The Bi+ Arts Festival is an all volunteer group of visual and performing artists, authors and community activists. We produce an annual arts festival every September, and offer community programming throughout the year.
Bios
Catherine Jones – Founder – Catherine is a Toronto-based photographer and collage artist. In addition to collage, she makes short animated films about bisexuality, surviving trauma, and chronic illness. She is devoted to building bi+ community through the arts. Notable projects include a collection of wearable art for “Mad Couture” at the Art Gallery of Ontario (2012) and FAT Arts & Fashion Week (2013), and a retelling of The Red Shoes for “Beneath the Surface,” a virtual exhibit for TTC commuters. She has exhibited in Toronto, Hungary, Ireland and New York City. website
Dorianne Emmerton – Curator, Author Showcase – Dorianne grew up in the woods on the North Channel of Lake Huron and currently lives in the metropolis of Toronto. She loves both of those environments, but wishes the drive between them didn’t take so long. Two of her short stories will be featured in the upcoming 2018 anthologies Ink Stains and Tesseracts Twenty-One, and previous work has been included in the anthology Friend. Follow. Text #storiesFromLivingOnline; and Issue #1 of Beer And Butter Tarts, as well as a personal essay in A Family By Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships. She is currently working on a space opera novella in collaboration with Ottawa band Saturnfly, and a novel about occult magic in Northern Ontario. She has a wonderful chosen family, an adorable son, and a black cat. twitter
Bianca Boom Boom – Curator, Cabaret – the Triple B with the Double D’s and a High C – is a multidisciplinary striptease sensation. This effervescent beauty has delighted audiences from coast to coast with her signature blend of wit, sass, charm and dazzling vocals. She is a published pinup, an award winning chanteuse and has been featured in major burlesque festivals and queer events across North America. insta
FORMER COLLECTIVE MEMBERS
Kat Pruss – CRUSH [2017, 2018, 2019] – Kat was the designer and editor of CRUSH zine from 2017 to 2019. You can find her drawings at katpruss.com. She recently completed a residency with the Feminist Art Collective at Artscape, Gibraltor Point. Kat lives on the west-end of Toronto and is a proud aunt and cat-momma. She grew up in small-town southern Ontario. Her work explores themes of self and sexuality in a narrative context. She studied Visual Art at University of Toronto and Design at Seneca College. Her most recent book was published by Steel Bananas, (Vancouver, Leeds), with funding from The Canada Council for the Arts. website
Amanda Amour-Lynx – Curator, Shapeshifters [2O19] – Amanda Amour-Lynx is a Mi’kmaq First Nations interdisciplinary artist, curator, social worker and educator living in Toronto, Ontario, on Dish with One Spoon treaty territory. She was born and grew up in Tiotia:ke (Montreal). She recently completed a BFA at OCAD University studying Drawing and Painting, minoring in Indigenous Visual Culture. Her work combines art and activism, focusing on Indigenous storywork and community-based approaches to explore healing trauma and collective truths. She incorporates spirituality, the occult and mysticism into her personal practice.
Laura Innis – Curator, Art & Craft Fair [2019] – Laura is a queer enby artist who handmakes one of a kind wearable works of art. Their work incorporates semi-precious gemstones, recycled glass and (her own) hand-twisted wire beads. One area of Laura’s designs emphasize colourways that represent the diversity of rainbow communities, with a particular focus on those who wish to wear colours that represent them, but in an understated way. insta
Never Poplar – Curator, Art & Craft Fair [2019] – Geek Pride Canada is the latest creative endeavour from artisan Never Poplar. Combining their identities of both Queer and Geek, they have created a line of wares that express their love for all things nerdy. They make LGBTQ+ Pride jewelry, as well as geeky accessories and small housewares. web
Stephen Harvey – Curator, Art & Craft Fair [2019], Zoom Tech Support [2020] – Stephen Harvey is a longtime member of Toronto’s bisexual community, where he has organized and facilitated numerous events since 1990. He has been one of the organizers of the Bi Arts Festival since its beginning, and was a co-coordinator of the 9th International Conference on Bisexuality, held at Ryerson in 2006, He is the curator of Bi Beats, an ever-expanding playlist of bi/pan/fluid music on Spotify. insta