#KENSINGTONBRIGHT

Sydonne Warren, a visual artist originally from Jamaica but raised in Calgary, Alberta, is known for her vibrant and expressive portrait paintings. She studied Architectural Technologies and Graphic Design at SAIT, and went on to major in Graphic Design at AUARTS. Sydonne has been honing her craft since 2013, and has recently expanded into public art, starting to create works in public spaces in 2020. Her talents don't stop there, as in 2021, she founded a paint and sip business that teaches adults how to create their own expressive portraits. Her artistic abilities have been recognized with Diversity magazine's Artist of the Year Award, and her work has been featured in various local media outlets. Sydonne's portraits often feature black women and incorporate geometric elements, with bright contrasting colors, drips, and spatters adding depth and conveying her cultural experiences.

Michelle Hoogveld is a Canadian painter and mural artist whose distinctive style is inspired by colour theory, connection, and matters of the heart. Michelle creates compositions of bold patterns and textile-like blockings of colour, with layers that weave and fold together as an intricate tapestry of who we are, celebratory of human identity and emotion. Her colourful works are internationally recognized, beautifying and uplifting spaces in both the public and private realm. Creating around the world, Michelle has worked with a wide range of clients in Canada, the United States, Peru, Mexico, Germany, Portugal, and England.

Angel and Alex are a 2S BIPOC couple and co-founders of Indi City. In 2017 they became the first global Indigenous Designers to incorporate wearable technology into traditional regalia. Their first piece a Woman’s Traditional outfit called “ The Matriarch Speaks,” exhibited in Calgary, Ottawa and Shenzhen, China. In the same year they both graduated from the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership Program at St.FX University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Together they design and create fashion accessories according to the current indigenization of Turtle Island in contact with their ancestral roots. Indi City has grown from a small business on Instagram to a newly launched online store with products also found in shops and boutiques across the country. With an in-house multi-media productions company they work to curate a 100% Indigenous made brand through visual marketing and story-telling.

Leechuts (Leetia Lyons) is a Calgary-based illustrator and designer who works across multiple creative mediums and industries. Since completing her Bachelor of Design fromAuArts in 2019, she has been exploring every opportunity that has come her way, building a creative practice and lifestyle to define her unique sensibilities. Her illustration and design style ranges from conceptual to minimalist, often with influence from East-Asian art and culture.

Shannon is an innovator in technologies as well as leader in the Canadian Maker movement. He is the co-founder of the Fashion Technology company, Makefashion, as well as Calgary Maker Faire and Fuse33 Makerspace. He is devoted to improving his community and world through subversive change and art directed engineering. Passions include interactive LED projects, wearable tech and augmented self, as well as collaborating internationally to leverage maker culture to improve the quality of life.