The 2022 Arts Awards Winner Profiles

Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell (she/her) is a mixed French-First Nations artist. She is Bear Clan from Oneida Nation of the Thames, grew up off-reserve and currently lives in Kitchener, Ontario. Alanah is an illustrator, painter and muralist, and organizes local Indigenous Art Markets through @IAmKitchener on Instagram. This past year has been a big one for Alanah Jewel (aka Morning Star). She completed murals for Kitchener’s Lutherwood, and for the DTK Art Walk that says “My Ancestors are Proud of Me/Good Things Will Always Find Me”. She also worked with several companies to increase Indigenous visibility. For example, Google Doodle commissioned her to illustrate Charlie Hill’s 71st birthday (Charlie is known as the first Indigenous stand-up comedian to appear on television), and in March, a sweatshirt embroidered with an image titled “We Move Mountains” was released by Roots in celebration of International Women’s Day. More locally, she worked with UW’s Store to bring Indigenous representation to the University’s campus, designing an image based on the Grand River, which was printed on water bottles and hoodies. She also designed a logo for Kitchener’s Qualia Counselling. Throughout all of this, Alanah has continued to develop and hone her print designs and illustrations, sharing her working process via Instagram. These efforts however also include supporting fellow Indigenous artists and makers. For instance, she organized an Indigenous Art Market with 30+ vendors at Huron Natural Area last September, and is currently compiling an Indigenous Artists Directory through her website.

Torin Langen is a multimedia artist and lifelong Kitchener resident, primarily working with dark themes and horror elements. His projects range from experimental shorts and music videos to vibrantly painted folk art, all imbued with a strong sense of texture and tactility. His most recent project, a sculpture installation entitled Crypt of the Tower Ghouls, is currently available for viewing at 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace.

Bangishimo (They/Them) is an IndigiQueer Anishinaabe originally from Couchiching First Nation located on Treaty #3 territory. They currently reside in so-called Kitchener located along the Grand River. Bangishimo is a community organizer, educator, and advocate. They are one of the co-founders of O:se Kenhionhata:tie also known as Land Back Camp. They are currently the City of Kitchener’s Artist in Residence 2022-2023.

Tara Butler and her newly-formed company Dust and Soul Dance Projects are dedicated to bringing professional, original and intersectional contemporary dance to the region of Waterloo through performances and workshops. Tara is thrilled to be nominated for this Arts Award for her premiere show Dance Takes Berlin and to continue to share her passion for dance.

Sarah Kernohan(she/her)is a visual artist who primarily works int wo-dimensional media, building drawings and collage-based works rooted in memory, her experiences of landscape, and her fascination with geological processes and weather-related phenomena. She has exhibited her work at artist-runspaces, public and commercial galleries in Ontario and Quebec and completed residencies at Pouch Cove Foundation (PouchCove, NFLD), TheBanffCentre (Banff, AB), and The Bothy Project (Aviemore, UK). She lives and works in Kitchener, Ontario and has been a member of the Red Head Gallery since November 2022.

Sheila McMath is a curator, artist, facilitator, community organizer and current Artistic Director of Inter Arts Matrix. McMath’s work in the arts has maintained a balance of work with larger institutions and direct involvement with artist-run initiatives. As a curator she has conceptualized and realized exhibitions that have included artists at every career stage including emerging artists such as Julia Hepburn and Audie Murray, to mid-career artists including Pattie Chalmers, Karine Giboulo, Carmela Laganse, Zachari Logan, Graeme Patterson and Jennie Suddick. McMath has also had the pleasure of curating exhibitions with some of Canada’s most established and celebrated artists including Susan Edgerley, Irene Frolic, Susan Low-Beer, Peter Powning and Ione Thorkelsson. She has been published numerous times in FUSION magazine and various exhibition catalogues. McMath is also a founding member of Tri-City Stopgap, an artist collective that hosts large-scale exhibitions in marginal or transitional spaces. She acknowledges the Ontario Arts Council (Arts Response Initiative) for supporting her independent curatorial practice. https://www.sheilamcmath.ca/

Sara Geidlinger: Longtime photographer and more recently producer of Bonn Park and An Unscripted Spectacle podcasts, she can often be found trudging through Waterloo Region’s muddy trails, alleyways, and magical corners to use this city as her backdrop. Sara is currently wrapping up filming two documentaries, one for a local non-profit and the other called ‘Playtime’ all about our connection to toys from childhood with support from the RW Arts Fund.

Marshall Ward: A voice of creativity and connectivity in Waterloo Region for more than three decades, Marshall is a writer, broadcaster, painter, podcaster, filmmaker, and educator. Every week since 2006, Marshall has authored a column for the Waterloo Chronicle, highlighting all of the unique personalities who make up our region’s cultural fabric. Today, Marshall is using his artistry to extend his creative services to the Waterloo community through Bonn Park podcast.

Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) collaborates with partners to create sustainable, equitable and thriving communities. As a leading community-building organization, we connect regionally and locally, working with three cities and four townships – to include the people and places across our region, using a trust-based philanthropic approach. Together, we develop forward-thinking innovative solutions and seize opportunities to meet current and future needs of our community.

In the words of Majdi’s Nominator, Paddy Gillard-Bentley: “Majdi came to the Waterloo Region when the arts were stagnating. The weren’t working together, and nothing very new was going on. During his time in the community, he founded MT Space, an internationally renowned theatre creating cutting edge theatre. He established an international theatre festival, Impact. The play he built from an idea, with the input from the cast, a playwright and a dramaturg, The Last Fifteen Seconds, has been performed across Canada and extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

He created a connection with every other theatre company in the region, teaching us all that to work together, makes us all stronger. He had a special bond with Isabel Cisterna and Neruda Arts. At a time when it looked as if the organization might have to fold, he was responsible for saving it.

Passion. Determination. Love. Talent. These are all things that made Majdi an amazing human being, and a phenomenal theatre artist.

With the passing of Majdi in the summer of 2022, his work in the community will be his legacy, and I believe it is important for us to celebrate all that Majdi did for the arts in the region, by recognizing his value.”