Ayesha Barmania is an emerging audio artist, journalist and documentary maker, based in Peterborough, Ontario. Their work explores connection to place and identity utilizing interviews and field recordings. Ayesha is the founder of Peterborough Independent Podcasters, and produces two podcasts: Sounds Like Life and Peterborough Currents, in addition to independent productions and consulting.
Jesse Stewart is a visual artist, composer, percussionist, instrument builder, and educator dedicated to re-imagining the space between artistic disciplines.
After studies in both visual art and music at the University of Guelph and York University, his creative work has often crossed disciplinary boundaries, exploring the links between the visual and the sonic arts. An example is Glacialis which is a piece for instruments that he designed and built out of ice that was premiered at the WinterCity and Winterlude Festivals in Toronto and Ottawa.
As a visual artist, Stewart has exhibited work in over twenty exhibitions at galleries including the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Thames Art Gallery, the Glenhyrst Gallery, the Peterborough Art Gallery, the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, and the Ottawa Art Gallery. Five exhibition catalogues have been published about his work. As a musician, he works primarily in the areas of jazz, experimental music, and free improvisation. His music has been documented on over twenty recordings including Stretch Orchestra’s self-titled debut album which received the 2012 “Instrumental Album of the Year” JUNO award. He has performed and/or recorded with musical luminaries from around the world.
He also has extensive experience facilitating community-engaged art and music projects. Through the We Are All Musicians (WAAM) project, an organization he founded and directs, he has conducted hundreds of inclusive music workshops throughout Canada and the United States. In 2019, director Hasi Eldib made a documentary about the We Are All Musicians project (see https://vimeo.com/334477726 ).
Jesse Stewart has received numerous awards and honours including the Ottawa Arts Council’s Mid-Career Artist Award and the Order of Ottawa. He is a Professor in the School for Studies in Art and Culture at Carleton University, and an adjunct faculty member in the Visual Arts Department at the University of Ottawa.
Michael Waterman is a Canadian visual and audio artist whose work focuses on sound installation, improvisational performance, and radio art. His sound installations have been presented in galleries and festivals throughout Canada and the United States and have been featured at the Guelph Jazz Festival, Sound Symposium in St. John's and at both CAFKA and Open Ears Festivals in Kitchener.
In 1997 Waterman created the Mannlicher Carcano Radio Hour at Trent Radio in Peterborough where he was artist-in -residence. The weekly show links participants from Los Angeles, Berkeley, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Guelph, Peterborough and Sarnia via tele-conferencing and web streaming to perform live weekly audio improvisations.
He has given artists talks, offered instrument building and sound workshops for youth and adults as well as facilitated sound art jam sessions.