Artist Bios
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Philip Cote
Anishinaabe-izhini-kaaz-o-win Nodj-mowin-Miskogayaashk Gichi-manidoo-anishinaabe indoodem Mishu-pishu niin Anishinaabe, Shawnee, Lakota, Potawatomi, Ojibway, Algonquin Min-a-waa Mohawk. Philip Cote, MFA, Moose Deer Point First Nation, is a Young Spiritual Elder, Indigenous artist, activist, educator, historian, and Ancestral Knowledge Keeper.
He is engaged in creating opportunities for artmaking and teaching methodologies through Indigenous symbolism, traditional ceremonies, history, oral stories, and land-based pedagogy. Citing all of his ancestry, he is Shawnee, Lakota, Potawatomi, Ojibway, Algonquin, and Mohawk.
Philip is the seventh generation great-grandson of Shawnee Warrior and Leader Tecumseh, and his ancestor Amelia Chechok is the granddaughter of Chechok who was the first signer of the Toronto Purchase of 1805.
John Hryniuk
John Hryniuk (September 5, 1968 – November 9, 2021) was an internationally recognized, award-winning professional photographer who specialized in advertising, editorial, portrait, corporate and industrial photography.
Born in September 1968 in Timmins, Ontario, John discovered his passion for photography early in life. At age 12 he purchased his first camera with money earned delivering newspapers, and quickly immersed himself in his new-found craft. His determination and confidence opened many doors. At just 16, John began freelancing for major news organizations, establishing connections while learning from some of the most seasoned news photographers in Ottawa.
In the 2000s, career opportunities brought John to Toronto where he established himself in both professional and social circles. His commercial photography business flourished, while he also pursued personal projects fueled by his insatiable curiosity for characters from all walks of life. He was known for bringing out the best in everyone he photographed – disarming them with his quick wit, friendly demeanor and calm professionalism. His unique visual style revealed the essence of his subjects in all their diverse, touching and sometimes quirky ways.
While many of his projects were based locally, John’s love of travel and meeting new people led him to all corners of the globe. During his 30+ year career, he never missed a chance to embrace and document the world’s wealth of diversity. The resulting body of work is a testament to John’s phenomenal talent and will live on as his legacy.
Dr. Dawn Lim
I love telling stories that connect the brain to the heart.
I am an emergency doctor at the University Health Network and an assistant professor of medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. I am also a freelance photographer and a non-fiction writer with a particular interest in exploring the habits that help people thrive.
I use storytelling to shed light on the shame-based culture of medicine. I want to advocate for a sustainable workforce in medicine through a deep reflection on shame resilience, empathy, vulnerability, self-compassion, and gratitude.
My work has been supported by a National Geographic Covid grant, and can be found in various national media outlets.
Trophy
Trophy is an award-winning interdisciplinary creative collective that creates porous work for non-traditional spaces. The collective’s work is characterized by modularity, scalability, and a multiplicity of entry points for engagement. Current projects include Remixed, a hybrid digital/in-person immersive listening party during which audiences interact with a custom progressive web app, generating personalized playlists that explore how we instigate change individually and collectively.
The collective is also touring the self-titled Trophy, a performance installation comprised of 1-150 architectural tents that celebrates diverse communities’ stories of transformation.
Our work innovates in form, content and relationship: bringing together collaborators and stakeholders from across disciplines, we create vital work that’s rooted in our city of Ottawa and tours nationally and internationally. Our work has been presented by galleries and festivals across Canada, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and England.
Our performances and installations combine principles from visual art, performance art, theatre and social practice. The resulting pieces are personal and participatory, yet open ended enough for audiences to experience them on whatever level they feel most comfortable, with their actions directly impacting the experience.
