Jessica Kirk  (She/Her)

Executive Director

Jessica Kirk is a community organizer and cultural curator based in Toronto, whose creative practice is rooted in racial justice and community care. Jessica is the Executive Director at Wildseed Centre for Art & Activism, an artist-run centre that serves as fertile ground for Black creativity and organizing in the city. During her previous time at the Writers’ Union of Canada, she initiated BIPOC Writers Connect, a literary mentorship program for emerging Black, Indigenous and racialized writers. She is also co-founder of multidisciplinary collective Way Past Kennedy Road. Jess is a recent MA thesis graduate in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto (OISE). Her writing has appeared in The Canadian Geographer, Cartographies of Blackness and Black Indigeneities, and This Magazine.
Photo Credit: Angelyn Francis.

Imani Busby  (She/Her)

Communications Coordinator

Imani Busby is an ambitious and multifaceted curator, visual artist, and entrepreneur. She is passionate about arts equity and aims to explore the ways in which the industry can be sustainable for Black artists and creatives.

She aims to use her curatorial and entrepreneurial skills to create engaging, interactive, and community-filled spaces that amplify emerging and mid-career artists. Through the creation of public art, exhibition pop-ups, and print publications, Imani aims to increase access to the arts for all communities. Additionally, through workshops and accessible resources, she aims to provide artists with business, legal, and professional development opportunities.

With roots in creativity and entrepreneurship, Imani is passionate about the art and fashion industries, representation, and community building.
Photo Credits: Vonny Lorde

Arinola Olowoporoku  (She/Her)

Coordinator of Artistic Programming

Arinola Olowoporoku or ‘Arin’ is a multi hyphenate cultural producer, art curator and a creative director. With a decade of learning and working in the field, Arin has robust strong expertise in creating and developing programs dedicated to the promotion of contemporary arts and culture on multiple continents with notable results in arts advocacy, public programming and artist discovery.

Arin has conceptualized and produced a myriad of festivals, live events, music concerts, installations, exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, performances, workshops, fundraisers and competitions in Africa, Europe and North America with experience curating, programming and positioning works from a diverse range of artists using various media such as music, visual arts, mixed media, dance, sculpture, film, poetry and more. Previously, she worked as lead programmer and resident project development manager for the Nigeria Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, to name a few she lead and curated projects at Harbourfront Centre, +234Art Fair, 1:54 Contemporary, DesignTO, Horniman Museums, African Artists Foundation, LagosPhoto Festival, Art Summit Nigeria, Sterling Bank RecyclArt, National Art Competition and eight editions of iDesign Art, a noteworthy quarterly art fair.

In her work in the arts, she is committed to archival research, arts education & advocacy, collaborative development, and institutional programming that places arts and artists of African and diasporic descent in the forefront.
Her keenness for self-evolution has seen her participate in two prominent social experiments and living up to her multi-disciplinary nature, Arin is the creative director of two fashion start-ups and a film school graduate. Arinola’s work has received notable acclaim with a plethora of media interviews and press conferences carried out through her career. Arinola holds an MSc. in Fashion Business Management from Robert Gordon University. She currently lives in Toronto and works anywhere her mind carries her.

Venessa Harris  (She/Her)

Administrative Associate

Venessa Harris is a writer, creative, and arts management professional living and working in Toronto. Venessa has been involved with various membership-based arts organizations, in which she’s worked to uplift voices of marginalized artists, authors, illustrators, performers, filmmakers, and content creators. She has been working in the not-for-profit and charitable sector for over a decade, including positions at the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario, among others. She is the producer of the Canadian Screen Award winning short film PICK (dir. Alicia K. Harris), which follows a young girl who wears her afro to school on picture day and must deal with the unexpected consequences.

Shorna James  (She/Her)

Finance Director

Shorna James has worked in the Charitable Non-Profit Sector in a Financial Management role since 2004. Shorna earned a diploma in Accountancy – Business studies from Humber College in 1996 and has pursued studies through the Chartered Professional Accountants – Toronto and through York University Bachelor degree program over the years.

She has worked in the Gender-based Violence, Mental Health, Addiction and Religious sectors, and with a Foundation that deals specifically with supporting Indigenous communities on Turtle Island by addressing environmental issues.

Danielle Gilmore  (She/Her)

Operations Manager

Danielle Gilmore is a Wellness Activist, Educator and Mindfulness Practitioner who believes in the healing powers of collective care. Her commitment to promoting wellness in communities who are oftentimes overlooked has allowed her to travel across the US and Canada presenting workshops on empathetic leadership, developing mindfulness practices and promoting holistic wellness.