Six young adult artists who have been in residency at Coquitlam’s Art Gallery at Evergreen since May will exhibit their works-in-progress later this month.
The participants of the fourth Emerging Creators Incubator will host a pop-up showcase on Thursday, July 25 at 6 p.m. at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way), displaying themes of identity, empowerment and social responsibility.
Designed for artists ages 18 to 30 who live in the Lower Mainland, this year’s Incubator offered workshops and talks with professional artists Derek Chan and Krystal Paraboo.
Here’s who is in the 2024 Incubator:
- Chisom Akomas
- a Nigerian actor and musician who moved to Coquitlam at the age of seven. He graduated from the Film Acting Conservatory at New Image College in 2021 and has been cast in short films and a feature film.
- Izzy Bull Bear
- Bear (pronouns they/them) is originally from Mohkinstsis Calgary, Alberta, and belongs to the Siksika Nation of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy). They came to the Lower Mainland five years ago to study theatre.
- Yasmine Haiboub
- an artist who focuses on community engagement and sculptural works. Her main interest is exploring self-awareness, care, hospitality and play.
- Julian Legere
- a bisexual and genderqueer who is involved with contemporary queer performance in theatre, poetry, dance, drag, kink and burlesque.
- Sybil Xiaoyun Shen
- a Chinese–Canadian interdisciplinary artist, writer and performer who grew up in Port Moody after immigrating to Canada. Her works focus on the materiality of mental activities and the fragmentation of narrative structures.
- Kelsey Steeves
- a mixed-media artist and art educator who works with painting, assemblage, installation and writing to investigate the relationships between intergenerational trauma and structural socioeconomic inequalities.
Their residencies end on Aug. 1, 2024.
The Art Gallery at Evergreen is open on Wednesdays and weekends from noon to 5 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 6 p.m.
