Author: Michelle Ha

  • Call for Members: Board of Directors

    Future Arts Network is looking for members to join our Board of Directors. Board Members are volunteer positions. We are seeking peers who share our progressive values and dream of a world run by intersectional feminism in the arts and rooted in social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

    Future Arts’ goals are to:

    • Develop women of colour and marginalized genders of BIPOC leaders in the arts through leadership and mentorship programs.
    • Support, engage, and promote women of colour and marginalized genders of BIPOC in the arts through programming, education, and production.

    Background –
    We’re in a growing phase! In 2016, the organization started off as a grassroots project that was volunteer run under the name “The Future is you and me.” We hosted several in-person workshops with dozens of mentors and mentees.

    In 2022, the project was incorporated as a non-profit society as “Future Arts Network Society” and in 2023 we hosted our first year of programming with paid staff and secured funding. In the first year as an incorporated society, we hosted online workshops for emerging creative writers, hosted our first BIPOC Arts Leaders Lab, and developed a 3-year Strategic Plan with Roots and Rivers Consulting.

    For 2024 and beyond we’re now seeking to grow our team and bring on a group of volunteer board members who share our values of intersectional feminism in the arts and bring a level of community care, transparency, and openness to arts leadership.

    What we do –

    • Mentorship Workshops – we run annual workshops for arts leaders, to support them in gaining new skills, build connections and network with like-minded peers who share the same values of building a diverse landscape of intersectional arts leaders.
    • Residency – We started a residency program at the BCA space in the Sun Wah Centre located in Chinatown Vancouver. The goal is to support emerging artists in our community.

    Future –
    This summer we’re looking to host a project that explores and develops a new sustainable arts governance model with an intersectional feminist lens. We are looking at new models of governance that will build a safe working environment for women of colour, marginalized genders, and under-represented communities including d/Disabled and neurodivergent artists.

    And now we’re seeking a volunteer board that is interested to join us in this new phase.

    What is a Board of Directors?
    Being on the board, first and foremost, means believing in our organization’s mission, and pledging to contribute time, knowledge, skills, and good counsel. As a new organization that is primarily focused on community care, we’re seeking a different way for board governance. We invite you who share our values first.

    Key Responsibilities:

    • Providing organizational leadership, planning, financial oversight, governance, and strategic development;
    • Representing and championing the work of the organization.

    What we’re looking for:
    We are seeking peers who share our progressive values and dream of a world run by intersectional feminism in the arts and rooted in social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

    Length of Term & Meetings and Commitments:

    • Regular meetings, either every month or two months.
    • Terms would be 2 years but this is open for discussion.

    Application Process:
    The following is a list of awesome assets you bring to Future Arts but this is not necessary.

    • Arts Programming
    • Governance and Legal
    • Human Resources
    • Sponsorship and Fundraising
    • Accounting and Financial Management

    If you believe that your skills and experiences align with Future Arts Network, please submit your application here by Friday September 13, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST.

    We acknowledge the time and effort invested in each application, and we thank you in advance for your interest! Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

    If you require assistance with submitting your application, please contact us at futureartsnet@gmail.com.

  • Introducing Future Arts’ Artists in Residence!

    Joy Gyamfi is a Black, queer photographer and writer from Ghana.

    As a multipotentialite with a wide range of skills, she enjoys working across multiple mediums to create a blend of visual and textual art. Be it collage, graphic design, or poetry, Joy’s endless love and care for community is a recurring theme in her work.

    Joy currently resides on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples — colonially known as Vancouver. Her work has appeared in The Capilano Review, SAD Mag, and The Garden Statuary, among others. You can find more of their work at roughclub.ca

    photo credit: Helena Zhang (Instagram: @hap35mm)


    Jasper Berehulke (he/him), is an artist from Kelowna, BC,  with Syilx Okanagan and Ukrainian heritage. He now lives and practices in “Vancouver” since graduating with a BFA from UBC in 2024. He focuses on oil painting after previously working in the 2D animation industry. Through his art, Jasper shares his reflections on society, inviting viewers to explore and connect with his perspective as a two-spirit and neurodivergent person.

    He exhibits his work across the Lower Mainland, and they delve into personal feelings, cultural teachings, and current events, aiming to provoke thought and challenge views. He continually strives to push the boundaries of his creativity, offering fresh insights and experiences to all who encounter his work. Instagram: @shrimp.jpegs | Website: jasperberehulke.com


    Sarah Wong is an emerging writer, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Her work emerges from lived experiences as a queer and disabled 2nd generation Chinese-Canadian, focusing on archival processes and accessing embodied intergenerational knowledge to trace relationships between identity and lineage.

    Her practice makes space for the multiple, creating work that spans performance, site-specific installation, textiles, poetry, film, and zines. She is devoted to cultivating practices of care, creating and facilitating spaces for bodies to rest.

  • Meet Future Arts in Residence’s (FAiR) co-organizer and project coordinator!

    Shanna Cheng is a Canadian-Chinese, Hard of Hearing emerging curator and printmaker. She has her BFA from ECUAD and Cultural Resource Management certification from UVIC. She currently works out of so-called Vancouver on the unceded lands of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

    Her past curations include Inscapes: Our Landscape Within and Amplified Voices exhibitions, both which celebrates and liberates the voices and stories of marginalized artists in our communities. Shanna’s curatorial practice involves collaborating with BIPOC and disability communities on transformative and critical models within exhibition accessibility design and inclusive curation for all bodies. She continues to advocate for underrepresented artists through the disability justice lens of comfort and care practices.