Born in 1996 in Syria to a Kurdish family, Bîstyek is a visual artist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He rose from a refugee background to establish himself in the art world. Bîstyek’s work captures the raw complexity of life, focusing on personal narratives of displacement, resilience, and the refugee experience. His paintings are emotive reflections of his own journey and serve as a window into the lives of others who have experienced conflict and migration. With dramatic imagery and bold, saturated colors, his canvases act as a refuge from conventionality, blending portraiture with abstract elements to evoke powerful emotions. Through his distinctive style, Bîstyek portrays the multidimensional realities of being a refugee, offering a unique perspective that resists oversimplification and challenges the stereotypes often associated with displacement. Bîstyek has held solo exhibitions in Toronto and Winnipeg, and his work has been featured in several prominent newspapers, including The Free Press, Toronto Star, and CBC. He has also collaborated on projects and been the subject of a documentary called ‘’When I Go Outside’’ by Geordie Sabbagh.

Kim Thúy was born in Vietnam in 1968. At the age of 10 she left Vietnam along with a wave of refugees commonly referred to in the media as “the boat people” and settled with her family in Quebec, Canada. A graduate in translation and law, she has worked as a seamstress, interpreter, lawyer, and restaurant owner. The author has received many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2010, and was one of the top 4 finalists of the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2018. Her books have sold more than 850,000 copies around the world and have been translated into 31 languages and distributed across 43 countries and territories. Kim Thúy lives in Montreal where she devotes her time to writing.

Svitlana Radostieva is a Ukrainian artist with diverse experiences shaped by living in Ukraine, Jordan, and now Canada. Her journey across these places has deeply influenced her artistic perspective. Svitlana has found a sense of familiarity and connection in St. John’s, which reminds her of her hometown, Vinnytsia, in Ukraine. With the ongoing war in Ukraine weighing heavily — art serves as her way of processing these complex emotions and provides a space for reflection.

Randell Adjei is an entrepreneur, speaker and spoken word practitioner who uses his gifts to Empower the message of Alchemy. He was recently appointed Ontario’s first Poet Laureate. Randell, is the founder of one of Toronto’s largest youth led initiatives; Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere (R.I.S.E Edutainment). In 2018, R.I.S.E received the Toronto Arts Foundation’s, Mayor’s Youth Arts Award. Randell is the author of “I am Not my struggles,” a powerful Anthology released in 2018. Randell was also named CBC’s Metro Morning’s Torontonian of the Year in 2015 and NOW Magazines Local Hero in May 2017. In 2020 Randell opened up for President Barack Obama at the Economic Club of Canada.

Born in Nigeria from a Lebanese father and a Palestinian mother, Rana is a Human Rights activist who works towards social justice. Due to dispossession and many wars, she has traveled extensively and settled in Canada where she got a Bachelor degree in communications. She has worked both for private and public sectors in various fields such as journalism, finance, event planning, contributions and education. After 15 years with the federal government and 20 years of owning her own business, Rana has chosen a path that enables her to amplify the voice of her people in the Middle-East. Since 2022 she has become the Executive director of Canadian friends of Sabeel. Rana is also a wife and mother to twin 18-year-old boys and a 7-year-old girl. Her family is always her priority as she educates her children to be strong pillars of our society and the future voice of her people.

Jeff Dillon is a Canadian fine artist based in Waterloo, Ontario. From a young age, he developed a deep connection with nature, spending countless hours exploring the fields, forests, and skies of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario. Influenced by the Post-Impressionist tradition, particularly the work of Canadian artist Lawren Harris and Vincent van Gogh, Jeff’s paintings are known for their dynamic use of color, light, and form. His distinctive style captures the essence of the natural world with energy and fluidity, imbuing each piece with life.

Today, Jeff continues to draw inspiration from the landscapes he fell in love with as a child, dedicating his time to creating art that brings the beauty and tranquility of nature indoors. His work is celebrated both in Canada and internationally for its unique blend of color, gesture, and emotion.

Leila Shifteh is a documentary filmmaker, visual artist, and refugee protection lawyer who merges fine arts and advocacy in her work. Drawing on extensive experience in forced migration and human rights—collaborating with organizations such as UNHCR and WITNESS—she weaves her expertise into emotionally impactful storytelling as a Filmmaker.

Harun Yasin Tuna is a Turkish documentary filmmaker and visual artist with a focus on women’s and children’s rights, climate and migration-related issues. He has worked on film and visual art projects for 20 years around the world. The artist duo’s work has screened twice at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Montreal’s McCord Museum, Surrey Art Gallery, San Diego’s Institute for Peace and Justice, and at several film festivals around the world.

Since Ahmed Moneka arrived in Toronto from Baghdad, Iraq, he has contributed to Canada’s cultural landscape as a performing artist in music, theatre, and film. Ahmed has collaborated with numerous prominent organizations, including the Canadian Opera Company, Sunfest, Lula World, Mundial Montreal, Small World, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Kroner Hall, the Aga Khan Museum, and Tafelmusik. He is also a co-founder of Moskitto Bar and the creator and leader of Moneka Arabic Jazz, a project that merges Arabic musical traditions with jazz. In recognition of his musical talent and artistic vision, Ahmed was named a finalist for the Stingray Rising Stars at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival in 2019 and went on to win the prestigious award at Mundial Montreal in 2022. Ahmed continues to shape and contribute to Toronto’s multicultural arts scene, offering a unique blend of tradition and innovation in his performances.

Tolo Bismarck SANON is a writer, poet, and cultural advocate originally from Burkina Faso. He is the author of “Comme une termitière…” a novel published by Helloéditions, Paris, in 2023, which explores themes of solidarity, tolerance, cultural diversity, selflessness, and the refusal to surrender. Tolo’s own journey of migration between Burkina Faso, France, and Canada has profoundly shaped his creative work. With a background in Modern Literature from France, he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Intercultural Mediation at the University of Sherbrooke. His experiences as a migrant and his engagement with global issues such as migration flows, intercultural relations, and peacebuilding have deeply influenced his artistic and literary practices.

Eleni Bakopoulos is a first-generation Canadian of Greek descent, born to parents who immigrated to Canada in search of a better life. Their challenging journey has deeply influenced her perspective and artistic practice. With 25 years of experience as a photographer, painter, and author, Eleni has established herself as a skilled and multi-disciplinary artist. She has a steady history of achievement in the arts, including an international Discovery Award nomination at Les Rencontres d’Arles Photography Festival in France and a Silver Medal in photography for Canada at the 5th Francophone Games in Niger. For the past six years, her art has focused on the challenges and resilience of displaced people. Her photographs and paintings have been featured in several exhibitions, including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Olympic Winter Games Cultural centre in Turin, Italy, and the Rosella Junck Gallery, Berlin. Through her work, she seeks to use her creative practice as a tool for connection, empathy, and advocacy.

As an exiled artist, Hardiel Vilchez is finding a creative space in Montreal to express his art and voice. Through his music, he aims to inspire reflection and encourage critical thinking about the realities we face, with a desire to spark change. Passionate about using his music as a tool for social commentary, Hardiel is committed to contributing to Montreal’s diverse cultural landscape.

Zehra Naqvi is a Karachi-born writer who grew up on Coast Salish territories. She is the author of The Knot of My Tongue: Poems and Prose (McClelland & Stewart) and a recipient of the Bronwen Wallace Award for Poetry awarded by the Writers’ Trust of Canada. Zehra holds degrees in migration studies and social anthropology from Oxford University where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Since the 1947 Partition of the Indian subcontinent, each generation of Zehra’s family has migrated to a new country. Consequently, her work often engages with issues related to migration, displacement, colonial violence, borders, and belonging.

Lanna Check is a visual artist and former refugee whose work is shaped by her experiences of displacement and identity. Separated from her parents at a young age, she arrived in a new country with only her older sister, facing the challenges of isolation, especially during the pandemic. Living with her sister deepened her connection to their cultural roots, offering a sense of home and belonging.

Through her interactions with other refugees, Lanna recognized a shared feeling of disconnection from one’s identity, as well as the resilience that emerges from holding onto hope. Her art explores themes of identity, belonging, and the emotional journey of rebuilding life in a foreign land, aiming to capture the strength and perseverance that keep people moving forward despite adversity.

Camilo Arias is a Colombian-born artist whose work reflects the profound impact of displacement and resilience of the human spirit. Having experienced displacement firsthand, Camilo understands the deep emotional and psychological toll of losing one’s home, identity, and sense of belonging. Through his art, Camilo creates visual narratives that speak to the emotional complexity of displacement—highlighting both its pain and its transformative power.

Omar Sachedina is Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV NATIONAL NEWS, leading Canada’s most-watched national newscast, as well as features and live specials, covering significant breaking news stories across the country and around the world.

For his outstanding coverage, Sachedina has been recognized with multiple nominations for Best National News Reporter at the Canadian Screen Awards. He has also received multiple RTDNA Awards, most recently for the documentary special “Expelled: My Roots Uganda,” in which Sachedina chronicled his mother’s emotional return to her homeland, 50 years after she was expelled along with tens of thousands of others, as well as a feature exploring the roots of Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General. Sachedina was also recognized by the Canadian Association of Journalists with a nomination for a Daily Excellence award.

Born in Vancouver to parents of Indian descent from Uganda, Sachedina holds a degree in Political Science from McGill University, a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University, and is a graduate of The Poynter Institute. Sachedina speaks English, French, Gujarati, and Kutchi.

Cěsart Celedôn is an artist whose work explores the deep connections between the subconscious, nature, and the human experience. Celedôn’s art reflects the interplay of past nightmares, present challenges, and future hopes.

Since relocating to Canada, Celedôn has continued to teach and conduct art workshops. They participated in an exhibition with an LGBTQ+ organization, where their work amplified the voices of marginalized communities. Currently, they is working on a series inspired by the LGBTQ+ community and the struggles for freedom and rights faced by migrants today. Through art, Celedôn strives to raise awareness, foster dialogue, and celebrate resilience in both the human spirit and the natural world.

Hamid Amiri is an Afghan-Canadian artist who works in painting. He currently lives in Montreal, Quebec. Hamid’s artworks explore current affairs, personal histories, and cultural knowledge through the exploration of the effects of war, displacement, and invasions on individuals and communities.

In 1986, Amiri was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. When the Taliban took over Kabul in 1996, he and his family left when he was ten years old. Amiri spent several years as a refugee in Pakistan and Tajikistan. Amiri became passionate about painting and studied both painting and art history. He attended Olimov College of Art in 2001 after graduating from Samanian High School in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. His first exhibition was a collection of landscape and portrait paintings displayed at the United Nations (UNHCR) art competition.

More recently, Amiri won the award from the Elizabeth Greenshields foundation where he completed a series of paintings as a part of his new series entitled ” Lost Land.” The series explores his childhood memories of growing up in Afghanistan and the diaspora.

Polina Iudina is an award-winning videographer, specializing in documentary-style filmmaking that captures authentic, emotional moments. Her approach is rooted in the belief that the most powerful stories are real, not staged. As an immigrant herself, she connects deeply with the challenges of displacement and rebuilding, which drives her commitment to sharing the stories of those navigating these journeys.

Born in a country marked by instability, Gloria Uwamahirwe was forced to move frequently during her childhood, never having the opportunity to establish deep roots or call any place home. Her work explores the complex and often conflicting experience of identity, displacement, and belonging.

J. Carolina Gajardo is a self-taught visual artist and former refugee from Chile. With over thirty years of experience in the settlement and social services sector, Carolina dedicated much of her career to supporting refugees and immigrants. Through her visual art, Carolina continues to champion the healing power of creativity while remaining deeply connected to her roots in refugee advocacy and social service. She has donated artwork to the FCJ Refugee Centre (2024) and INDH (2023), exhibited at Artusiasm Gallery (2018), designed covers for “Quillagua” (2023), and created a concert poster for the Association of Disappeared Relatives in Chile (2023).

Harem Tahir is a Kurdish artist whose life and work have been shaped by the profound experiences of war, displacement, and resilience. Born in Halabja, Kurdistan, during the devastating 1988 Iraq bombing that claimed over 5,000 lives, Harem’s early years were marked by the horrors of conflict and the harsh realities of life in refugee camps. Despite these challenges, art became his refuge and a means of coping, offering solace not only to himself but also to those around him. Currently residing in British Columbia, Harem continues to create art that bridges cultural divides and speaks to the shared human experience of struggle, survival, and hope.