Presenting Artists
Mast Year
Mast Year Collective is the collaborative art practice of Alexandra Hong and Farihah Aliyah Shah that explores identity, belonging, the notion of changing homelands and the complications that arise when trying to preserve cultural inheritance.
As members of the Chinese (Hong) and Guyanese (Shah) diaspora, their collective practice explores identity, belonging, the notion of changing homelands, and the complications that arise when trying to preserve cultural inheritance. “Mast year” refers to a term in botany when trees in a forest collectively and mysteriously produce an abundance of fruit. This unified act ensures the animals that rely on the fruit will have a bountiful year, but also that there will be enough to sprout the next generation of trees. Their collective explores the notion of radical care in relation to their friendship, community, and connectivity to land. Process, research, dialogue, and experimentation are important frameworks of their practice. Although their histories differ, they find solace in sharing their lived experiences and connectivity culture through food, conversations and storytelling.
Marzieh Miri
Marzieh Miri is an Iranian-Canadian multidisciplinary visual artist. Her research and creative practice explore the concepts of place, land, and environment using photographic media. She is particularly interested in experimental and alternative approaches that examine the relationship between humans and their environment. Marzieh holds an MFA in Documentary Media from Toronto Metropolitan University. She has received grants from the Ontario Art Council and has exhibited her art projects in Iran, France, Austria, and Canada. In addition to her work as an artist, she has also worked as an architect, professor, writer, and critic. Marzieh has published book chapters and articles in international journals and presented at conferences and courses in Canada, England, Iran, and the USA.
Lorenzo Cinco
Lorenzo Cinco (b. 1997) is a Canadian photographer born in the island province of Leyte, Philippines. He has a B. Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Toronto Metropolitan University (2020) and practices photography as both a meditation and creative release. He organizes exhibitions and events for the community photography group Toronto Analog Friends, and most recently co-curated an open call exhibition for Contact Photography Festival.
Magida El-Kassis
Magida El-Kassis (b. 1989) is a photographer residing in Toronto. For more than a decade, she has been exploring the self-portrait; looking closely at every layer that comes to life with each new year of growth. She questions femininity, beauty, and the importance of eternal life.
Magida's practice includes lens-based imagery and her work has been exhibited across Canada and abroad.
Guest Reviewers
Heather Canlas Rigg
Heather Canlas Rigg is an independent curator and writer based in Toronto.
Steven Beckly
Steven Beckly (he/they) is a Chinese-Canadian artist and photographer residing in Tkaronto/Toronto.
Recent solo projects include Root of the Tongue at Montgomery’s Inn Museum, Etobicoke, part of the Toronto History Museums' Artist Mentorship Showcase: Pride; and Phantom Eye, a public art project commissioned by Capture Photography Festival in Vancouver. Beckly’s work has been featured in exhibitions at the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto, Scarborough; Stride Gallery, Calgary; Remai Modern, Saskatoon; the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal; and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He is represented by Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto.
Meera Margaret Singh
Meera Margaret Singh is a visual artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. She holds a BA in Anthropology, a BFA in Photography from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and an MFA from Concordia University, Montreal.
Singh has been the recipient of numerous residencies and awards, most notably Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council grants. She has been a selected artist-in-residence in Toronto, Brazil, India, Florida, Banff. She has exhibited widely in group and solo exhibitions throughout Canada and internationally. She is currently an Associate Professor in Photography and the Chair of Photography, Printmaking & Publications at OCAD University.