LEAD ARTIST

Heather Poechman (They/She) is a artist, arts educator, and the Lead Artist for Sounding Board: A Community Conversation. Through their company, RubiArt, Heather designs community-building workshops, often partnering with organizations who have an eye towards social justice. You can find more information about Heather online at www.rubiartist.com or on social media @RubiArtist

MUSICIAN/SINGER/SONGWRITER @ubuskills

Megan Hamilton has toured from Newfoundland to BC and into the United States. Career highlights include opening for My Morning Jacket, Pink Mountaintops, and Jim Bryson. She’s graced several Canadian festivals including: Wolfe Island Music Festival, NXNE, Skeleton Park Music and Arts Festival, Mudtown Music and Arts Festival, Ciderfest and Back to the Farm. She has 5 releases including the critically acclaimed See Your Midnight Breath in the Shipyard, and 40 Warm Streams to Lead Your Wings.

PHOTOGRAPHER @sandboxphotovideo

David began a re-exploration of his hometown of Kingston in the spring of 2020; taking his first steps into a practice of documentary photography on film. He was developing an understanding of the analog medium while revisiting a childhood love for the uniquely varied architecture in this city. At first his work was distinctly about less-seen, lived-in spaces clearly touched by human development or activity, but devoid of a human subject in the frame. After a while he began exploring other styles of street photography and reintroducing people into the frame. Day and night, you'll probably find him somewhere in the city exploring with a camera in hand!

POET

Sofie is a poet and an academic philosopher based in Kingston, Ontario. Her poetry brings together diverse influences such as hyperpop music, radical feminist theory, trans poetics, and experimental/visual/digital forms of writing to create pieces that are loud, layered, and provocative. In addition to Sounding Board, current works in progress include Starfish Constellations, a collaboration that brings together abstract art and surreal ekphrastic poetry, and several poems exploring labour, anarchism, and trans identity to be featured in Aqtion Arqhive. Her academic work sits at the intersection of philosophy of Artificial Intelligence and aesthetics, addressing questions concerning poetics, creativity, and authorship in the case of AI-generated art.

PHOTOGRAPHER @amin.pourbarghi

Amin Pourbarghi is an emerging director and screenwriter; born in Hamadan, Iran. He became interested in cinema with his first presence in a short film when he was 9 years old. At the age of 16, he graduated from the Iranian Youth Cinema Association and received his bachelor’s degree in Cinema, from Soureh University in Iran. In 2015, he studied master of Cinema Directing at Vienna University. During these years he directed a number of short films and documentaries, which some won awards in various festivals. He also had 3 photography exhibits in Tehran, Mashhad, and Vienna, as well as writing, editing, and occasionally teaching experience.

PHOTOGRAPHER @amandaboutilierart

Amanda Boutilier is an emerging, self-taught artist and photographer living in the Kingston area. During the pandemic, Amanda began experimenting with both photography and painting. When behind the lens, she enjoys capturing intimate moments and unique perspectives of her everyday life. Subject matters such as family, community and nature inspire her photos. Amanda's collective artwork displays strong balance and composition mixed with a sense of familiarity and tenderness.

PHOTOGRAPHER @lou._ouo

Luis Vega is a Colombian photographer and graphic designer based in Kingston, Ontario. A student and lover of colourful spaces and storytelling, and passionate about anything art related. He seeks to evoke emotions from images and design while keeping up with the trends.

POET @brushcamel

From Shangamitra:
"I am Shangamitra Chakraborty, a MA student at Queen's University. I have been involved with art and poetry since my adolescent years, drawing particular emphasis on genres of freedom, love, essence of childhood. Coming from India, this opportunity with Sounding Board has given me the pleasure to connect with the people here and know more about the culture. I extend my sincere gratitude to Heather for organising this event!"

POET @emilywright721

Emily Wright is a Kingston-based artist who writes poetry, novels, and screenplays. She has a degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Throughout University, she published poems in the University of Guelph’s Undergraduate Feminist Journal, Footnotes, and the Undergraduate Literary and Arts Magazine, Kaleidoscope. In her work, she explores themes of womanhood, anti-oppression, and the nature of true freedom. She is still in the early stages of her career and is excited to continue writing in many different mediums.

JUROR

Maddi is an artist and arts educator based in Katarokwi-Kingston. Currently, Maddi works at Kingston School of Art as General Manager, where she seeks to create opportunities for community exchange, accessible arts education, and collective wellness.

JUROR

Zakary-Georges is a francophone, non-binary, transfeminine, and Cree individual. Originally from Québec, Zakary now resides in Katarokwi, traditional homeland of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat, colonially known as Kingston, ON.
As a collage and digital artist, organizer, volunteer, and educator, Zakary dedicates her work to the queer and trans communities in a linguistic minority setting. They aim to create conversations about the wellbeing of gender, sexual, and culturally diverse people in hope of building and supporting resilient communities.

JUROR

Zoha Khalid is a Kingston based career development and communication professional. Author of Rhyming Life; a poetry collection. Zoha is also currently serving as a Board Member at Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning. From Zoha, “I am passionate about creativity in everything I do, love Kingston with everything I am and try to do my best to amplify message of hope in the community."