2024 Equity & Access grant recipients

The Equity & Access in the Arts program is one of the ways the Edmonton Arts Council pursues our commitments to increasing support for artists and arts professionals from Indigenous and equity-seeking communities as outlined in Connections & Exchanges: A 10-Year Plan To Transform Arts & Heritage in Edmonton. The program invests in a thriving and diverse arts community in Edmonton by supporting Edmonton based artists and collectives from communities that face barriers to access. This includes, but is not limited to, groups whose members are treated differently because of systemic barriers that disadvantage people based on their Indigenous heritage, racialized backgrounds, identifying as Deaf or having a disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and/​or immigration status. 

In 2024, 40 applications were recommended for funding, for a total investment of $618,666.

Stream 1: Exploration & Experimentation supports an individual artist to work on creation, experimentation, or research activities. In this cycle of the program, 13 artists were recommended for Stream 1 funding, for a total of $65,000.

Cypress Lee will refine her songwriting style through the exploration of two different genres: country music by queer artists, and folk music from Northeastern China, which has recently undergone a cultural renaissance. 

Dali Mwanza will explore the various patterns, colours, and forms of Zambian and South African pottery traditions to expand his art practice and culture, creating a distinctive style of pottery that reflects the fusion of historical narratives and futuristic imaginations inherent in the Black experience. 

Dwayne Martineau, an established Indigenous musician and visual artist, will develop his solo musical project, Dreamboat, and devote a concentrated period of time to songwriting. 

haley brown​’s project will give her space to fracture old fairytales, and dream, research, ideate, sketch, and develop new stories into eventual possibilities including comics, clowning, picture books, and puppet shows. 

HueyFree will research the history and practice of Jamaican junkanoo dance to develop his Afro-modern dance style. 

Jared Quinney aims to improve his painting skills by experimenting with painting on wood using acrylic paint and resin. 

Defy Jack will immerse himself into the research and development of multi material structures by exploring materials and adhesive techniques to enhance his skills as a visual artist. 

Neptun3 will write a song in collaboration with drummers and singers from the Swan River Cree Nation. The lyrics will be derived from his experience learning the ways and teachings of the Swan River First Nations people. 

Kevin Tuong will create a photographic essay highlighting eight Chinatown businesses that have rich histories or are vital drivers in the success and vibrancy of the community. 

Riddhi Patel’s project, the body and the grid, is a continuation of her previous series of work exploring the interdisciplinary bridge between kathak dance movements and drawing. 

Robert Copithorne will explore and develop Questies: The Isles of Change, a graphic novel based on its sister project, a board game of the same name. 

Ryan Lacanilao will conduct interviews and writing for e: A Letter for Reesey, a book of letters and poems for his three-year-old son, weaving family tales from the Philippines, love stories, childhood memories, and reflections on identity. 

Sue Goberdhan will receive artist subsistence allowing her to dedicate significant time to rewriting her play, CHUMP.

Stream 2: Skills & Career Development supports receiving mentorship, attending a residency, or other forms of professional development for artists and arts professionals. Projects may be individual or collective. In this cycle of the program, 5 artists were recommended for Stream 2 funding, for a total of $44,000.

Braxton Garneau will undertake a six-month residency at International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, NY. 

Morgan Yamada will enhance her teaching proficiency and artistic contributions to Edmonton’s theatre community by participating in the Stage Combat Training and Instructor Certification three-week national intensive workshop hosted by the Academy of Fight Directors Canada. 

Children’s author Onaolapo will pursue professional development required to transition to writing a novel tailored to a young adult audience. 

Raneece Buddan will develop pottery wheel throwing skills to add in her sculptural work through the Edmonton Potter’s Guild classes and studio time over 30 weeks. 

wahpatahk / courteney morin and collective member misiminôs / Lawrence (nîswahpisowak) seek to develop their beadwork skills with artist and mentor, Alexis Miller. The two will make beading projects every week building to a larger floral piece. 

Stream 3: Artist-driven Major Projects supports artistic projects ready for implementation, production and/​or presentation. This can include support for creation, subsistence, travel and/​or mentorship. In this cycle of the program, 22 artists were recommended for Stream 3 funding, for a total of $509,666.

AJA Louden will create two new large scale works and present a solo exhibition at C2 Centre for Craft at the Manitoba Craft Council in Winnipeg, MB, opening May 2, 2025. 

Arlo Maverick will create his third full length conceptual album, The Office.

Audrey French will produce ​‘GospelFest’, a community-focused festival that aims to spotlight equity-deserving artists and creatives in Edmonton while celebrating our rich Black gospel community and history. 

Biboye Onanuga, along with Maaike Lynn, Gareth Gilliland and Sean Coral will continue to produce New Standards, a weekly music series in which local artists perform their original music, followed by an open jam session where musicians in the community come together to create imaginative, improvised music. 

Cynthia Decore will create a high-quality narrative short film that explores themes of disability, discrimination, and trauma through a creative style influenced by horror films. The story borrows from the artist’s lived experience. 

Daniel Ennett will produce Flesh Ballet, an imaginative 15-minute art film exploring how modern society interprets disability, founded on expression through dance, extreme camera movement, surrealism and an elaborate visual set. 

Darren W Jordan will organize and produce the art show and multi-genre concert for the 20^th iteration of 5 Artists 1 Love. 

Elena Belyea will produce their first short film, Limerence, a dramatic comedy about being heartbroken, queer, jobless, and existentially lost, with a trans-led team of filmmakers. 

Elsa Robinson will create eight mixed media sculptures titled The Guardians that are an integral part of her show titled The Garden to be exhibited in February 2025 at Art Gallery of St. Albert. 

Gayoung BB Yang, in collaboration with Annick Press, will publish Bakery Ghosts, an early reader graphic novel series that follows twins Sowon and Somi from Korea as they help at their aunt’s haunted Canadian bakery by solving ghostly recipe mysteries. 

Heather Hindman travelled to the Prisms Contemporary Music Festival. In addition to presenting her work, she participated in a round table discussion with other composers, worked with Arizona State University performance and composition students, and liaised and connected with new artists. 

KazMega will run Remix the Residency, an out of school program designed to teach adult youth (18−21) graduating from Boyle Street Education Centre, basic arts management literacy within the context of representing/​serving marginalized communities using public/​arts funding. 

Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet, along with Seth Arcand, will produce a body of paintings, two films, and an installation to be presented in a duo exhibition at Hamilton Artists Inc. in Winter 2025. 

Kristian Basaraba, along with Dillon Korbisser and Adriean Koleric, will create SNFU TALES, a graphic novel series of horror stories inspired by songs from the album, And No One Else Wanted to Play by local Edmonton punk legends SNFU. 

Mariel Buckley will travel to Nashville, TN for the pre-production and recording of 10 – 13 songs for her third full-length album with acclaimed producer, Jarrad Kritzstein. 

Maya Appavoo will record and publish Doctor Love, a seven-episode satirical true crime audio drama miniseries about fictional podcasters exploring a fictional asylum case. 

Michelle Lavoie will engage 2SLGBTQ+ youth (12−25) and young adults (26−35) living in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) to participate in artmaking, storytelling, and public art exhibitions at the SNAP printmaking studio. 

Sage Nowak will carve and complete a medium size totem pole with the intention of preserving cultural legacy, engaging in Indigenous storytelling and reviving Indigenous Life Ways. 

Stephen Allred will remount his musical, Krampus: A New musical, originally produced at Edmonton Fringe 2023, expanding the work to two acts and developing set, costume, and lighting design, readying the work for touring. 

Vladimir Rufino, along with Fabiola Amorim, of the Amorim-Rufino Duo, will release a second album exploring classical music for violin and viola, spotlighting local composers and standard compositions. The duo has opted for digital distribution which fosters global accessibility while reducing the environmental footprint. 

Yong Fei Guan will produce a short nature documentary about the life cycle of Chinese silkworms and their human companions both in Jiujiang China, and in Edmonton. 

Yegtrinifeters will create an 8 – 9‑foot-tall Queen Mas to visually showcase the story of the Trinidadian ​‘Julie Mango’ and Carnival, building off previous research supported with a Stream 1: Exploration & Experimentation grant.