Browse "Minorities in the Arts/ Diverse Communities"

He worked for a Seventh Avenue dress manufacturer, as assistant designer, before moving to Toronto in 1972. After a brief time as a junior designer and freelance artist, Sung opened Moon, a small boutique in Toronto's prestigious Yorkville shopping district.

Anita Rau Badami, writer (born 1961 at Rourkela, Odisha, India). Badami grew up in India and earned a BA in English from the University of Madras.

Aqjangajuk Shaa (Axangayu), Inuit artist (born at Shartoweetuk camp near Cape Dorset, Nunavut 17 March 1937; died 2019).

Arsinée Khanjian, actor (b at Beirut, Lebanon 6 Sept 1958). Arsinée Khanjian grew up in Beirut and attended Armenian National and Catholic schools until she was 17 years old, when her family immigrated to Canada and settled in Montréal.

It has taken her far. She fell in love on the set, left her husband, moved to Toronto and began a new life. "I had met an artist from my own background," she says. "This was the world I had always dreamt about without knowing it.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on September 13, 1999

In May 1983 Shilling was one of 7 Canadian artists invited by Governor General Edward Schreyer to show at Rideau Hall, Ottawa. His paintings are in many corporate and private collections throughout North America. His life is documented in the film The Beauty of My People (NFB, 1978).

Bing Wing Thom, CM, architect (born 8 December 1940 in Hong Kong; died 4 October 2016 in Hong Kong). A Member of the Order of Canada and a winner of the Governor General’s Award, Bing Thom’s strong design values and holistic approach in practice made him one of Canada’s top architects.

The TTA set up a dramatic committee that organized public readings of plays by Earl Lovelace, Errol John and Derek Walcott (Nobel laureate 1993).

The following article is part of an exhibit. Past exhibits are not updated. Driven to overcome histories of prejudice and marginalization, as women and as people of African descent, Black women are among Canada’s most innovative artists. With their fingers on the pulse of this multi-tasking, multi-disciplinary, 21st-century culture, the 15 dynamic artists featured in this exhibit — a mix of poets, playwrights, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists — refuse to be limited to one medium or style. Award-winning poet Dionne Brand is also a novelist, filmmaker and influential professor, while Lillian Allen thrives as a dub poet, declaiming her verses to reggae accompaniment. trey anthony is a comedian as well as a ground-breaking playwright and screenwriter. All of these women and the many others below are also, in one way or another, passionate activists and committed advocates who are deeply involved in their communities.

Cara Gee, actor (born 18 July 1983 in Calgary, AB). Ojibwe actor Cara Gee started out in notable Toronto theatre productions before receiving an American Indian Movie Award and a Canadian Screen Award nomination for her lead role in the First Nations drama Empire of Dirt (2013). She then starred in CBC’s Strange Empire (2014–15) and Disney’s The Call of The Wild (2020). She is perhaps best known for her role as Camina Drummer on the popular science fiction series The Expanse (2015–22).

Charles Reed Biddle (familiarly, "Biddles"), jazz bassist (born 28 July 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died 4 February 2003 in Montréal, QC). Somewhat limited as a bassist but a tireless supporter and promoter of jazz in Montréal, Biddle organized festivals of local musicians in 1979 and 1983, which sowed the seeds for the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Daisy Elitha Sweeney (née Peterson), teacher, pianist, organist (born 7 May 1920 in Montréal, QC; died 11 August 2017 in Montréal). An accomplished musician in her own right, Daisy Peterson Sweeney is perhaps best known as the older sister, and early teacher, of celebrated jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. She also taught other notable Montréal jazz pianists, including Oliver Jones and Joe Sealey.

Julien Christian Lutz (a.k.a. Director X, Little X), director, filmmaker, mental health advocate (born 31 October 1975 in Toronto, ON). After starting out as the protégé of music video maven Hype Williams, Director X directed the music video for “Northern Touch,” a landmark in Canadian hip hop. He has since directed more than 100 music videos for some of the biggest names in hip hop and popular music, including such iconic videos as Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious,” Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend,” and Drake’s “Started from the Bottom” and “Hotline Bling.” Director X has also made feature films and art installations. He was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2022.

Author Lee Maracle reflects on the presentation of the summary of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by Justice Murray Sinclair on 2 June 2015.

Jeff Barnaby, writer, director, editor, composer (born 2 August 1976 in Listuguj Reserve, QC; died 13 October 2022 in Montreal, QC). Jeff Barnaby was a multitalented Mi’kmaq filmmaker who worked mainly in the horror genre. His award-winning films, such as Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013) and Blood Quantum (2019), are notable for incorporating gritty portrayals of Indigenous characters into stories with elements of science fiction, body horror and magic realism. Barnaby was a rising talent in Canadian and Indigenous cinema. He died of cancer at the age of 46.