This December Place des Arts and Coquitlam Heritage are hosting events that celebrate connections and culture in our community. Through storytelling, music and artistic endeavours, discover how we are entwined this holiday season. This year’s theme is collaboration. Place des Arts is collaborating with many artists, both emerging and professional, to create a festival of unique events that celebrate light during one of the darkest times of the year. Find out more about these incredible, talented artists below!
Meredith Bates
A talented improvisor and performer, award-winning violinist Meredith Bates is known for her elegant and virtuosic sound.
She has spent most of the past twenty years recording and performing around the world in celebrated ensembles, such as Pugs and Crows (JUNO winner 2013, WCMA 2016) and Gentle Party. She is a collaborator at heart and relishes any opportunity to join forces with other like-minded artists.
Meredith lives on the unceded Coast Salish territory. She is the artistic director of the Vancouver Improvised Arts Society (VIAS), a non-profit organization aimed at supporting the creation and presentation of improvised works by womxn, BIPOC, and LGBTQ2S+ artists.
Maki Yi
Maki is a theatre artist with a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Regina and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University. Her performance credits include Kim’s Convenience and God Said This (Pacific Theatre), Chicken Girl (Rice & Beans Theatre), and Seventeen (Western Gold Theatre). She also created Gramma and Suitcase Stories.
Michael Vairo
Born and raised in East Vancouver, Michael has been involved in the local arts scene as an actor, director and playwright for over forty years. Since graduating from Studio 58, he has been fortunate enough to work with and learn from, artists on both sides of the border.
Sofia Sanchez
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. My mother inspired me to pursue a career in the service of children. I studied Psychology with a focus on Developmental and Social Psychology at Simon Fraser University. Once my university studies were completed I moved on to a Graduate Certification in Expressive Arts Therapy from Langara College and I later pursued a Master of Arts in Expressive Arts Therapy from The European Graduate School in Saas Fee, Switzerland. I have worked for over 8 years in early childhood arts programming teaching visual arts.
I am passionate about celebrating diversity and empowering immigrant communities. I am active in the dance community, and you can find me teaching belly dance with World Dance Co and SFU Recreation, as well as performing Venezuelan traditional dances around Vancouver. I also enjoy painting and selling my art in local shops.
Christine Mackenzie
Christine Mackenzie of the Kwakiutl Nation is a First Nation Artist and Facilitator. Her mother was born in Bella Coola, BC, and is a part of the Eagle Clan. Her mother was a part of the Sixties Scoop and because of that Christine had a hard time finding her culture and identity, but through resilience and training, she found a way back to her Indigenous roots. Christine creates traditional/contemporary designs with multiple mediums.
Christine has been doing art all her life and has worked as a professional artist and facilitator since 2009. Mentored by Anastasia Henry (Haida elder, artist and facilitator) Christine helps others on their journey of self-identity, Indigenous culture, artwork, protocols, truth and reconciliation. Christine speaks only to her life experience to inform her teachings and supports others to facilitate empathy when working with or learning about Indigenous culture.
Suze Mercado
Suze Mercado is a client-focused art instructor and art therapist dedicated to providing anti-oppressive care. Suze uses her therapeutic understanding of play therapy and attachment theory and focuses on regulating the nervous system to ensure her students feel safe and supported. Suze is driven by a passion for the arts and a desire to share these powerful practices with her community.
Suze is originally from San Jose, California. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts at Colorado College, a Degree in Art Therapy at the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute and a Degree in Digital Art from Selkirk College in Nelson, BC. She moved to Vancouver in September 2023 to expand her creative network and build her art career.
Suze’s creative practice is multidisciplinary in traditional and digital mediums, such as figure drawing, painting, collage, tattoo art, video editing and animation.
Catherine Dumaine
Catherine Dumaine is a fibre artist living in Port Coquitlam, BC. She has been teaching in art centres and institutions around the Lower Mainland and in local schools since 2007.
Catherine’s work has been exhibited in shows locally including at Place des Arts, in the Port Moody Festival of the Arts and at Leigh Square Community Arts Village. She also served as the curator for the Craft Year 2007 exhibit Au Naturel.
Catherine has led community engagement workshops for Place des Arts, both at the centre and as a Place des Arts representative at external community events. Catherine continues to advance her skills through the multitude of fibre arts workshops she takes each year.
Kelsy Schumacher
Kelsy resides in Abbotsford, BC with her husband and their four kids. Kelsy has been sketching, painting and writing since she was very young. She turned to fibre art in 2019 as a new way of expressing herself. In 2023 upon moving back to BC from the prairies, Kelsy was recognized as a finalist for the Blu Sky Artist Award and has had her work accepted into several juried exhibitions. This past fall she was published in the September issue of ‘Artist Close Up’ Contemporary Art Magazine, as well as the curated ‘Studio Visit Book Vol. 2’ by the Arts to Hearts Project. kelsyreneestudio.com
Matthew Lo
My name is Matt Lo, and I love making things. Based in beautiful Richmond, BC, I turn sustainably sourced local wood into a wide variety of items that are both beautiful and useful.
Woodturning has a special place in my life, as both a connection to the earth and my friends and loved ones. Every piece is made with skills and techniques passed from one woodturner to the next. To turn is to share, and I would love to share the joy of our craft with everyone. You can find more about his work at @oakidokiwoodworks on Instagram.
Julie Epp
Julie Epp is a contemporary oil painter and sculptor who lives and works in Surrey, BC. Her colourful paintings offer a sense of peace and bliss, expressing the vibrancy of the ordinary but miraculous world that surrounds us. Julie is an award-winning artist and holds a BFA from the University of the Fraser Valley. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the Fraser Valley and Tri-Cities and she is a member of New West Artists and the Federation of Canadian Artists. Throughout her career she has explored a multitude of mediums and themes, finding her way to her vibrant depictions of the forgotten marvel that is our world.
The Chamber Ensemble
Under the direction of Noel McRobbie, this ensemble features Laila Wu on violin, Ava Graf on cello and Annie Kwok on piano. These performers rehearse and perform specially selected repertoire.
Noel McRobbie
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, pianist Noel McRobbie first received national attention after receiving top prize at the Eckhardt-Grammatté Piano Competition. In addition, he has received prizes at the CBC Début Concert Artist Series, Grand Konzerteum International Piano Competition, Seiler International Piano Competition and the University of Michigan Concerto Competition.
Noel’s solo performances include the Steinway Series at the University of South Florida, the Vancouver Chopin Society, the Eastport Arts Centre in Maine, the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, the Seoul Arts Centre and the Asian Composers League at Sejong Chamber Hall. His performances have been broadcast on CBC radio and he was featured in International Piano magazine and KBS television’s Classic Odyssey.
He received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory. Currently, he also teaches at the Vancouver Academy of Music, where he is on the college faculty.