2023 Curators

Scott Sueme is a Canadian artist raised in Vancouver, BC, currently working out of his studio in East Vancouver. Since attending Emily Carr in 2006, Sueme has been working as a graphic artist and painter. Starting in the graffiti subculture, he has ventured through art, design, and installation painting. Sueme has been commissioned to work with collaborators such as HCMA Architecture, The City of Vancouver, Vancouver Parks Board, Whistler Arts Council, and Nike Canada. He has also exhibited his work Internationally in New York, San Francisco, Miami and Cape Town, South Africa. Recent exhibitions include Intercepting the Nature of Colour and Form, Gallery Jones, Vancouver, BC (2020) and Building Buildings, Mayberry Fine Art, Winnipeg, MB (2021).

Sueme’s paintings broadly follow a rubric of energetic interaction, where the juxtaposition of two colours is meant to create what he refers to as an “edge”: two off-whites, a pale and warm variant of the same hue, or two colours that match in value but clash in tone, for example. While colour quality makes up the main subject of his work, Sueme’s recent compositions speak to an ongoing investigation of balance and arrangement. As form and colour are composed, we experience their interactions as moments of playful conversation, where elements vibrate with one another and settle in harmony.

Krystal Paraboo is an all-encompassing creative. An Art Historian, Curator, Writer, and Community Builder, she places tremendous value on artistic expression and cultural development based on the foundation of fostering authentic human connection and inclusive practices. She graduated with a Bachelor of Honour’s Degree from Queen’s University in 2013, with a double major in Art History & History. She also attended the Bader International Study Centre in the United Kingdom, with extensive study in Art History and Curatorial Studies on-site at the Courtauld Institute, National Gallery London, and the British Museum. Krystal has an extensive footprint in Vancouver's art community. She has curated numerous art exhibitions including "The Great Big Vancouver Paradox" in 2018 for Capture Photography Festival, and has written reviews for various publications. Her work has spanned within both public and private art institutions including the Vancouver Art Gallery, working directly with both established and emerging artists. Krystal specializes in: curatorial projects, public programming, art education, research, policy, events, communications, community building, art consulting, and non-profit management.

Chipo Chipaziwa was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She has lived in Malaysia; Switzerland; New York; Zimbabwe and currently resides in Vancouver.

Chipaziwa is a performance artist who works both independently and collaboratively. Chipaziwa is part of the performance art collective CUERPO, which was found by artist Guadalupe Martinez.

Chipaziwa’s work addresses the duality of subjectivity and objectivity; the notion of identity and its fluidity, and the performativity of the African [female] body.

Zachary George is the grandson of the late Chief Dan and Amy George from the Tsleil-watuth Nation, and late Robert and Betty Edge, who came from England to raise a family in North Vancouver. Zac grew up in North Vancouver and recently moved to Sts’ailes where he lives with his family while creating beautiful artpieces in true Salish style. He was covered with the traditional name, Sko-kay-lem, which he carries with pride as it was passed down throughout Tsleil-waututh history by the late ancestor, Abraham Skokaylem. A descendent of the Wolf Clan, Zac lives a spiritual life rich with tradition and culture. True to his teachings, Zac’s work is infused with good energy, positivity and strength as Salish people believe that all things must be done in a good way, with a strong mind and attitude. Zac has been an established artist for 18 years and his accomplishments include three large pieces for the 2010 Olympics, displayed at Rogers Arena and Pacific Colliseum. He has done poles and house posts for Tsleil-waututh Nation, Roy Stibbs Elementary, and Polygon Homes. Most recently Zac completed a house post at the Vancouver General Hospital main lobby. Zac has many carved masks in private collections and also designed murals for the Vancouver Mural Fest and Skookum Fest. In recent years, Zac has become proficient with graphic art and digitizing his designs, creating merchandise, prints. In alignment with Salish teachings, Zac takes a very spiritual and cultural approach to his work and his life. He is always learning and always open to new projects.

Sierra is an award winning Squamish Nation public artist, consultant, storyteller and designer. She is also of Musqueam, Kwakwaka’wakw, Tlingit and Hungarian descent. Sierra has her Masters in Sustainable Urbanism from the Bartlett School of Planning from University College London in London, England, as well as her Bachelor in Environmental Design from the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture from UBC.

Sierra grew up in her family’s public art business, Sky Spirit Studio, learning from her father, Wade Baker (master carver, oral historian and storyteller) and mother Mary Tasi. Sierra has been creating murals and public artworks with her family since 2008. Sierra often incorporates the concept of “Two-Eyed seeing” into her work. Having one foot strongly rooted in her ancestral heritage and one foot in the Western world.

Sierra was the Creative Director of the City of North Vancouver’s “Studio in the City” program, teaching youth public art from 2016-2017. She now teaches “Decolonizing Design” through her company Sky Spirit Consulting whilst also advising on developing a uniquely Coast Salish approach to design, urban planning and community engagement.

Photography by Denita Gladeau. Makeup by Elisha Williams

Organization: booooooom.com

Artists Selected: Pablo Zamudio, ONEQ (Japan), Kathy Ager, Sebastian Curi, Carmen Chan

Jeff Hamada is a Japanese Canadian artist living and working in Vancouver. In 2008, he created an arts and culture platform focused on emerging artists called Booooooom.com, which quickly became the largest of its kind in Canada. He’s passionate about helping young artists get to the next stage in their career, connecting emerging talent with galleries and global brands.

“When people talk about Vancouver they often say it’s a healthy city, and I think they’re usually referring to all the jogging, and the recycling and the yoga. Public art is kind of like a gauge for how healthy our city is from a creative culture standpoint—we still have a ways to go. The Vancouver Mural Festival has brought so much colour and character to the city, I’m excited to be a part of it this year.”

Artists Selected: Sarah Khan, Michelle Nguyen, Bunnie Reiss (USA), Phantoms In The Front Yard, Jean Paul Langlois (Cree/Métis), Danielle Krysa (The Jealous Curator).

Pennylane Shen is an artist consultant, curator and educator. Since 2006, Dazed and Confucius has offered personalized consultations, group seminars and business development with regular seminars held worldwide. Pennylane personally assists and advises over 500 artists on a one-on-one basis each year.

Pennylane holds a Master’s Degree in Visual Culture Theory from New York University and has lectured at various forums throughout Canada, the US and the UK. Her publications discuss the politics of representation, race and fine art. At Langara College and Thrive Art Studio Pennylane is responsible for creating and instructing courses on fine art marketing and conceptual development. She has also represented University of the Arts London in the UK, preparing students for higher education in the arts.

For more than a decade, Pennylane has worked in commercial galleries such as the Bau-Xi Gallery, the longest standing commercial gallery in Canada. In her hometown of Vancouver, BC Pennylane is also a curator for the Vancouver Mural Festival.

An avid supporter of art and wellness, she sits on the board for the Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Foundation, collecting notable art pieces for hospital walls. Pennylane manages the figurative artists’ collective Phantoms in the Front Yard, showcasing the work of prominent Vancouver artists at various pop-up locations.

Nation: Semiahmoo

Artists Selected: Zac George (Tsleil-Waututh) , Andre Salaz, Ronnie Dean Harris (Stō:lo/St’át'imc/Nlaka'pamux), Atheana Picha (Kwantlen), Jordan Gallie (Tsleil-Wauthuth)

Roxanne Charles of Semiahmoo First Nation is a cultural historian implying means of visual representation, oral history, and ceremony. Methods which have been utilized by Semiahma People for thousands of years. Roxanne holds two undergraduate degrees from Kwantlen Polytechnic University and is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Roxanne’s work directly responds to a troubling colonial present and documents a variety of issues that reflect her life experiences such as spirituality, identity, urbanization, food security, resource extraction, trauma, and various forms of systemic violence.