Each year, we invite a local artist, or an artist with a connection to our Region, to share their practice with our community as our artist in residence.
On this page:
- About the artist in residence program
- Current artist in residence
- Past artists in residence
- Call for proposals
- Newsletter
About the artist in residence program
Our artist in residence program advocates for and supports artistic innovation and excellence in various disciplines of contemporary art.
Through this program, we aim to facilitate and develop meaningful relationships between the community and the artist. Artists may take non-traditional routes to develop their careers, and as such, we want to support local artists with diverse cultural backgrounds, lived experiences and practices.
Current artist in residence
Ellie Anglin is the City of Kitchener’s 2024 Artist in Residence. Ellie is a multimedia artist working in collage, illustration, animation and graphic design, as well as a writer of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. She has self-published 30 zines combining visual art and text; created pieces of public art displayed across Waterloo Region, Ottawa and Toronto; and contributed to many visual art and literary publications.
As the artist for our 2024 creative publication residency, Ellie will create “Ribbon”, a collaborative zine featuring her own work as well as work by other local artists and writers. The zine will respond to the Grand River watershed, including reflecting on themes around our surrounding rivers, creeks and streams as well as the metaphoric meaning of “watershed”, the surrealism of nature and the fluidity of being.
Ellie is passionate about community-building. Throughout the months of her residency, she has met and consulted with community leaders to reflect on the Grand River watershed. She hosted a page creation workshop with local creators to include in the final publication of the “Ribbon” zine. Learn more about Ellie’s work on her website and check the schedule below for upcoming activities.
Upcoming activities
Page Embellishment Drop-in
Join Ellie at the Inter Arts Matrix space at Globe Studios to add your personal touch to some of the zine copies.
date: Sunday, April 27, 2025
time: 1 to 3 p.m.
location: Globe Studios, 141 Whitney Place, Kitchener
cost: free
Registration is not required. Space is limited so spots will be available on a first come, first served basis.
Zines: Then and Now, Wilfrid Laurier University
Ellie will share information about the origins of zines as a tool of self-expression, community-building and resistance. She will examine zines more broadly from a pop culture perspective, tying this history back to her residency project.
date: Wednesday, May 7, 2025
time: 2 p.m.
location: online through Wilfrid Laurier University
cost: free
Learn more and register to attend on Wilfrid Laurier University's event page.
Zine launch party
Celebrate with Ellie as she unveils "Ribbon" to the community!
date: May 2025
Subscribe to this page to be notified when we add more information on the time and location of this event.
Past artists in residence
Learn about our recent artists in residence below:
| Bangishimo (2022-2023) |
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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. |
| Behnaz Fatemi (2020) |
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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. |
| Mary Abdel-Malek Neil (2019) |
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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 (2018) |
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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. |
| Julie Sperling (2017) |
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Julie Sperling is a mosaic artist working at the intersection of art, environment, science and policy. During her residency, entitled Climate in Pieces: From Art to Action, she worked with participants to create four mosaics focused on energy, transportation, food, and natural stormwater management. Community engagement consisted of partnering with environmental organizations to engage and connect with residents at festivals, events, and workshops. The four mosaic panels that are part of the city’s public art collection can be seen at the Kitchener Market. |
Call for proposals
Visit our Artist in Residence call for proposals page to learn about the proposal process.
Newsletter
For updates on all City of Kitchener arts programming and what’s happening in our community sign up to receive the Kitchener Arts newsletter.