Public Art

Bridget MacIntosh (she/her) 

An award-winning Cultural Strategist and Creative Producer, Bridget (she/her) has held senior municipal management positions across the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) with dynamic portfolios spanning arts, cultural policy, grants, public art, placemaking, and festival producing ranging from small-scale activations to production of major cultural events such as Nuit Blanche Toronto and JUNO Award Host City festivities.

With roots as an independent theatre producer leading the Toronto Fringe Festival, Bridget was the co-founder and inaugural producer of the Fringe’s curated Next Stage Festival and was instrumental in successfully shifting the Fringe organization from a summer-based to year-round programming model to respond to the needs and desires of artists and audiences.

Notable accomplishments as a municipal cultural leader include the visioning, development and management of the City of Hamilton’s Events OƯice where she led the design and delivery of numerous civic events during the city’s creative renaissance, leveraged City resources to create more responsive, relevant, inclusive and equitable policies and programs and managed extensive community engagement initiatives to facilitate over 400+ annual creative placemaking, community and signature tourism events.

Bridget has continued to build on her foundational work in the performing arts and cultural public service sectors and is recognized as a respected arts leader, consultant, knowledgeable advisor and trusted strategic voice. She collaborates cross-sectorally with
arts organizations, academia, design studios and municipalities across Canada and internationally – engaging, questioning, facilitating, collaborating and designing programs and new ways of thinking and doing to build resilient cities, communities, networks and cultural organizations to navigate unprecedented change.

Bridget is the founding Co-Chair of Mass Culture’s Research Working Group, a Toronto Arts Council Cultural Leadership Lab Fellow, a Next City Vanguard Fellow, a Placemaking X Advocate and an International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) Global Connector.

Recent and current projects include leading STEPS Public Art’s Shaping Space project, work on the Downtown Programming and Activation Strategy for the City of Calgary, collaborating with MASSIVart on the development of the City of Barrie’s Culture Plan Update and Public Art Strategy and collaboration with Evoke on the City of Lethbridge’s Public Art Master Plan Update. 

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Jason Das

Jason is a graphic designer & illustrator from Pickering, Ontario. Jason is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Arts Fundamentals program. As well as George Brown College’s Graphic Design program. Recently, Jason has jumped to user experience design to apply his knowledge to product design. Jason’s recent work has been the City of Pickering’s Community Banners Program and Pickering Fire Services' “The 5 Sides of Pickering” Public Art. Jason also contributed to the Town of Ajax’s Digital Art Show, creating artwork and sharing his process with the Pine Ridge Art Council’s newsletter.

Lucas Cabral

Lucas Azevedo Cabral is an artist, curator, and arts administrator rooted in Durham Region, where he was born, raised, and continues to live. Lucas’ experience includes communications, curation, and community engagement in artist-run centres and public galleries, most recently, contributing to public art and placemaking projects.

From 2022 to 2024, Lucas served on Creative Cities of Canada’s Public Art Advisory Council, where as part of his work, he contributed to the annual Public Art Year in Review, a celebratory overview of some of the most impactful public art projects across the country.

Olivia Hope

Olivia Hope (she/her) holds a Master's degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History, Theory, and Criticism. She is a curator, artist, and project manager with over seven years of experience specializing in public art. Hope has led major public art initiatives for both the City of St. Catharines and the City of Brampton. As an Oneida Hodinoshso:ni woman from the Grand River of Six Nations with Polish and Québécois heritage, Hope is deeply committed to advancing Indigenous self-determination. She views public art as a powerful means of reclaiming Indigenous lands and histories, using creative expression to amplify Indigenous voices and narratives.

Tom Ashbourne

After intentionally transitioning from corporate executive to sculptor, it has been a joy to receive national and international recognition from juries, collectors, and art lovers, and become an Elected Members in Canada’s most prestigious associations for professional artists – Sculptors Society of Canada, Society of Canadian Artists and Ontario Society of Artists.

I’ve been collecting and appreciating art for most of my life. My experiences as a collector helped evolve my artistic eye, sense of balance, and appreciation of texture, shapes, and colour. As an artist I naturally think in 3D, a gift that few have, and use many of the skills that made me a successful executive - analytic skills, lateral thinking, listening, and being open to different possibilities about how things can work.

Interpreting and viewing art is an emotional experience, unique to each of us. To me the most successful piece is one that you can look at for years and continually to see something new and different.

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