adwoa toku
adwoa toku is an urban farmer, (earth) lover and artist based on Treaty 13 land. Her practice has taken the form of multi- medium expression through collage making, film photography, community garden building + stewarding and facilitation of group discussions/ rituals and gatherings. adwoa’s work focuses on the relational aspect of being alive; whether it sprouts between humans and/or our more than human kin. She draws insight from the revolutionary lineages of flora, fungi and fauna- especially those that exist within urban areas and communities and those whose existence causes us to question everything we thought to be true . adwoa’s work seeks to examine, uplift and celebrate the inherent animacy of earth that binds all things which she believes we as humans have never been separate from.
Mona Dai
Mona is a settler architect currently working in Tkaronto, with a focus on renovation and retrofit projects. She is currently a member of the newly formed community group Build a Better Fairview and is an advocate for the right to housing. Mona is interested in exploring how architecture can support movements for social equity.
Redistro Collective
Redistro Collective (Toronto) is a budding network of organizers, students, workers, hobbyists, and more, working together to reduce waste while meeting people's needs by repairing and redistribute goods and tools, in the city and beyond.
Niara van Gaalen
Niara van Gaalen is writer, artist, and activist who sees design as a tool for social and environmental justice. Niara is of Afro-Surinamese Creole and Dutch descent. She was born in the Netherlands, but grew up on the Haldimand Tract in the watershed of Willow River, in what is now called Kitchener. She has worked in urban design, architecture and sustainability consulting at firms from Vancouver to Amsterdam and has recently completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. You can find her on Instagram @justkidstm.
Nancy Ji
Nancy Ji is an educator, academic and architect. She is a lecturer in Architectural Design at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Australia. She received a Master of Architecture from the same faculty including time studying abroad at TU Delft in the Netherlands. Nancy’s research interests include Japanese architecture and urbanism, community engagement through architectural design, and the revitalization of rural and regional areas. Nancy’s research has been presented at international conferences and published in various journals and media including The Architecture Review and the Journal of Rural Studies. As a recipient of the MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship, Nancy spent three years conducting fieldwork on young urban-rural migrants, vacant house renovation, and rural revitalization in Japan as part of her doctoral thesis at Keio University.
Sarah Mahoney
Sarah is a cultural anthropologist and recently graduated with her master’s from the University of Oslo, Norway in 2023. She carried out fieldwork funded by National Geographic Society in rural depopulated mountain villages in Japan to examine rural revitalization. Her research interests include lifestyle migration, post-growth imaginaries, and degrowth in rural Japan. She carried out her fieldwork Nishiawakura, a depopulated satoyama village, known for its 100 Year Forest Initiative. Here she investigated abandoned forests as capitalist decay and the ways in which the village has reimagined new possibilities out for the forests to revive the village and experiment in multispecies relations.
Sam Wong
Sam Wong (he/they) is a Métis (family roots in Calahoo AB) -Chinese-Acadian young person from Ottawa who is passionate about transforming the current food system. He lives and works in Toronto at The Stop community food centre as the assistant coordinator of the Mashkiki’aki’ing garden. Sam has also helped support the Humber River lodge, specifically with the restoration of native plant species in the river valley. Sam’s thinking and work revolves around the localization of the economy through education and community involvement.
Faizaan Khan
Faizaan is a designer, researcher, and cultural planner. His practice prioritizes collaboration, community, wit, and empathy. Faizaan is a firm believer in collective co-creation. Faizaan has been involved in many projects, including public art installations, urban design masterplans, program evaluation research, and design-thinking education. His research focuses on cultural heritage, racialized urban peripheries, place-keeping and anti-displacement.
He recently completed his Master of Science in Planning at the University of Toronto where he received multiple awards and contributed to a number of research and knowledge mobilization projects. Previously, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design where he specialized in the technology of architecture and urbanism.
Marie Sotto
Marie Sotto (they/them/siya) is a Filipinx Futurist, Art Witch and Performer from Scarborough. A dynamic community catalyst, Marie has over a decade of experience in arts leadership, cultural strategy and creative programming across various sectors. Marie is also an illustrator and new media artist. Marie has previously exhibited work at Artscape Youngplace, The Gladstone Hotel and The Harbourfront Center. Marie’s work explores meanings of home, personal identity and memory. Marie is Kapisanan's current Artistic Director, and curates programming for Long Winter. Continuously inspired and uplifted by community, Marie strives to build a just, loving and hopeful future for future generations www.cargocollective.com/mariesotto.
Nikē/Vic Baneberry
My name is Nikē/Vic and I am a queer/trans mad person living with fibromyalgia in rural Mi'kma'ki. I am currently building a little sleeping house with my partner on 12 acres of land which is being transitioned into a multi-membership co-operative non-profit + a community land trust through a project called Crows' Commons. I am an anarchist artist, grower, and builder. I am particularly invested in Guaranteed Basic Income, Queer+Trans Liberation, Disability Justice, and the abolition of private property. I am furiously passionate about finding alternative ways to design and build outside of and in resistance to traditional architectural methods. I spend my time working in, towards, and with the communities I myself am a part of.