts facilitation programs. He published his first book in 2013 (“Art et développement”), l’Harmattan, Paris, and he co-edited a second volume (“Curating the Live Arts”), to be published in 2018 at Berghahn Books, UK.

Jung-Suk Ryu

Executive Director, Indefinite Arts Centre

City: Canmore, Alberta

Jung-Suk (JS) Ryu joined the Indefinite Arts Centre as its third Executive Director on June 19, 2017. JS’s experience spans multiple sectors including health care, international relations, and political management, but his passion for the arts and advocating for people with disabilities saw a natural match with the Centre. Over the course of a decade, JS’s career has been marked by some amazing opportunities. As a senior aide to a prominent national political figure, JS travelled across the country - visiting all 10 provinces - as part of a nationwide policy consultation process. Then, as the press attache and principal speechwriter to the Ambassador of Japan, he was front and centre as the Embassy’s spokesperson during the aftermath of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. In 2013, JS joined the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) as the organization’s first Director, Public Affairs. Under his leadership, CNIB embarked on an ambitious strategy to use the power of social media in advocating for the needs of the visually-impaired - these efforts were hailed as the “north star of advocacy campaigns” by Cam Tait of the Edmonton Sun. He also created and produced BlindFest, a province-wide summer festival that generated national media attention. Prior to joining In-Definite Arts, JS was Director, External and Community Relations at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, overseeing the growth of the institution’s public sector funding - including an unprecedented $750,000 increase from the Canada Arts Training Fund - during a time of political and economic uncertainty. In 2005, JS was appointed one of Alberta’s 100 Centennial Ambassadors and was subsequently awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal. In 2008, JS founded and led the Ottawa Symphonic Ensemble, one of the largest classical orchestras in the nation’s capital. And in 2012, he was appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea to serve on the National Unification Advisory Council.

Patrick Franklin John Shannon

Owner, InnoNative

City: Skidegate, British Columbia

Patrick Shannon is an artist and storyteller of Indigenous Haida ancestry, specializing in filmmaking, photography, and graphic design to celebrate, inform, and tackle important issues both urban and rural. Inspired by his cultural upbringing, Patrick endeavors to use technology and media to empower locals in addressing the social and cultural issues within Canada’s Indigenous communities. He has a decade of experience working within the Vancouver film, television, and design industries, and currently operated a multimedia creative studio based out of Haida Gwaii, BC. In 2013 Patrick was selected by Ashoka Changemakers and American Express as one of the top 15 “emerging Innovators” in Canada for his social enterprise work, and in 2015 was selected as the “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” by the BC Aboriginal Awards for his creative studio and youth mentorship on Haida Gwaii. Patrick is currently producing films across Canada and instructs Indigenous entrepreneurs on how to use technology and media to start and grow their businesses across British Columbia.

Nikki Shaffeeullah

Artistic Director, The AMY Project

City: Toronto, Ontario

Nikki Shaffeeullah is a Toronto-based performer, director, curator, facilitator, and community-engaged artist who has lead and supported projects across Canada and internationally. Currently, she serves as artistic director of The AMY Project, an award-winning devised theatre and arts mentorship program for young women and non-binary youth; and assistant artistic director of the acclaimed community arts company Jumblies Theatre. In 2017 Nikki launched and directed Parallel Tracks, a national training program for community-engaged artists of colour. For four years Nikki was editor-in-chief of alt.theatre magazine, Canada’s only professional journal dedicated to the intersections of politics, cultural plurality, social activism, and the stage. She holds an MFA in Theatre Practice from the University of Alberta and her thesis, Staging Diversity: A Decolonial Praxis of Intercultural Feminist Theatre Creation won the 2013 Canadian Association for Theatre Research award in Intercultural Theatre. She trained in puppetry at Humber College and studied with Peru’s Teatro Yuyachkani and Thailand’s Makhampom Foundation.

Helen Yung

Artist-Researcher, Culture of Cities Centre

City: Toronto, Ontario

Helen Yung is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher and cultural consultant. Her artistic practice involves responding to events, communities, situations and texts with interactive experiences, social practices and immersive environments. Yung has been commissioned, produced, presented and supported through grants and residencies by organizations at home and abroad, including Performance Space (Australia), Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (Toronto), Espacio Camargo (Argentina), Critical Path Choreography Research Centre (Australia) Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), Dreamwalker Dance Company (Toronto), CAMAC (France), Oboro (Montreal), L'Institut international de la marionnette (France), among others. As a cultural researcher and consultant, she has worked with many key cultural 'actors', including the Canadian Public Arts Funders, Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, Canadian Arts Coalition, Canadian Dance Assembly, PACT, FITC Design & Technology Festivals, and others. Yung was the founding community engagement consultant for Culture Days (national office) and is currently artist-researcher with the Culture of Cities Centre. Currently she is completing a public research paper for several foundations, reflecting on two collaborative ventures emerging from the Toronto theatre community to address systemic challenges facing independent cultural creator-producers. She is also engaged in a significant multi-sectoral research partnership with Humber College, CultureLink and the Centre for Social Innovation looking at how the arts can innovate and transform the settlement process for newcomers to Canada.