2024
Anti-Racism Data Act Artist Biographies
Art is a powerful tool to help us learn about the society and cultures around us and reflect on our own understandings of the world.
Meet the artists
Jag Nagra, Pitt Meadows, B.C.
Jag Nagra, a queer Punjabi visual artist, dedicates her work to community development and dismantling LGBTQ+ stigma within the South Asian community.
Her art boldly celebrates darker skin tones and South Asian clothing and motifs, embodying confidence and fearlessness.
She is a co-founder of Vancouver’s Punjabi Market Collective, a non-profit working to revitalize the historic Punjabi Market commercial district. Through art, she has found her voice and a new appreciation for her culture and identity.
To view more of Jag’s work, visit www.jagnagra.com
Priscilla Yu, Vancouver, B.C.
Priscilla Yu is a multi-disciplinary artist, illustrator and muralist working and living out of the unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú 7mesh (Squamish), and Səl ̓ ı́ lwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, also known as Vancouver, B.C.
Characteristically vibrant paintings, her art is inspired by the perceivable patterns that exist in everyday life through textiles, design, and architecture as well as nature’s universal patterns on both the larger and microscopic scale.
Through abstracted points of perspective and a geometric language, she creates worlds that dwell in a strange gravity.
To view more of Priscilla’s work, visit www.priscillayu.ca
Sade Alexis, Vancouver, B.C.
Sade Alexis is a Black woman artist, writer, and educator; and moves through the world as both the descendent of stolen people (enslaved Africans, and indentured Indians), brought to stolen lands (Trinidad and Grenada), and of settlers, who have benefitted from the domination and colonization of the land (Turtle Island) and the people. Sade was born and raised in so called “Vancouver” and have come to know land that has been loved and cared for by ʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ people.
Sade’s art practice revolves around using bright colours, tropical flora and fauna, and intricate patterning as a way to celebrate and uplift Black experiences.
Sade views art making as something that should be accessible to all people and is passionate about bringing fine art to Black and Indigenous communities who are so often excluded from arts spaces.
To view more of Sade’s work, visit www.sadealexis.com
Clayton Gauthier, Prince George, B.C.
Clayton Gauthier is of Cree and Dakelh bloodline. Walking his journey as an artist, has taught him a lot about himself and the arts. The art he produces revolves around the teachings of land, animals, water and sky.
Clayton has learned many lessons and blessings from the Elders and Spirit within. Throughout his art journey, he has completed many logos, murals, drums, rattles, carvings, tattoos, digital art and is also a published author.
Artwork in this life gives Clayton a feeling of serenity that nothing can replace. “Art is a reflection of the soul.”
To view more of Clayton’s work, visit www.facebook.com/claytongauthierartist
Patricia ‘PJ’ Gilhuly, Cranbrook, B.C.
PJ Gilhuly was born to Ktunaxa parents living in Cranbrook, B.C. Adopted by English/Irish parents, she grew up for the most part of her life in Ontario. After living away from her hometown for 30-plus years, she moved back to Cranbrook with her kids and settled in the small city and began a career as a self-taught artist.
PJ is best known for her geo-still/acrylic paintings, in which she represented the human face and figure in an expressive, often abstract style.
Most of her early sketches and charcoal work depict the human figure in scenes that suggest loneliness and suffering. Her expressive work is considered some of the most unique and appealing work and well represented as a Ktunaxa artist.
You can follow Patricia @pj.gilhuly on Instagram.
Marzieh Sadeghi, Vancouver, B.C.
Marzieh Sadeghi, originally from Iran, moved to Vancouver, Canada to study at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Media Arts in 2D + Experimental Animation, she showcases her storytelling skills through her vibrant illustrations and animations, bringing her creative world to life.
To view more of Marzieh’s work, visit www.marsinmotion.ca
Sandeep Johal, Vancouver, B.C.
Sandeep Johal is a Canadian visual artist whose practice engages drawing, collage, textiles, and large-scale murals.
Through her Indo-folk feminine aesthetic, she confronts themes of bleakness, despair and ugliness with their dissonant opposites: brightness, hope and beauty. Her work typically centers around the stories of women, and while she highlights female suffering in its many forms, these are ultimately stories of resistance and resilience.
Sandeep holds a Diploma in Fine Arts (honours) from Langara College (2007) and a Degree in Education from the University of British Columbia (2002).
To view more of Sandeep’s work, visit www.sandeepjohal.com
Cheyenne Manning, Vancouver, B.C.
Cheyenne is a Vancouver-based graphic designer, artist, and improviser. She is a Trinidadian-Ojibway-White settler. Her studies in Visual Communications (BA, CapU) sparked an inspiration to blend art and culture colourfully.
Being rooted in the Pacific Northwest inspires her every day. She loves bringing a person or brand’s story to life through thoughtful, organic illustrations or bold designs with rich colours.
Cheyenne has worked for clients like the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the BC Provincial Government, BC Women’s Health Foundation and Arc’teryx. She values diverse life experiences. In warmer months, you can find her bike-packing in Squamish, road-tripping to the States and camping. In cooler months, she enjoys learning to sew and ski.
You can follow Cheyenne @thecheyennekid on Instagram.
Odera Igbokwe, Vancouver, B.C.
Odera Igbokwe (They/Them) an illustrator and painter located on the unceded and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
Odera loves to explore storytelling through mythology, reclamations, and transformations. Their work is a celebration of the fullness of self, the power to envision, and fantasy as a gateway to healing from collective and generational traumas.
Odera was born of Nigerian parents who immigrated to the United States, and as a result their work explores the magic of the Black Queer imagination and responds to the fractures that occur via diaspora and displacement. Odera holds a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and studied West African Dance Movement and Theatre Arts at Brown University with New Works/World Traditions.
To view more of Odera’s work, visit www.odera.net
Raven Tacuara (Collective), Northwest B.C.
The Raven-Tacuara collective is Facundo Gatsiazoro, Amanda Hugon, Stephanie Anderson and Travis Hebert all residing in the Skeena-Bulkley Valley region of British Columbia.
They bring influences from the traditional and contemporary Indigenous styles of the Coastal First Nations, along with themes of abstraction, illustration, environment, and culture. The artists create works that build a sense of place in the community.
The process of their collaborations is the evolution of ideas, open to one another’s input and re-interpretation. As they approach each new wall they come together as one, to lay out colour and layers bringing a blank wall to a new statement for awareness and enjoyment. This process is the base of every project the collective brings to life.
To view more of Raven-Tacuara’s work visit www.facebook.com/RavenTacuara