Dr. Afarin Mansouri is an internationally acclaimed composer, opera artist, and Artistic Director of Cultureland Opera Collective. Renowned for blending Persian musical heritage with Western operatic forms, her works explore cultural identity, mysticism, and social justice. She has collaborated with major institutions including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Tapestry Opera, Seattle Opera, and National Ballet of Canada. Her operas—Zuleykha, The Refugees, Forbidden, and Little Heart—are praised for emotional depth and cultural resonance. A trailblazer in opera education, she lectures in Farsi and champions inclusivity. Her 2025 Cultureland production QUEST introduced seven new Middle Eastern-inspired operas to Canadian audiences.

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I am an environmental artist and creator/facilitator of an eco-friendly community art program for children, Orfe EcoArt Program. My passion for art, environmentalism, and community engagement, along with my art education experience with the TCDSB and the TDSB, have strengthened my motivation to engage young people in protecting the earth through participatory community arts.
Orfe EcoArt Program is a social enterprise that aims to stimulate creativity and environmental responsibility in children and youth through its ecological art program, understanding that a creative mind and responsible attitude are key to becoming an active member of society and contributing to the health and safety of one’s community

Eric Chengyang (b. Guangzhou, China/PRC) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Tkaronto (Toronto). By integrating visual storytelling with historical archive and contemporary art, Eric explores the themes of symbiotic duality and paradox. In particular, their works often emphasize the intersections and proximity between the East and the West, while challenging the conventional notion of the East-West dichotomy, aka. “the East versus the West”.

Eric’s recent projects focus on the meeting points between literary, vernacular, visual and programming languages. As a result, their practice involves the translation between hybrid vocabulary or forms, including coding, painting, text-based, lens-based and time-based media.

Beny Esguerra (Established Artist) is a Toronto-based, award-winning multi-instrumentalist, producer, spoken-word poet, and arts educator who arrived in Canada as a political refugee with his family from Colombia. Rooted in cultural activism, his work bridges traditional Colombian music with contemporary Hip Hop, earning him recognition such as the 2020 Ontario Arts Foundation Arts Educator Award and two back-to-back JUNO nominations for his latest albums. Beny’s collaborations have garnered international acclaim, including nominations at the International Indigenous Hip Hop Music Awards and wins in Music to Life’s Hope Rises II contest. His most recent project, “Eterno,” with Los Gaiteros de Ovejas, celebrates cross-cultural collaboration and musical heritage. Additionally, he co-leads the NTM Wheel it Studios mobile project, empowering Jane-Finch artists through mentorship and access to resources. Beny is a PhD (ABD) candidate in Musicology/Ethnomusicology, specializing in Colombian traditional music and Hip Hop culture.

Rashmi Mishra (Emerging Artist) is a celebrated Indian dancer, choreographer, and educator with over 30 years of experience. Trained under the legendary Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji, she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Kathak, deepening her expertise in this classical art. Rashmi has received prestigious awards in India such as the “Saraswati Samman,” “Braj Ratna Award,” and the “Best Kathak Dancer Award” from Governor, along with international honors from the “Book of World Records, London,” and the “Medallion of Honour of Nadezda Petrovic” in Serbia.

Rashmi has performed across the globe, including in Denmark, Dubai, and Bangkok. After relocating from India to North York two years ago, she expanded her Rashmi Academy of Performing Arts (RaPa) with branches in both Mumbai and North York. She has showcased her talent in Toronto at various events like Nuit Blanche, Rhythms of Canada, Festival of India etc. She also founded the North York Diwali Fest at Mel Lastman Square, bringing the communities together through vibrant cultural celebrations.

Patrick de Belen (Established Artist Award – Honorable Mention) is a rare breed of artist. This Toronto-based Filipino-Canadian spoken word poet, performer, speaker, filmmaker and educator is one whose formidable acclaim as a performance artist and writer is equaled by his commitment to his community, and his status as an enduring source of insight, energy and mentorship for young poets across North America. As a performer, Patrick has garnered praise and admiration for his ability to blend sharp social commentary with an exhaustless wit, charm and creative candour. This combination of talents has made him a national slam champion, as he was at the 2012 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, and a performer of note on such platforms as CBC, TED Talk, the NBA, NFL and others. He is also the first ever recipient of the Spoken Word Youth Poet of Honour award at YouthCanSlam 2013 and the 2019 Canadian Poet of Honour at Canada’s national poetry festival, an award he won on the basis of his dual talents asa poet of remarkable ability and an educator of enduring devotion, passion and intelligence. Off the stage, he is committed to his work in arts education/mentorship and curating multigenre showcases; involved in partnerships with a long list of institutions and organizations including jails, schools, health centres, libraries and more.

Merey Ismailova (Emerging Artist Award – Honorable Mention) is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, and physical theatre artist based in Toronto, originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan. She received her professional training at the Sputnik school in Moscow and Ballet Creole School in Toronto, studying contemporary, ballet, modern and jazz. She has created numerous original choreographies performed in North America, Europe, and Asia. As the artistic director of The Ismailova Theatre of Dance, Merey has produced 14 full-length productions for North York audiences and organized community dance workshops for immigrant youth winning Newcomer Artist Award twice from the Toronto Arts Foundation.

Brian Jiang (they/she) is a queer trans multi-disciplinary artist of Chinese-descent based in Tkaronto. Their practice comprises of animation, illustration, painting, graphic design and beyond. As an artist collaborator working within the cultural sector, their arts-practice is informed by the love for their communities. Brian’s work draws upon mythology, the natural world, and lived experiences to explore the ties between identity, diasporic migration, kinship, and ecological connections. They have been commissioned by Pride Toronto, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Inside Out Film Festival, Maisonneauve Magazine, LinkedIn StreetARToronto and more. Their work can be found at @_brianjiang.

This microgrant will be used to create a series of paintings that explore the implications of “passing” through my lens as a trans racialized individual.

Jay-Marie Phillips, known as pothound, is a Trinidadian-Canadian musician, producer, and artist. Her music spans electro-pop and acoustic indie soul, exploring themes of identity, solitude, and the clash of cultures. pothound’s debut record, Video Garden is a concept album, drawing on visual themes of neon noir, solarpunk, and urban jungles.

Jay’s practice is intertwined with identity and belonging as a queer, trans, Scarborough-born, Trinidadian-raised artist and organizer living in Toronto. Her work strives to find meaning in being an outcast. In 2020, Jay co-founded Cooler Fete, a queer Caribbean diaspora party, and is one of the resident DJs.

This microgrant will be used to help aid in the creation and development of visual elements for my debut project, Video Garden, using 3D animation and illustration.

Natalie Paton is a writer and filmmaker who tells stories about womanhood, immigration, generational relationships, Western society, and power dynamics. She loves calling the multicultural city of Toronto her home and is continuously inspired by her experiences and the experiences of those around her. Her work focuses on a mix of fiction and documentary with the goal of contextualizing the systems around us through character-driven stories.

This microgrant will be used largely to pay for location-based filming in North York, interviewing local residents, and renting equipment for filming dates (est. 4 days).

Aalyaland is a Pottery and ceramics Artist that will use the Grow North Micro Grant to create a ceramic art installation entitled “Vigilaunties” depicting tea cups with red flags –spilling the tea on toxic aunties that perpetuate patriarchal mindsets and societal norms through their behaviours towards people of all genders.

“First and foremost, my goal is to make people laugh because of how relatable and unfiltered this project is. Most South Asian womxn and non-binary folks I know have experienced toxic aunty behaviour. My hope is to create an art installation that people capture, share, and send to aunties via WhatsApp (the App that they most use to send forwards on to their peers).” – Aalyaland

Anaiah Lebreton is a Multimedia Artist that will use the Grow North Micro Grant to create a music video – merging graphic design with music production and videography to an original song highlighting queer love. On the second slide, you can find examples of Anaiah’s past work featuring snippets from a collaborative zine “Youth In Revolt, Rookies With Friends.”

“This project is important to me because I see it as an opportunity to actualize a vision of powerful rebellious Queer people I often see missing from media spaces” – Anaiah Lebreton

Pierre Poussin is a large-scale sculptor that will use the Grow North Micro Grant to learn and refine his skills of digital-hand-sculpting, helping his concept development and fabrication processes become much more efficient.

“This activity is very important to me because it would allow me to bring my digital art-making processes and public art skills to the next level. I want to take the time to learn digital sculpting, because I will be able to use this newly-acquired skill within my public art practice. I will hopefully be able to digitally-sculpt just as effectively and efficiently as sculpting with clay.” – Pierre Poussin