Nadia was born in Saskatoon, grew up in Ottawa, matured in Vancouver, and is currently living in Montreal. As a first generation Indian settler in Canada, she recognizes that all of these places are the traditional territories of Indigenous nations. Nadia is a multi-disciplinary artist who has been professionally active since 2002 in spoken word, poetry, music, creative non-fiction, visual arts, performance art, and performance installation. At the core of her artistic practice are community art and the deep belief that creativity is a birthright not only for humans but for every aspect of the world around us. As Director of Training at Partners for Youth Empowerment she has been able to help support thousands of youth and adults to develop their relationship with their creativity. She holds a Master’s degree in Imaginative Education and is a PhD candidate in Expressive Art Therapy at the European Graduate School. (www.nadiachaney.com) 

Farah is an arts manager, artist, producer, community worker, and consultant who, for over 25 years, has been using the arts as a mechanism to teach about equality, rights, personal histories, self-actualization, and community bridging. She is rooted in working with cross-cultural populations to promote professional quality arts to a diversity of communities across class, ethnicity, ability, gender, etc., and outreach to new audiences. Her main interest is to find ways for invisible voices to become visible through the arts. Farah co-founded Le Groupe Herencias, whose mandate is to inspire using the arts for the promotion, exchange, and acceptance of identity, culture and heritage. She has created over 15 theatre forum pieces, produced over 10 artist productions, collaborated on over 30 shows, has designed countless arts programs, and facilitated workshops for more than 10,000 participants. (www.herencias.ca)

Julio Hong was born in Havana in 1975, where he absorbed the rich dance traditions of Cuba earning a Diploma in Classical Ballet from the National School of Arts (ENA) and, in 1994, a Masters degree in Dramaturgy and Theatre from the Superior Institution of Art (ISA). In 1999, Julio joined Marie Chouinard, where he danced for six years, followed by a year with Rubberbandance Group, four years with the popular television show Le Match des Étoiles, and performed in Joe Dassin, Sherazade, Motown, and regularly with Cirque du Soleil. Julio then founded the Afro Cuban Association of Montreal and co-founded Le Groupe Herencias. Now as a choreographer, his expertise in traditional, ballet, and contemporary dance plus movements from daily life create a unique contemporary choreographic style not seen anywhere else in Canada. Yemayo, Orun Seko, The Aristocrat and Cervantes are only a few of his recent creations. (www.juliohong.com)

Rup Sidhu is an interdisciplinary artist, musician, producer, and composer. Specializing in vocal percussion and live looping, his sound blends the rhythms of poetry and spoken word with a dynamic range of cultural hybridity. Inspired by folk and classical forms of music from around the world, his musical expressions can range from groove oriented hip hop beats to contemporary fusions of classical ragas, scores for the National Film Board of Canada and remixes of vintage bollywood tunes, to experimental compositions for dance and theatre productions.