STAFF

Operational

A very nice portrait of Annette

Annette hegel

Director

Annette Hegel is a working multi-media artist who has exhibited her work in Canada and in Europe. Working out of her studio in downtown Ottawa, she is a founding member of Slipstream Collective, and collaborating with many artists across the city. She also has had a 30 year career in cultural marketing and communications, developing identities and successfully establishing brands in both the for profit and not for profit sectors. Before joining the SAW Video team, she produced and led implementation of targeted marketing and communication strategies for national organizations and international brands. She is a recipient of many awards, among them cultural brand of the year award.

A very nice portrait of Jenna

Jenna Spencer

Chief of Staff

Jenna Spencer is a musician and multidisciplinary artist hailing from Southern Ontario. She has performed across Ontario and Quebec with notable appearances at the National Art Centre’s, Ontario Scene Festival, Pop Montreal, City Folk and OXW. Jenna holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa in Indigenous Studies with a minor in Women’s Studies. She has dedicated most of her professional arts administration career to prominent not-for-profit organizations in Ottawa. Jenna sat on the board of Girls+ Rock Ottawa and during her time mentored many wonderful, aspiring young musicians. Jenna continues to ground both her professional career and artistic practice in activism, advocacy and community building within the Ottawa region.

A very nice portrait of Koliah

Koliah Bourne

Bookkeeper

Koliah Bourne is a partner and head of finance and sponsorships at SHIFTER. Prior to SHIFTER, she provided finance and administrative services in the television, live theatre and concert promotions industries and most recently worked as Assistant to the VP of Finance and Operations at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). She then set her sights on the music industry studying Artist Management at Michael Smith & Associates and in 2018 became a member of the board of directors at the Odyssey Theatre. Koliah is currently working towards her Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) at the University of Ottawa. Born and raised in Toronto, Koliah Bourne now resides in Ottawa with her husband and business partner, Kevin, and their three children.

Programming

A very nice portrait of Amin

Amin Alsaden

Curator and Educator

Amin Alsaden is a curator, scholar, and educator whose work focuses on transnational exchanges of ideas and expertise across cultural boundaries. His curatorial practice is committed to advancing social justice through the arts, and to the dissemination of inclusive narratives that expand existing canons and challenge hegemonic knowledge and power structures. He is particularly interested in how artists and architects ponder collective experiences in the public realm, level political and institutional critique, and envision novel spatial responses to questions of displacement, exile, and belonging. His research explores modern and contemporary art and architecture in the Global South, and often involves documenting endangered heritage and examining how precarious archives and scarce resources shape lopsided global narratives. He teaches at several institutions, and has published and lectured widely.

A very nice portrait of Marisa

Marisa Gallemit

KNOT AR Project coordinator

Marisa Gallemit is a Filipina-Canadian visual artist working on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. Through an ongoing exploration of found objects and their potential energy, Gallemit’s practice leans deeply into Buckminster Fuller’s query: “Now how do we make this spaceship work?”

A very nice portrait of Deirdre

Deirdre Morrison

Community Access & Education Manager

Deirdre Morrison is a sound artist, producer, and audio engineer who works with audio, video, and 3D environments. Deirdre has a background in Sound Design and Production, Music Industry Arts, and linguistics. Their current practice is focused on exploring the relationship between ecology and technology by combining field recordings, synthesis, and multi-channel audio techniques to create immersive digital settings. As a workshop instructor, Deirdre has developed and led courses for women-identifying, trans, and non-binary artists including immersive world-building, audio production, and live mixing techniques. Their credits include sound design and composition for features, short films, documentaries, and 360 video.

Communications

A very nice portrait of Gary

Gary Franks

Engagement and Mobilization Manager

Gary Franks is a photographer and media artist. He works in both analogue and digital mediums, always with the goal of allowing the moment and artist to have an equal say in the final product. Gary has performed at music festivals across Canada; has performed solo, improvised synthesis at the Modern Fuel Gallery in Kingston; and has composed algorithmic-based music for Studio 66 in Ottawa. In 2019, Gary Franks was the recipient of the Project X Photography fund; he was awarded “Best Analogue Photo” at SPAO’s A+ Exhibit; he was a finalist for the Figureworks Art Prize; and his polaroid portraits were included in the Montreal showing of Expolaroid’s international instant photography exhibition.

TECHNICAL

A very nice portrait of Christopher

Christopher Payne

Special Projects Manager

Christopher Payne works predominantly with sound, light, and video, as experiential tools. Payne completed his original artistic training in cinema at Concordia University in 2007 before completing his MFA at the University of Ottawa in 2013. His work and performances have been presented in Alberta, Quebec, Ontario, Poland, Belgium, and Mexico.

A very nice portrait of Dan

Daniel Kaunisviita

Technical Manager

Daniel Kaunisviita is a multidisciplinary artist from Ottawa (Algonquin Anishinaabeg traditional territory). With a passion for storytelling and new technology he has been fortunate to work in many mediums as an artist and freelance creative, from video and traditional design to online and live events. As a director, editor and sound editor his credits include music videos, commercials, web series, short films and documentary work for film and television.

A very nice portrait of Koliah

Mél Gosselin

Technical Coordinator

Mél Gosselin is a multimedia artist and musician from Ottawa. Their musical background is in classical piano as well as choral ensembles. More recently, they have delved into music composition and improvisation, which allows for an exploration of the unique sound quality of spaces. In pursuit of a future position as a recording engineer, they are currently completing their diploma in Music Industry Arts at Algonquin College.