Imogen Carter is originally a city girl who experienced an early life in the hustle and bustle of a grey and rainy town in East London. She decided to make the big move to Canada five years ago, which was easily one of the best decisions of her life. Since then, she has spent her time working as a multidisciplinary artist amongst the mountains, skiing/snowboarding, hiking, drawing, and playing with clay. 

After working as a self-taught illustrator, Imogen spent a year studying ceramics at the Kootenay School of the Arts in 2023, marking the start of her exploration with clay. This shift from detailed line drawings to working with raw materials deepened her creative process, leading to a new focus on combining earthy textures with her intricate illustrations. Since then she has been teaching hand-building at Mud Ceramics in Nelson whilst completing an artist residency at Whitewater Ski Resort. Her recent works aim to bridge the gap between two-dimensional art and the experimental use of various mediums and surfaces.

Deryn Collier has dreamed of writing mystery novels since reading her first Nancy Drew in the second grade. Her most recent work, A Real Somebody, is a novel of gentle suspense set in Montreal in 1947. She has written two previous novels, Confined Space, which was nominated for a Best First Novel award by the Crime Writers of Canada, and Open Secret.

Marcus Dénommé is a graphic artist and printmaker, hailing from Timiskaming first nations territory in Ontario, Canada. It was there at a young age that Dénommé began to explore stencil making, street art, and public artistic interventions of many kinds as a communication tool. During their studies at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Dénommé was introduced to the world of fine art printmaking and traditional bookmaking, which has dominated their art practice ever since. Over the past 10 years, Dénommé has been fortunate to have taught dozens of intensive printmaking classes for institutions such as La Ruche d’Art Montreal, Oxygen Art Centre Nelson, ECUAD Vancouver and California State University Fresno. They are endlessly passionate about book fairs and gallery shows, and have had the chance to both organize and participate in many. Dénommé now calls home to the traditional territories of the Sinixt and Ktunaxa nations, where they work as an editor for Veins & Arterys Publications and as studio technician at Afko.Sérigraphie Community Print Studio.

Emilie Leblanc Kromberg started her practice in the applied arts and has been a professional artist since 2010. Materials, their transformation and ancient techniques were aspects that ignited the spark that brought Emilie to work with metals, textiles and clay. Goldsmith by trade, she explored the subject of adornment by the making and selling of her jewellery in art shows across Canada. 

Since studying Fine Art in the Netherlands at the ArtEZ AKI Academy for Arts & Design, her work has expanded out of the 3-dimensional form to incorporate painting, photography, video and sound. Through the exploration of these new mediums in tandem to her initial disciplines she seeks to investigate the multi-faceted bonds between human and object.

Keiko Lee-Hem’s art practice allows her to slow down and slip into the present moment, escaping the busy-ness and distraction of the modern world and the digital life of her day job. Her practice allows her quality time noticing, savouring and recording the exquisite design and detail of her natural surroundings and helps her cope with sadness and anxiety caused by the passing of time, made evident by the waxing and waning of her garden and the growing up of her child on a changing planet. Keiko holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University, which formed the foundation for her work today as a freelance graphic designer. In recent years she returned to the tactile experience of drawing, paper cut and printmaking, partly as a way to escape the digital realm, but also as a means for savouring the seasonal beauty of her natural surroundings, and for arresting the passage of time.

Rayya Liebich (she/her) is a writer and educator of Lebanese and Polish descent. She is the author of the award-winning chapbook Tell Me Everything (Beret Day Press) and full-length poetry collection Min Hayati (Inanna Publications). Passionate about writing as a tool for transformation and changing the discourse on grief, she believes in the power of words to change minds and hearts and in the responsibility of artists to be truth tellers and to record poems as a testimony to history. A finalist in 7 CNF contests in the past two years including the CBC Nonfiction Prize, she is the 2022 winner of The International Amy MacRae Award for Memoir, and, The Federation Of BC Writers Literary Contest. 

www.rayyaliebich.com @rayliebich

Rose Nielsen is a poet, songwriter, and fiction writer and has published work online and in print journals such as CV2, Open Minds Quarterly, 3Elements, DoveTales/Writing for Peace, and in an anthology of Mississippi River poetry, Down to the Dark River. Rose is also a musician with two recordings of original music, and a physiotherapist. As well as a BSc, she has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC, and diplomas for Instructor of Adult Education, and in Mental Health and Addictions, and a diploma in Dream Work from Haden Institute in North Carolina. She is presently a doctoral candidate for Dream Work Guidance.

Myra Rasmussen is a community engaged artist, who focuses on the role of festivals and celebrations in bringing people together. Originally trained in sculpture, she graduated from Wesleyan University in 2004, where she was awarded a degree in studio arts with high honors.  Since 2009, she has been based in Nelson, British Columbia, where she is the artistic director of the Polka Dot Dragon Arts Society, which focuses on creating multidisciplinary events that link the arts, nature, and community.  In addition to her work with festivals, she also has extensive experience with lino and woodblock printmaking and is part of the ink + moon calendar collective.  She teaches in schools through the ArtStarts program and at the Oxygen Art Centre. 

Carolyn Wall is a singer-songwriter, founder of Vocal Alchemy, and plant medicine apprentice. Carolyn studied with mentors such as the Brothers Koren, Barclay McMillan (Voice Emergence program), whose work focused on connecting to the authentic voice and jazz singer Rhiannon’s improvisational singing.

As a singer-songwriter, Carolyn has written numerous medicine songs, performed at festivals, busked, and played in ceremonial settings, using her voice as a tool for healing and connection.

In 2022, Carolyn founded Vocal Alchemy to help people unlock their authentic voice. Through a blend of mindfulness, movement, improvisation, and singing, she guides individuals in rediscovering the transformative power of sound. Her offerings include individual sessions and group workshops. A compassionate and playful guide, Carolyn’s greatest joy is bringing peace and joy to those who embark on the journey with her. https://www.carolyncolibri.com/

Josh Wapp has been a professional cartoonist for over 25 years. He has worked for various print media, magazines, newspapers, ad art, and more recently a comic book, and is currently doing live caricature art, outside, during the warmer months in Nelson. He has taught numerous cartooning workshops for mostly children at Quilchena Elementary School in Vancouver, in Nelson at the former Ramsay’s Art Supplies, Oxygen Art Centre, and through the RDCK. Too see examples his work and for more info go to: www.joshwapp.ca