Karen June Myskiw is an enthusiastic creative, practicing artist, designer, and educator. She has worked as a landscape designer and planner on urban planning, master planning, and residential design projects. As principal of JardinsDESIGNS, Karen has over 15 years of established design experience, JardinDESIGNS focuses on the seamless integration of indoor and outdoor living rooms to create an atmosphere of wellness. She also offers workshops and retreats on gardening, foods for sustenance, and artmaking. With Non-Profit organizations, she created gardens in schools, while teaching about healthy eating. Her local and international photography documents genus loci of the landscape, food, and art. Through her artistic practice, she explores Nature and abstract themes via watercolor, acrylics, or mixed media. As a member of Artists Rendering Tales Collective, Inc., her artistry finds the greatest expression in working communally on public art projects.
Kelly has a curiosity for spatial phenomena and ventured into art and architecture to explore the power of the physical environment on the individual and collective psyche. She holds a Bachelors of Architectural Studies from Carleton University and a Masters of Architecture from the University of British Columbia. She has participated in architectural and design exhibitions across Canada and abroad. Kelly is a registered architect in Vancouver with experience ranging from residential, mixed-use, cultural and municipal buildings with completed projects throughout the Lower Mainland. Beyond her work with IMAPON, Kelly's involvement in the Vancouver art community includes the creation and management of Grey Stone Studio an Artist run studio space, and participation in the Eastside Culture Crawl.
Laura Lee Coles is a researcher and multi-disciplinary artist whose interests include human, technology, nature interaction, and the re-visioning of public space. She is a published author and presents her research internationally. Papers are accessible through academia.edu. As an exhibiting artist, her practice consists of photography, video installation (interactive, contemplative and site-specific), and naturalist collage making, which includes participatory community-engaged projects. Laura holds a Master of Arts from the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University. She is an experienced producer of special events and a seasoned project manager, who functions as the Artistic Director of LocoMotoArt
Community organizer and food network coordinator. Bio: Founder and President of Village Vancouver Transition Society, Ross is recognized locally for extensive implementation of community-engaged workshops and projects. He is a former member at large of the Vancouver Food Policy Council and also chairs a VFPC working group.