Arts Awards Short List

Betty Brouwer

Betty is an artist, art therapist, psychotherapist and the founder and artistic director of RE-create Outreach Art Studio, an open art studio for at-risk youth. With a naturally creative and engaging spirit, Betty connects deeply with people, especially children and youth, fostering spaces where creativity and healing can flourish. Alongside her clinical and community work, Betty continues to pursue her own artistic practice - art work that explores rich textures and layered narratives through mixed media and textile assemblages. At the heart of Betty’s work is a strong belief in the importance of community and connection, she believes we are fundamentally hardwired for relationships.

Jude Johnson

Jude Johnson started out in her lifelong career as a child actor and model for Canadian magazine's, television commercials and catalogues. For over 50 yrs she has been a singersongwriter and performer of original and classic folk, jazz and children music at festivals, schools and concert halls and on radio and television throughout our country. The MAD creative arts school she started in 1985, introduced over 9,000 children to music art and drama as a creative outlet. Jude was a founder and director and participating artist of the southwest studio tour and exhibited her acrylic collage paintings and sculptures at countless galleries and art shows. Inducted into the Gallery of Distinction in 2009, she has also been awarded a medal for volunteering in our community, Woman of the year, the Hamilton arts award for music and for arts education.

Lyla Miklos

For over three decades Lyla Miklos has been a cultural, political and artistic force in Hamilton, Ontario. Whether as the Host and Producer of Centre Stage, Chair of Hamilton Pride, Owner of Lyla – The Publicist, performer in community theatre productions, writer for The Hamilton Spectator, Chief Negotiator for OSSTF D21 OCTU, Wedding Officiant for The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton, or Staff Advisor for High School 2SLGBTQIA+ Positive Space Groups. Her queer, feminist, sex positive, social justice lens informs her work. Named a Mohawk College Alumni of Distinction, Hamilton Woman of the Year in Communications, Hamilton Pride Citizen of the Year and Hamilton Independent Media Arts & Culture Journalist of the Year. Lyla uses her powerful voice, evocative language, creative talents and organizational skills to connect communities, educate citizens, celebrate artists and liberate humanity.

Amy Borkwood

Amy Borkwood is a graphic designer and community-based artist. Through her studio, Together, she creates brand identities, event visuals, and digital spaces for values-led small businesses and grassroots initiatives. Across both client and community work, Amy approaches design as a tool for building thoughtful, imaginative, and deeply connected communities.

Kiera Boult

Kiera Boult is a Hamilton-based interdisciplinary artist, performer, and cultural worker. Her practice uses camp and comedy to question the role and identity of the artist and the institution. Through her iconic persona, Kiki, a self-described “guilt-free” celebrity, Boult offers sharp critiques from the perspective of a celebrated Black biracial icon navigating white institutions with ease. She is an MFA candidate at Western University, where her research examines 19th-century Black and Indigenous performance circuits within industrial southern Ontario to define a contemporary "Rust-Belt-self". She is a member of the Toronto Performance Art Collective, which organizes the biannual international performance festival 7a*11d.

Renee Brown

Blk Orchid is a Hamilton-based, four-time Juno-nominated music producer, artist, and songwriter with over 20 years of industry experience. Transitioning from a career in healthcare to a full-time powerhouse in the Canadian music scene, she is known for her genre-bending sound that merges reggae and dancehall with R&B and hip-hop. A Web3 music pioneer and Reggae North Award winner, Blk Orchid has collaborated with legends like Sly Dunbar and Maestro Fresh Wes, while continuing to push boundaries through music supervision and talent development. 

Justin Dobbin

Justin Dobbin is a Hamilton music entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Main Stage Rehearsal Studios, a leading creative hub in Hamilton, Ontario. Through professional rehearsal spaces, workshops, and community programming, he works to strengthen the local music industry while creating opportunities for emerging and established musicians alike.

Trevor Farren

Fifteen years ago, a sudden layoff left me facing an uncertain future—but a garage full of metal scrap sparked a radical pivot. Relying on natural artistic talent I welded my very first dragon sculpture and discovered a lifelong calling. Though the path of a self-taught artist has been incredibly tough, perseverance has paid off, transforming raw grit into a thriving career. Today, through my company, Imagine Metal Art, I create large-scale public and commercial installations for cities, major corporations, and brands like the LCBO and the City of Hamilton, proving that passion and hard work can forge an extraordinary second act.

James Favron

Award winning artist James Favron is a multi-talented rapper, singer, musician and fashion designer. James has found a way to tell modern stories packaged in a feeling of nostalgia. Growing up isn’t easy and adulthood comes with its share of problems but James is dedicated to reminding his audience that your Better Days are in your hands, and no matter what’s happening in the world, when your at his show, You’re safe to be yourself, to feel, to connect and most importantly HAVE FUN! 

Nathan Fleet

Nathan Fleet is a director, producer, composer, and songwriter from Hamilton whose work spans film, television, music, and live events. Over a career spanning more than 20 years, he has directed and produced projects across a wide range of genres including drama, comedy, documentary, horror, experimental film, children’s programming, and musical productions. He is the founder and longtime director of the Hamilton Film Festival, recognized among the top 100 festivals on FilmFreeway, and founded Lights Camera Hamilton to support and grow the local film industry.  His films and music projects have screened internationally and earned awards.

Christopher Giroux

Christopher Giroux is an award-winning Canadian film producer whose career spans multiple genres and more than 50 feature films. A graduate of Sheridan College’s Advanced Television and Film program (2009), Giroux quickly rose through the industry, producing ten back-to-back high-concept genre films with Black Fawn Films and Breakthrough Entertainment. In recent years, he has produced and overseen titles including The Christmas Charade, Christmas Island, Learning to Love Again, Take Me Back for Christmas, Anything for Jackson, and the TIFF 2022 Official Selection The End of Sex. His work has been released worldwide on platforms and networks such as Netflix, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, UPtv, Paramount+, Super Channel, W Network, Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, BBC, Shudder, more. From 2023 to 2025, Giroux served as Senior Vice President of Production at Vortex Media before returning to independent producing. In 2026 Giroux launched Precious Metal Productions alongside Ann Pirvu, with their debut feature, Bee My Love. Beyond his producing work, Giroux is a member of the Producer’s Roundtable of Ontario and serves as President of the Hamilton Film Board (est. 2025).

Jason Hachey

Jason Hachey is an award-winning beatboxer from Hamilton, Ontario. He gained national recognition after winning the 2013 MuchMusic Beatbox Championship. In 2015, he helped open the Juno Awards with a live performance at FirstOntario Centre. Known for his high-energy performances and musical versatility, Hachey has continued to represent Hamilton on stages across Canada.

Chris Hampton

Chris Hampton is a journalist based in Hamilton. As a producer for CBC, his work is dedicated to telling the stories of art in Canada. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Canadian Art and The Walrus.

Amy Jones

Amy Jones is the author of the short fiction collection What Boys Like and the novels We're All in This Together, Every Little Piece of Me, and Pebble & Dove. Her work has won the Northern Lit Award, the Metcalf-Rooke Award, and the CBC Literary Prize for Short Fiction, has been shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, the ReLit Award, and the Bronwen Wallace Award, and has been anthologized in Best Canadian Stories and Journey Prize Stories. Amy has taught creative writing at Lakehead University and University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, was the 2025 writer-in-residence for Hillfield Strathallan College, and currently is a mentor with the Flying Books mentorship program. Originally from Halifax, Amy currently lives in Hamilton.

Kd Kaur

KD Kaur (Kamaldeep Kaur) is a Hamilton-based contemporary painter whose practice is rooted in the classical tradition of Indian miniature painting. Working with gouache and natural pigments on Wasli and watercolour paper, she brings ancient techniques into conversation with deeply personal themes of time, memory, and feminine experience. Her two interconnected series, Illusion of Time and She Walks Between the Moments, follow a central Nayika figure as she moves through the emotional landscapes of love and self-discovery, surrounded by symbolic imagery drawn from the natural world. Born in India and now rooted in Hamilton, KD has exhibited her work across Canada, the United States, India, and Germany, accumulating over 40 exhibitions internationally. She holds an Artist-in-Residence position at the Art Gallery of Burlington and brings her practice to diverse communities through Arts4All and YMCA Beyond the Bell. She has received Ontario Arts Council grant support for her practice.

Stephanie Hope Lawlor

Stephanie Hope Lawlor is a Hamilton-based theatre creator and teaching artist whose work plays with tone, place, and environment to build worlds that are sometimes funny, sometimes strange, and genuinely felt. With over twenty years of teaching experience and a decade leading her own indie company, Rook's Theatre, she creates original, ensemble-driven work that takes performers and audiences equally seriously. Her teaching practice is rooted in the conviction that young artists deserve a rigorous creative environment that builds genuine confidence. Her work continues to earn her a reputation as one of Hamilton's most quietly distinctive voices in theatre.

Nicole Levaque

Nicole Levaque is an artist and arts educator working in sculpture and ceramics. Her work acts as an inventory to be deconstructed and rebuilt with a process embracing failure through the trial and errors of making and accumulation, finding beauty in unpredictable materiality and highlighting the traces of touch. She holds an MFA in Sculpture and Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University (2019) and a BFA in Painting from Concordia University (2014). Most recently she had the solo exhibitions From Fruit to Flower at gallery two seven two, and You and I are Earth, at Hamilton Artists Inc.

Miss Tania Lou

Tania Hernandez is a proud Jamaican Canadian, affectionately known as Miss Tania Lou, and is a multi-talented Hamilton creative who has spent over 30 years celebrating and preserving Jamaican culture through her work as an educator, speaker, four times award winning author, and recording artist. A dedicated mentor and philanthropist, she fosters cross-cultural understanding and heritage preservation through initiatives like her "Ring Ding" children's program and her support for City Kidz. Utilizing a unique "edification-through-education" approach, Tania brings the vibrant folklore, wit, and resilience of her birthland to life, inspiring audiences and fostering a joyful connection to Jamaica's rich cultural legacy. Yeh Mon!

Fareh Malik

Fareh Malik is a BIPOC artist from Hamilton, Ontario, as well as a seasoned spoken word poet and established author. Fareh was named the 2022 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award winner, the winner of the October Project Poetry Prize, and the 2023 winner of the Austin Clarke Prize for Literary Excellence. Fareh's debut book Streams that Lead Somewhere was published by Mawenzi House Publishers and won the Hamilton Literary Award for Poetry. Fareh was named a finalist for the 2021 Best of the Net anthology, the 2024 and 2026 ARC Poem of the Year, the 2023 & 2025 TWUC Prose Competitions, and the 2024 National Magazine Awards. His work was also included in Best Canadian Poetry 2025. Fareh is currently a poet and author working on his second book and exciting new projects.

April Mansilla

April Mansilla once used creativity to help her survive and now uses it to help others. April is an Expressive Arts Facilitator, artist, and mental health advocate who uses creativity to help individuals reconnect with themselves, their strengths, and their sense of possibility. Her work bridges the worlds of fine art and mental wellness, demonstrating how creative expression can become a powerful pathway toward healing, resilience, and self-discovery. Living openly with Bipolar I disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), April draws from her lived experience to create an art practice rooted in compassion, vulnerability, and connection. Once a patient at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, April later returned to the hospital as an Expressive Arts Facilitator, where she developed and now teaches the Art of Recovery program. At the heart of April’s work is the belief that recovery becomes possible when people are given the opportunity to create, connect, contribute, and be seen. 

Elizabeth McQueen

Elizabeth McQueen is a creative powerhouse who has been a painter, print-maker, photographer and arts educator for over fifty years. Whether capturing reflections on the journey to her northern studio, southwest of North Bay or responding to seasons passing around her ‘winter retreat’ in the Dundas valley, her expressive work has always been rooted in how we are shaped by the bones of the land. Bordering on abstraction, she examines a world where exploration of form, line and light has become a journey of spirit. From the first class she taught as an undergraduate at Queens, through thirty years as a visual art instructor and department head with the HWDSB, to the Artists’ Resource series she began three years ago at the Carnegie Gallery, her passion for arts education has been a constant theme in a calling that is most often, an introvert’s path.

Mason Micevski

Mason Micevski (He/Him) is a Hamilton born singer, dancer, actor, writer, teacher, producer, and co-founder of Emerson Arts and Hammer Rage Room! Using play writing and his masters research Mason is a champion for the 2sLGBTQIA+ community. He has worked tirelessly to create paying opportunities for professional artists throughout Hamilton and continues to encourage development in the city through peer support, community engagement, mentorship, and a generous dose of positivity! 

Alexander Notarangelo

Alexander Notarangelo is an emerging, self-taught figurative artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. He began oil painting in 2020 during the pandemic lockdowns, quickly developing his practice through dedicated time at the easel. Specializing in realism, Alexander works on a small-to-medium scale to physically draw viewers in, establishing an intimate connection between the viewer and the subject. Notably, he was selected to represent Canada by painting a portrait of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former President of Liberia. Alexander maintains a large Instagram following where he supports fellow emerging artists, and his work is held in private collections across Canada, the US, Australia, and Liberia.

Jacqui Oakley

Jacqui Oakley is a Hamilton-born artist raised in Bahrain, England, Zambia, and Libya. Having a highly-mobile childhood, her work explores connections, memory, and identity in a highly personal way, while inviting the viewer to find themselves within each piece. Her art practice combines painting, drawing, murals, illustration, dance, and teaching; fostering connection in a time of detachment. 

Shane Pennells

Shane Pennells is an Indigenous filmmaker and writer who has worked with at-risk and marginalized populations for more than 25 years, using the arts to bring attention to their voices and stories. He has done extensive work in arts education and media theory education, for which he has received both provincial and federal commendations, and he received a provincial journalism award in 2023 for covering Indigenous issues. When not being pretentiously silly he spends his time wondering if people actually take the time to read these event biographies. He lives in Hamilton with his wife and their dog and cat, who both love her but merely tolerate him.

Lisa Pijuan-Nomura

Lisa Pijuan Nomura is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Hamilton. Her focus is on mixed media collage, storytelling and facilitating MIGHTY BRAVE Youth Arts Collective.  When not creating her own art, she hosts Collagio, a night that focuses on collage and community. She is currently working on When She Was, a solo show happening at Revival Art Story and Gallery in October of 2026.

Mary Poirier

Mary Poirier [she/they] is a writer from Hamilton, Ontario. Their writing is inspired by their interactions as a hard-of-hearing, lesbian, and Filipino artist. She is known for her work that has been published in various literary magazines and for her poetry readings. She is an aesthetician by day and a writer always.

Margaret Qin

Margaret Qin is an emerging arts manager, events organizer, and band manager in Hamilton, ON. She has turned curiosity and an unwavering willingness to try into spaces where art, music, and community can thrive. Her approach is rooted in care and intention, that if it feels new and scary enough, it's probably worth doing.

Amanda Rataj

Amanda Rataj is a Canadian artist, weaver, and arts educator with a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design University. Her contemporary craft practice has developed through research-based projects, artist residencies, and exhibitions, and uses pattern and materiality to explore craft and making, working with traditional weaving techniques to explore ideas such as craft heritage, locality, and material sustainability. Recent exhibitions include Soft Curve, Hard Line as part of the DesignTO festival (2026), Generation at Craft Ontario (DesignTO 2023), Crosscurrents: Canada In the Making at the Textile Museum of Canada (2018), and Nothing is Newer Than Tradition (Art Gallery of Burlington, 2017). She has received several Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts grants, as well as awards recognizing her practice. In addition, Amanda is a contract lecturer in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Fashion program and has been an educator at the Art Gallery of Ontario for over a decade. 

Carlyn Rhamey

Carlyn Rhamey (She/They) is a storyteller, clown, multidisciplinary artist and community arts facilitator. As a neurodiverse creator, their artistic practice often explores disability, mental health and Relaxed Performance. Carlyn has a strong commitment to inclusive practices in their work and creating arts opportunities to support community connection. 

Ravinder Ruprai

Ravinder has lived in Hamilton for over thirty years and has deep roots in this city. A graduate from the fine arts program at McMaster University, she is one of the longest practicing South Asian artists in Hamilton, creating and expanding diasporic pathways and holding a unique voice. A multi disciplinary artist, Ravinder largely focuses on how the mind, body and spirit are connected and integrated. She explores various aspects of these connections throughout her work including: trauma, epigenetics, memory and neuroplasticity. Ravinder’s work addresses dysfunctional family systems, misogyny, patriarchy, racism and displacement. 

Kaime Sherman

Kaime Sherman is an award-winning Hamilton arts educator, actor, author, director, and founder of AiDa | Academy of Imagination & Dramatic Arts and President of the AiDa Arts Initiative, dedicated to making the arts accessible to all while empowering individuals and communities through creativity, confidence, leadership, connection, and the transformative power of the arts.

Fortunée Shugar

Fortunée Shugar has been a professional artist for over 40 years, specializing in a variety of mixed media painting genres. As well, Fortunée loves experimenting with glass, resulting in beautiful and very unique fused glass pieces. Over her lifetime, she has taught animation, sewing, cooking and art to children right through to seniors.  Her passion is to expose people to the joys and benefits of getting involved in visual arts, from its creation to its appreciation. 

Marie Sinclair

Marie Sinclair is a Hamilton-based interdisciplinary artist, community arts worker, and facilitator whose practice is rooted in play, curiosity, and human connection. Her work explores common humanity — the messy, fragile, funny, painful, and beautiful things that exist underneath status, labels, and survival. Working across installation, sculpture, graphite, poetry, and community engaged practices, she creates work that is grounded in the belief that creativity is tied to survival, identity, dignity, and belonging, particularly for people who have often been unheard or unseen. She is influenced by her work alongside marginalized and street-involved youth, viewing art not as luxury or decoration, but as something essential — as necessary as breathing. Marie is the Studio Coordinator at RE-create Outreach Art Studio - a program of Shalem Mental Health Network - and the Arts Coordinator at the Keeping Six Arts Collective in Hamilton.

Tommy Taylor

Tommy Taylor (He/Him) is a Hamilton-based playwright, advocate, and documentary theatre artist whose work bridges theatre, activism, and community engagement. His foundational piece You Should Have Stayed Home (about his arrest during the 2010 Toronto G20 summit) was a SummerWorks Critics' Pick, toured nationally, and has been adapted into an immersive VR experience presented at FOLDA, PXR, and XR Live!. His sequel, You Should Have Stayed Home Too, drawing on a decade of his frontline homelessness and harm reduction work, debuted at Theatre Aquarius' Brave New Works in 2024 and is currently in development (Tommy previously served as the Manager of Community Health Program at Hamilton Urban Core Health Centre). His solo storytelling show Uncle Tommy's Campfire Ghost Stories was commissioned for Hamilton Fringe in the Streets 2024 and featured at Supercrawl 2022. Tommy also recently played Claudius in 9M Theatre's  celebrated run of Hamlet at Staircase Theatre in 2024. His award-winning sci-fi dramedy SANDWICH is being developed as a 360° VR experience through an upcoming creative residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. 

Margaret Fong

Since 1985, Margaret has been a volunteer at the Art Gallery of Hamilton where her interest in art has continued to grow and expand along with a passion for service and providing a positive experience to all who visit the AGH. Margaret is grateful that her experiences as an elementary school teacher have complemented her volunteer journey. She looks forward to making more connections while expanding the reach of the AGH community.

Teresa Gregorio

Teresa Gregorio (she/her) is an art museum education professional with nearly 20 years of experience in arts-based engagement. As the Educator for Campus & Community Engagement at the McMaster Museum of Art, she collaborates with university instructors, teachers, and community members to design dynamic learning experiences. A lifelong Hamiltonian, she serves on the board of directors for Centre[3] and organizes the Hamilton-Area Museum Educators’ group. Teresa holds degrees from McMaster University, the University of Victoria, and the University of British Columbia, including a Master of Museum Education and an MA in Gender and Social Justice.

Karen Logan

Born and raised in Hamilton, Karen is a practicing visual artist, mother, grandmother, and lifelong learner with over 40 years of exhibiting experience. Originally a mechanical draftsperson and technical illustrator, her detailed work focuses on botanicals, birds, and animals. Karen is deeply committed to arts leadership, having served on the Hamilton Arts Advisory Commission and held executive and treasurer roles for numerous organizations, including the Women’s Art Association of Hamilton, the Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators, and the Orchid Society of the RBG. A faculty member at the Dundas Valley School of Art, she holds multiple certificates in both Visual Arts and Not-for-Profit Management. Driven by nature and environmental advocacy, her latest project features a series of free online educational resources showcasing over 100 of her native species paintings to promote local biodiversity conservation. 

Ann Pirvu

Romanian-born, Canadian Screen Award-nominated actress and producer Ann Pirvu is a dynamic talent best known for her standout role as Nicole on CW’s Reign. Her versatile career spans major networks and streaming platforms, including Netflix (Workin’ Moms), Starz (The Girlfriend Experience), Lifetime, and Hallmark. In 2026, Ann expanded into producing with the launch of Precious Metal Productions alongside partner Christopher Giroux; their debut feature, Bee My Love, is currently streaming on Super Channel and Great American Family. Beyond the screen, Ann is a co-creator of the graphic novel Doctor Awesome Woman, an acting instructor at Toronto's Armstrong Studios, and a dedicated advocate for the local arts scene as a founding member and current Secretary of the Hamilton Film Board.