Artist in Residence

Ellie Anglin is a multimedia artist working in collage, illustration, animation and graphic design, as well as a writer of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. As the artist for the 2024 creative publication residency, Ellie wrote and created “Ribbon”, a collaborative zine featuring her own work as well as work by other local artists and writers. The zine responds to the Grand River watershed, reflecting on themes around our surrounding rivers, creeks and streams as well as the metaphoric meaning of “watershed.

Visit Ellie's website

Pick up a free copy of Ribbon

Pick up your free copy of Ribbon Zine at locations throughout the region. Created by our 2024 Artist in Residence, Ellie Anglin, this collaborative zine reflects on the spiritual, political and cultural dimensions of water in Kitchener, featuring Ellie's own work as well as 36 other local artists and writers. Each page is packed with writing, photos, illustrations and even more! Pick up a free copy at:

• Kitchener City Hall (200 King St. W., Kitchener)
• Ellie's website
• Kitchener Public Library locations
  • Main Library (85 Queen St. N., Kitchener)
  • Country Hills (1500 Block Line Rd., Kitchener)
  • Forest Heights (251 Fischer-Hallman Rd., Kitchener)
  • Grand River Stanley Park (175 Indian Rd., Kitchener)
  • Pioneer Park (150 Pioneer Dr., Kitchener)
  • Southwest Library (100 Rosenberg Way, Kitchener)
• Jane Bond (5 Princess St. W., Waterloo)
• The Princess Cafe (46 King St. N., Waterloo)
• Whoopsie Daisy (1 Victoria St. S., Unit1, Kitchener)
• Marlowe Grooming & General Store (74 King St. W., Kitchener)
• Willow River Centre (until the end of July, 243 King St. E., Kitchener)
• The Yeti (14 Eby St. N., Kitchener)
• Full Circle Foods (16 King St. E., Kitchener)

Bangishimo is an IndigiQueer Anishinaabe originally from Couchiching First Nations located on Treaty #3 territory. They are a photographer and a community organizer and advocate for the inclusion of Black, Indigenous, and racialized voices. During their residency Bangishimo developed a series of portraits of community members, connecting to seven traditional medicines: birchbark, cedar, sage, strawberries, sweetgrass, sunflowers, and tobacco. The artist disrupted colonial lineages, inscribing Black and Indigenous futurities into public memory, and emphasizing relationships to the land. The city partnered with Textile Magazine to offer additional mentorship opportunities for the artist. Working alongside Textile, and the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Bangishimo presented the final exhibition of the residency, The Medicines We Carry, at the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery in 2024.

Visit Bangishimo's Instagram page

Behnaz Fatemi is a visual artist who explores various media including painting, drawing, installation, and sculpture. Her residency start coincided with the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, necessitating different responses to the fluctuating restrictions. Behnaz led The Pegman Project – named after the small icon on Google Maps. She facilitated virtual and small group activities where participants used clay to explore its healing properties. With help from the community, the artist attempted to answer the question of how cultural background, past experiences, and social values can shape people’s views towards immigrants and refugees.

Visit Behnaz's website

Mary Neil is a community musician: she creates opportunities for people to come together and make music in a process called participatory music making. For the residency, Mary engaged communities by hosting workshops and participatory concerts at various sites. Participants used recycled materials to build instruments, co-creating musical compositions that reflected the community represented. She compiled the compositions to release an album entitled: Songs of Kitchener.

Sumaira Tazeen is a visual artist, educator, and curator of Pakistani origin. During her residency, entitled Healing and Surviving: Sabz Bagh (The grass is greener), her work focused on engaging immigrant women of colour living in Waterloo region, to share in a communal collaboration to tell stories of common experiences. The resulting community tapestry is in the city’s public art collection and can be seen at Victoria Hills Community Centre.

Website