Meet the Artists
Dana Zivkovic
Born 1985 in Zadar, Croatia, Dana Zivkovic currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She holds a Bachelor degree of Fine and Applied Arts from the College of Fine and Applied Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. A self-employed artist, Dana works as an art educator, curator, charity activist, looking for a new show, a gallery for exhibition. Her work explores relationship between natural heritage and the products of the modern society seen through a surreal prism. It is both formalistically representational and occasionally abstract. Recently she started developing the series which brings awareness on pollution.
Darlene Kulig
After a successful career as a graphic designer, Darlene began painting full-time ten years ago. What is especially impressive is that she has developed a unique, very personal approach that “feels” Canadian. Darlene’s award winning work has been featured in magazine and can be found in Canadian Embassy buildings, the Mayo Clinic, and art galleries across Canada and internationally. Pomegranate Communications has licensed Darlene’s work to be reproduced as contemporary Canadian content in their international product line. Most recently, she has created a line of fundraising face masks to raise money for her nephew’s memorial fund, The Craig Kulig Memorial Fund, to fund cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital. If you are interested in purchasing more products from Darlene Kulig such as calendars, puzzles, gift cards, and pillow slip covers, please contact our gallery manager akshata@artsetobicoke.com for inquiries.
David Chinyama
David Chinyama is a Toronto based multi-disciplinary visual artist whose work is inspired by color, form, movement and texture. His work is a representation of personal fascinations and experiences often shaped by his upbringing and cultural memories of different African traditions. Working in multimedia, he explores subject matters centered upon aspects of identity, socio-economic, political and religious connotations. These compositions are made out of found fabrics and recycled fibers that are cut, stitched and painted together on canvas to form varying patterns and shapes. His practice can best be described as a form of adaptation and response to influences of various cultures within different urban settings. Working in a spontaneous approach, he experiments with the use of unfamiliar materials on how they relate to each other when placed in different frames that assign to them a new function.
Jacintha Krish
As a visual artist and art instructor, Jacintha Krish’s work is primarily in mixed media as well as watercolour and ink. Constantly experimenting with pushing the boundaries of colour and form has made her the artist that she is. Jacintha’s love of teaching has broadened her horizons and helped her get to know and understand people and their different forms of artistic pleasure. Art is an interesting and fulfilling journey and she feels fortunate indeed to be able to share in the experiences of many wonderful people along the way. Jacintha’s inspiration lies in the rich biodiversity of Canada, her home. The sights and sounds of the world around her constantly challenge her to paint the ever changing mosaic that is quintessentially Canadian.
Mr. Hydde
Mr. Hydde an artist living and working in the Toronto area. He shows his work under the pseudonym Mr. Hydde. He completed his B.F.A at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, and his M.F.A. degree at Concordia University in Montreal. Mr. Hydde lived in Tokyo Japan for 2 years, where he became familiar with Japanese printmaking techniques and started to become interested in Japanese Pop and Street Culture through his artistic contacts. His artwork is represented by Coldstream Fine Arts in Toronto, by Gallerie Pink E Space in Montreal, and 3rd Ethos Gallery in Brooklyn NY. Mr. Hydde is a member of the Brooklyn NY based Bushwick Collective. He has painted murals for the Bushwick Block Party for the past 3 years. He painted in the Dec. 2018 MOS Miami as an invited painter.
Natalie Very B
Natalie Very B. is a Polish-Canadian illustrator, muralist, and educator. She is passionate about facilitating art workshops with a strong focus on the therapeutic aspect of creative expression. Her large scale murals depict modern female empowerment and can be found all across the city of Toronto. She makes art with the goal of changing preconceived notions of feminism and promoting self-love and body positivity in the world.
Philip Cote
Philip Cote, MFA of Moose Deer Point First Nation is a Young Spiritual Elder, Indigenous Artist, Activist, Educator, Historian and Ancestral Knowledge Keeper. Philip is a graduate of OCAD University’s Interdisciplinary Art Media and Design Masters program. He is engaged in creating opportunities for art-making and teaching methodologies through Indigenous symbolism, traditional ceremonies, history, oral stories, and land-based pedagogy. His art and teaching philosophy evolves from his practice of experiential learning and the transmission of Indigenous Knowledge. Philip has shared his knowledge with numerous institutions from York University, the Art Gallery of Ontario, University of Toronto, OCAD University, Peel District School Board and the TDSB. Philip is also a tour guide with “First Story” since 2005 providing an Indigenous history of Toronto covering the last 13,500 years and as far back as 130,000 years. Philip has won numerous TABIA awards for his public Street Art Murals Across the City of Toronto.
Meet our Gallery Manager
Akshata Naik
647.819.8731
Akshata Naik is an internationally recognized, talented visual artist, arts educator, curator, and administrator. She is the Program and Gallery Manager at Arts Etobicoke and is very invested in community arts both through her job and her personal art practice.
Before moving to Canada, Akshata was an Assistant Professor at Parul University in Gujarat, where she taught drawing and painting. Akshata moved to Canada in 2017 and quickly became active in the arts scene, widely showing her interactive art in many exhibitions reaching diverse communities across Toronto.
For Arts Etobicoke, Akshata manages The Storefront Gallery at Arts Etobicoke including upwards of eight exhibitions annually, the Storefront Gallery Online at Arts Etobicoke, artist talks, professional artist development, as well as managing the arts education program.
She is also an accomplished speaker, most recently presenting at the Gathering 1.0 organized by Cultural Pluralism in the Art Movement Ontario (CPAMO) and Emergence Symposium organized by the Neighbourhood Arts Network. Among her many accomplishments, Akshata received a Newcomer Artist Mentorship Grant by Toronto Arts Council in 2019 and a 2020 RBC Newcomer Arts Award.
She looks forward to helping you find the perfect piece of art for your space and introducing you to Arts Etobicoke’s talented roster of artists.