Creative Communities Committee

Victoria Mata (Chair) ​is a Venezuelan-Canadian settler in T’Koronto. ​Poly-lingual ​choreographer, dance artist and activist with a background in expressive arts therapy. Mata’s career was first sculpted by pedagogic, self-directed training, which proceeded with internationally renowned residencies and choreographers at ​the Banff Arts Centre, Counter Pulse, African American Art & Culture, Centro de Investigación Coreográfica del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes de México, The Biggot Foundation, Ballet Creole, Aluna Theater and Teatro Delle Radici. ​Mata’s sensibility to inclusion and border stories is due to her eclectic upbringing in three continents before the age of fifteen. Intersectional, multi-framed community-arts and the abolishment of violence against women are some of Mata’s passion. She has intricately weaved these themes in her MFA in Contemporary Choreography and is foundation for some of her recognitions such as being a recipient of the Metcalf Foundation, a finalist of the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award and 7 Dora nominations. Mata deeply believes in the arts as core and tangible mode of sustaining and transforming paradigms of exclusion. Currently, Mata is developing a full-length production called Cacao | A Venezuelan lament, which​ illuminates the vibrant and resilient stories of cacao farmers in Venezuela whose labour and sweat are behind every bite of chocolate consumed worldwide. 

Amee Lê is a cultural producer working in contemporary visual, film and media arts. Having been a programmer and a board member of arts organizations in Toronto including Rebels With A Cause Film Festival. s.o.s. curatorial collective and Whippersnapper Gallery, Amee accumulated a wealth of arts administration and curatorial experience in community art. Previously Festival Director of Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts, Amee is now Operations Manager at imagineNATIVE Film+Media Arts Festival. Amee holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business with a specialization in Arts, Media and Entertainment Management.

Kristina McMullin (she/her) is an arts administrator and speaker with an activist’s heart. She spent five years working as the Communications Manager at Tangled Art + Disability, and now has a freelance practice centered on building communities through virtual experiences. Kristina is the co-producer and co-host of Crip Times, a podcast series featuring engaging and unapologetically crip conversations with artists, academics, and activists from across North America. She is a Research Assistant at Cripping Masculinity, a project investigating how Deaf, Mad, and Disability-identified Trans and cis men, and masculine non-binary folks use fashion as a way of enacting their identity. Additionally, she holds a mentorship role at IOTA where she works with artists to develop virtual environments for their work. Kristina’s independent speaking and lecturing practice focuses on working with organizations to holistically build capacity for access in operations. Organizations include Kickstart Arts, Museum of Toronto, Musagetees ArtsEverywhere Festival, The British Council of Canada, Flux Factory, and more.

Felicia Morrison has been engaged in community-oriented work since 2010. Her entry into community work began with her studies In Community Arts Development. Felicia served as a Program Manager for the Markham House City Building Community Hub and has also worked with not-for-profit art organizations such as Nia Centre For The Arts (Communications Committee), 3004 Art Studios, Band Gallery, Placemaker/Urbanist Jane Farrow and Private Real Estate Investors in varying capacities which relate to creative placemaking strategy, digital and communication strategies, and social media tactics to improve reach and capacity. Felicia has managed art, design, and operation based projects inside and outside of the typical agency environment. Felicia has experience leading teams across London, Nantes, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto. Her work experience is a convergence of Art, Design and Technology.

Spencer Phillips. A dedicated champion of the arts, Spencer brings over 16 years of experience building community programs, delivering cultural events & festivals, and managing various creative spaces within in the Greater Toronto area. In 2014, he founded Wimbo Media – a Toronto-based boutique communications firm, partnering exclusively with non-profit, cultural organizations and social enterprises to achieve greater impact through effective brand strategy, graphic design, and content strategy. At Artscape Daniels Launchpad, Spencer oversees program initiatives and community partnerships aimed at supporting the next generation of creative entrepreneurs.  In recent years, Spencer has managed Artscape Weston Common – a community cultural hub located in central West Toronto, and has overseen programming and communications at UrbanArts – a Local Arts Service Organization (LASO) providing opportunities for diverse cultural expression, artistic development, and employment to members of urban communities. Currently serving as a Director on the Board of SKETCH Working Arts, Spencer is committed to working collaboratively with culturally diverse and underserved communities to ensure greater access to arts and culture. 

Cheyenne Scott is Coast Salish of the Saanich Nation and a theatre artist with a focus on developing new Canadian works. Through impactful personal expression and storytelling, her work is an exploration and celebration of her Indigenous heritage. Currently based in Toronto, she strives to inform settlers with truth and, more importantly, honour the people of her community by creating vibrant characters that are full of life and hope. Having learned theatre through a colonial process, she is working to indigenize her practice. She is invested in the powerful voice of the youth and supporting their growth; Cheyenne previously worked teaching musical performance at elementary schools through Arts Express, and Assistant Directing and Outreach Coordinating for The AMY Project, a free education program for young women. Her interactive poem UHKE received the Best New Media Award from the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. Additionally, she received a Dora Award for Outstanding Ensemble for her participation in Passion Play.

Mahad Shoaib is a passionate non-profit fundraiser, wizard of evaluation and music producer. After immigrating to Canada in 2008, one of his fondest memories is experiencing Hip Hop through Unity Charity’s in-school day program and has since gone from being a program participant to volunteer to Unity artist, and now works full-time as Unity's Development & Evaluations Manager. Community arts had a profound positive impact on Mahad’s physical and mental health and ultimately gave him a platform to channel his energy into supporting others around him. Graduating from York University with a focus on public health and community work, he uses his skills in research, writing, and statistics to grow and scale Unity’s impact. To date, he has raised $2.5 million for the organization and implemented various research-informed program evaluation methods and practices to evaluate the effectiveness of Unity's programs. As an artist, Mahad goes by "Arxade," a Toronto-based Synthwave artist who brings back nostalgic vibes from the future. Deeply inspired by retro video games and movies like Blade Runner, Terminator, Earthworm Jim, Shinobi, and Outrun, Arxade creates music with the purpose of synchronizing with video games, shows, and movies. He wants to remind people what it’s like to be a kid again and bring back feelings of nostalgia, curiosity, and awe. Despite no formal training in music production, composition or arrangement, Arxade learned by doing and created over 60 complete tracks in 2019 alone; in August 2020, he released his top 5 tracks as part of an EP called “Round 1”. Currently being mentored in sound design by Fresh Kils, Arxade is looking to release a full-length album in 2022.