Gord Grisenthwaite is a mainly-urban, mixed-blood nłeʔkepmx, and member of the Lytton First Nation. He has earned an MA in English Literature & Creative Writing at the University of Windsor (2020). He also completed his BA (Hon) at the University of Windsor in 2018, almost 30 years after he started his post secondary education. His second book, Tales for Late Night Bonfires was released September, 2023 and his first, Home Waltz, was a finalist for the 2021 Governor General’s Award for fiction.  His work has appeared in Prairie Fire, FreeFall, Exile Quarterly, The Antigonish Review, Our Stories Literary Journal, Prism International, ndnCountry, Offset 17,  Bawaajigan: Stories of Power, and Food of My People. His work has earned a number of prizes, including the 2013 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award. https://www.gordongrisenthwaite.com/

JP Longboat is Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk), Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River, he grew up along the River Ouse, Haldimand Deed territory, Ontario.  JP has a BFA degree in Visual Arts from the University of Michigan and Ontario College of Art and has worked as a visual artist, graphic designer, actor, storyteller dancer and choreographer. He has performed, danced and collaborated with many professional performing companies across Canada. JP has also served as Program Officer in Dance at the Canada Council for the Arts and has been on the faculty of Aboriginal Arts at the Banff Centre for the Arts. His work emanates from the cultural traditions of his people: language, land and territory, teachings, and stories shared within Longhouses and lodges, gatherings and ceremonies. JP creative process is grounded in Indigenous artistic experience, practice, and legacy. https://www.instagram.com/jplongboat/?hl=en

Sarah McCullough works with textiles, movement, plants, and tissue to re-create moments and note the connections they make. Her artistic education comprises a full and busy childhood learning many and diverse artistic forms in Windsor & Detroit. This past year has been devoted to dancing, costume design, and construction for HNM Dance Company’s 30th anniversary performance gala, and she is looking forward to bringing that experience into other creative efforts.  https://hnmdance.ca/bios

Patricia Fell received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (with distinction), Department of Theatre (Concordia University), and a Masters of Educational Psychology, specialization in design and integration (McGill University) both in Montréal, Québec. Patricia’s career as a professional artist for close to 40 years has embraced award winning design for the theatre, education, and the promotion of social injustice issues.  Her extensive background in community based arts initiatives place her in an educated position from which to project a unique and achievable production outcome.  Her body of work includes experience in design for the theatre, installation art, performance art, production management, and all forms of art and craft.

Louise is a Windsor based artist who studied Craft and Design at St. Clair College and her creative journey has had many twists and turns over the last 40 years. She has taken many classes to improve her skills, taught many classes, and was a founding member of the Southwestern Ontario Basketry Guild. Besides being a master basket weaver, Louise has also loved the art of jewelry making. She spends a lot of her time on Pelee Island where she is inspired by the island and its diverse eco system.  She loves to incorporate found objects from the beach: beach glass and stones will often find their way into her jewelry. 

Kylie Petahtegoose of Giizis Anang Creations is a mixed Anishinaabe kwe beadwork artist whose family comes from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek. Kylie works full time as an Indigenous School Counsellor and loves to incorporate artwork and beadwork in her work with children and youth. Kylie blends mindfulness and creativity to produce artwork that honours both the destination and the journey. 

Workshop Description:

No previous beading experience needed! All supplies/materials will be provided. 

In this beginner’s beading workshop, you will learn the basics for flat-stitch to create your own beaded pin. Participants are encouraged to come in with an open mind, open heart, and willingness to have grace and patience for and with themselves as they learn a new skill. 

Ayla Wolf

Ayla Wolf is a Canadian interdisciplinary artist working across painting, photography, film and performance. Her practice explores embodiment, ritual, and the relationship between body and landscape through intuitive, site-responsive processes. Drawing on a background in dance, she creates work that investigates presence, memory, transformation and our connection to the natural world. Wolf’s work has been presented through exhibitions, installations, performances and film projects across Ontario and beyond. Recent projects include Soleau (2024), a painting exhibition at Artspeak Gallery in Windsor, Ontario, She Walks Both Worlds (2023), an interdisciplinary photography and film installation presented at Mackenzie Hall and Green Earth (2026), an interdisciplinary project combining photography, projection and embodied performance, to be presented at Shō Gallery in Windsor this November.

Michael Karloff
Michael is one of Windsor’s major musical artists. He is the piano anchor and arranger for the Mackenzie Hall Jazz Series now in its seventh year. Michael has been a University of Windsor music faculty member since 2012 and has been the music director of the St. Clair College Music Theatre Program since 2008. Recent performances with WSO include Holiday Pops, and Fiery Tango Nights featuring music by Astor Piazzolla. Michael also performs regularly with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also works regularly with Detroit Opera as repetiteur and performance pianist. In 2023, Mike assumed artistic directorship of Jazz in the ‘Burg, and became an associate member of Stone & Sky, under who’s umbrella the series operates.

Veronica Johnny is a multi-disciplinary Indigi-Queer artist, singer/songwriter, and handdrummer of Cree/Dene/mixed heritage. She’s a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation from the Northwest Territories, presently living in Ontario. Ms. Johnny’s a dynamic force in the Canadian music & arts industry, as a performer, event facilitator, artist, arts educator, producer, manager, promoter, and Two Spirit cultural knowledge keeper.Veronica also offers virtual and in-person workshops and healing events through her INDIGENous arts EDucation business – IndigenEd – with the intention of lifting female Indigenous voices & stories through music, film & workshops; creating safe spaces where individuals can do their healing; and facilitating land-based, art-focused events. Ms. Johnny’s art is multidisciplinary, as a painter and photographer of Eco-Art healing images, with 3D installations and audio landscapes of natural sounds and hand-drumming music for full-spectrum experiences.
https://linktr.ee/johnnyinternational