Public art jurors

Curtia Wright is a multidisciplinary Fine Artist, Mural Artist and Arts Educator based in Toronto, Ontario. She received her BFA at OCAD University in the Drawing and Painting program in 2015. Her murals fuse elements of fantasy, sci-fi and surrealism with vibrant transportive colours used to animate their environments. Her work uses the human figure to showcase narratives often centering around her lived experience. The work she creates looks at mental health, metaphysics, and the ephemerality of dreams and memory through a sci-fi lens. She has collaborated on public art projects with Community organizations, Commercial and Private mural commissions across Canada and Internationally.

Dan Bergeron is a public artist based in Toronto who employs a range of styles, themes and materials to activate and explore the meaning of our shared public spaces. The shape, texture and location of a site and its history or current uses dictate the form and content of his projects. His projects are sometimes commissioned and sometimes uncommissioned; sometimes temporary and sometimes permanent. Dan’s public installations aim to open a dialog with viewers, promoting engagement through both intimate familiarity and wonder at the unexpected.

Dan has installed uncommissioned works in cities around the world including London, New York, Paris and Amsterdam. He has completed commissions for the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto and the Luminato festival, as well as creating permanent public artworks for the City of Toronto, the City of Richmond, BC and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Dan has also been commissioned by numerous municipalities around Canada (City of Toronto, City of Mississauga, City of Ottawa, City of Guelph, City of Calgary) to paint large-scale murals as part of their public art programming.

Emma López Hechem is an award-winning animator, projection artist, and Creative Director at AVA Animation & Visual Arts, a company she co-founded in 2010 with Pedro Narvaez. Originally from Mexico, Emma holds a bachelor’s degree in information design and multiple postgraduate honors from Seneca College in Toronto. With over 20 years of experience, she has worked with leading studios like E! Entertainment, Loop Media, and Tango Media Group. A pioneer in Architectural Projection Mapping, Emma’s work has won international acclaim, including a Dora Award and accolades from the Amsterdam Festival of Lights and the Moscow Festival of Lights.

Her career highlights include designing projections for iconic structures like the Burj Khalifa and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Based in Toronto, Emma actively supports local artists, exemplified by her role in #bigartTO during the pandemic, fostering safe public art displays and opportunities for creatives.

Gary Taxali is a Toronto-based acclaimed contemporary artist and illustrator known for his retro stylized art in the realm of pop. He has exhibited in many galleries and museums throughout North America and Europe including The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Jonathan LeVine Gallery, The Antonio Colombo Gallery, Steve Lazarides/The Outsiders, and The Andy Warhol Museum. Gary’s clients include Sony, Converse, Time, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, GQ, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.

He has collaborated with many brands and integrated his art in various mediums including releasing collectible designer toys, creating public art, and writing and illustrating a children’s book titled, “This Is Silly!” published by Scholastic. He has three monographs of his work, “I Love You, Ok?” published by TeNeues, “Mono Taxali” published by 279 Editions, and “Happiness With A Caveat” which was published in 2017. In 2005, he launched his first vinyl toy, The Toy Monkey, which included a special edition along with a silkscreen print commissioned by The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. He created artist-designed silk pocket squares for Canada’s major men’s retailer, Harry Rosen. In 2012, The Royal Canadian Mint released six Gary Taxali Special Edition 25¢ coins. Each coin is stamped, bearing his initials. Gary is a past member of the Stamp Advisory Committee for Canada Post where he initiated many stamps such as Marriage Equality and Canadian Illustrators. Six of his works were acquisitioned by the Library of Congress in 2018 for their permanent collection. Gary was selected to represent North America by the United Nations and created artwork to raise awareness for World Hunger.

He has won hundreds of illustration and design awards including recognition from American Illustration, Communication Arts, Tow Gold Medals from The Society of Illustrators, and a nomination for a Cannes Lion. Gary created the cover art and inside illustrations for Aimee Mann’s album @#%&*! Smilers, which earned him a 2009 Grammy Award Nomination for Best Art Package.

Gary was listed as one of the top 100 illustrators in the world by art book publisher Taschen. He is tenured faculty at OCAD University in Toronto Canada holding the rank of full Professor.

Mark J. Jones is an educator, writer, film producer, and frequent strategist to arts organizations across Canada. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Animation, Art, and Design at Sheridan College, Canada’s largest art school with internationally recognized programs in animation, filmmaking, design, performance, and material arts. Prior to this, he was Chair of the School of Creative Arts and Animation at Seneca Polytechnique and Director of the Seneca Film Institute.

An advocate of arts and culture for over 30 years, he began his career as publisher of CyberStage Magazine which examined the intersection of art and technology. Jones is a founding board member of The Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI), and co-producer of several award-winning short animated films including Subconscious Password (dir: Chris Landreth, 2013), DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver (dir: Kjell Boersma, 2014), and Nothing to Say (dir: Aubry Mintz, 2019). Mark holds an M.A. in Communication and Culture from Toronto Metropolitan University. He is author of the book The Starving Artist Myth: Bust the Stereotype and Find Success in Creative Careers from Dundurn Press.

Pedro Narváez Castellanos is the Technical Director and Partner at AVA Animation & Visual Arts, which he co-founded in 2010 with Emma López Hechem. With a background in Information Design and a postgraduate certificate in Visual Effects from Seneca College, Pedro brings over 17 years of experience in animation and post-production, collaborating with studios such as Televisa, Loop Media, and Zink Inc.

Specializing in Architectural Projection Mapping, Pedro has worked on renowned projects for clients like the City of Toronto, Bloomberg, the CN Tower, and the Burj Khalifa. His accolades include awards from the Amsterdam Festival of Lights and the Moscow Festival of Lights. Career highlights include creating content for landmarks like the Burj Khalifa and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Based in Toronto, Pedro actively supports local artists, exemplified by his role in #bigartTO, a pandemic initiative showcasing public art and providing opportunities for over 200 creatives.