I am a community organizer, artist, and facilitator living on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsliel-Waututh territories. I am the Artistic Director at Vines, and have grown with the festival since it’s beginning over the past seven years. I am so grateful to have been learning with the community of artists who percolate the work we do. I am committed to my responsibility to imagine and co-create nurturing creative spaces for artists. Outside of Vines I utilize my Somatic Education training from Tamalpa Institute to facilitate movement and expressive arts classes. In the past I have worked for Raven Spirit Dance, PuSh International Arts Festival, Dancing on the Edge and the Firehall. I love to garden at Harmony garden, X̱wemelch’stn pen̓em̓áy, hang out by a river and eat good food with community. I can sometimes be found performing in unexpected outdoor spaces with the collective Pressed Paradise.

My favourite plant: impossible to choose I love so many..… wild columbine or raspberries

Art piece that has impacted me: Ana Mendieta – Siluetas

Amanda Parafina is a performing arts stage manager, producer and administrator. She was born and raised on the stolen lands of the Kwantlen, Tsawwassen, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations to Filipino immigrants. With a BFA in Theatre Design & Production from UBC, Amanda finds gratitude in working with artists of all disciplines. She embodies this gratitude through intentional care and support along the process.

Originally from Treaty 4 Territory, Fanny moved to ‘Vancouver’, the ancestral and unceded Coast Salish territory including the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations amidst the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. Fanny, a social worker in Regina for 7 years, began to question the institution in which she was apart and re-discovered her creative passions as a means for healing in uncertain times, especially after the death of George Floyd. Fanny brings a unique, holistic and storyteller’s approach to being the Marketing Manager. Fanny has led various fundraising campaigns for the Shania Twain Children’s Foundation and Give Kids A Chance Charity, in addition to years of direct client care.

Fanny is an aspiring Screenwriter, Playwright, Poet; Multi-hyphenate on her way. She is the winner of The Harold Green Theatre Company Monologue Slam, shortlisted PEN Canada Emerging Writer and is on the Word Play Poet roster.  Fanny is an avid hiker, amateur boxer and advocate for creating greater representation of BIPOC folks in spaces where these folks are not typically seen.

Favourite Plant: Aloe Vera- it’s healing and I can keep it alive 🙂

Art that has impacted me: Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘Still I Rise’

Hello! This is Marcelo. I’ve been a settler on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories since 2012. I’m from Iztacalco, Mexico City. I joined Vines in 2019 and quickly took to putting time and thought into the way that we do accessibility. My work is grounded in my experiences of being casted out of multiple spaces because of my immigration status, trans experience, queerness and autism. I have experienced organizations whose accessibility efforts are performative and who refuse to take accountability. My focus as an “accessibility coordinator” is to make sure that we are reaching out to communities that have been systemically pushed away from witnessing and making art. You can email me at marcelo@vinesartfestival.com to ask questions, give me feedback, and make accessibility related requests.

My favourite plant: my peperomia rubella. It somehow has not died on me.

Most impactful art piece: Years ago I saw my now coworker Arash Khakpour break a watermelon with his fists and the memory has followed me since.

Hi, I’m Xavier. I came to ‘Vancouver’ otherwise known as the ancestral and unceded Coast Salish territory including the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations six years ago, from Treaty 6 territory in Alberta. I’m a theatre, dance and drag artist with a dense background in Musical Theatre holding a Diploma of Musical Theatre from Capilano University.

As a mixed race adoptee to a metis family I hold authenticity and intersectionality at the core of who I am and my work in the arts. I am passionate about self advocacy, and showcasing positive, dynamic stories told by BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+  voices all while doing my part in creating space for these stories to be told.

jaz is a mixed secwe̓pemc & scottish interdisciplinary artist who embodies anti-professionalism & anti-colonialism as a way to move toward a future where indigenous knowledge and ways of being are not only respected but valued & revered. using a range of materials, forms and mediums they work to investigate and express their lived experience and understanding of spirituality, resistance, ancestral connections, and community care.

jaz’s ancestry ties them to cstálen “adams lake” in unceded secwepemcúl’ecw in the southern interior of so-called “british columbia” where they had the privilege of being raised close with the lands and waters within their territories & beyond, and it informs their work expansively.

living predominantly on the west coast since 2017, the bulk of their work has bloomed within the traditional territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaʔ, xʷməθkwəy̓əm, and Stó:lō where they have been overwhelmed with the warmheartedness, & generosity of the host nations and allied communities

Ivan So is a multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, and educator who is currently working in Vancouver, BC. He has exhibited artwork at the Audain Gallery and created graphic art for Arts Club, Vancouver Playhouse, Gateway Theatre, and more. Ivan’s art practice focuses on mental health, empowering the marginalized, and environmental justice. As an educator, he is interested in integrating good pedagogy in his work and encouraging the use of art to deliver meaningful messages. Ivan So studied at Simon Fraser University and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He is currently studying Graphic Design and UX/UI design at British Columbia Institute of Technology.