Francisco Alvarez
Born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Francisco received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in 1978 and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1990, both from York University. Since then he has worked in a number of cultural organizations and government, including the Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and Alliance Broadcasting. He spent 14 years at the Royal Ontario Museum, where he served as Director of Communications and, later, as Director of the Institute for Contemporary Culture. Currently, Francisco is a Principal at Mr. Pink Art Consultants. In 2012, he was recognized as one of the Ten Most Influential Hispanics in Canada.
As a volunteer, Francisco has served as Chair of the Board of the Moving Pictures Film Festival, Co-Chair of Dancers for Life, and was one of the founders of Inside Out (Toronto’s LGBT film festival), where he served on the Board for ten years. Francisco joined the Board of Directors of Pride Toronto in 2009 and since 2010 has been its Co-Chair and Chair of the WorldPride 2014 planning committee. Pride Toronto is Canada’s largest LGBT celebration and one of Toronto’s signature summer festivals. In June 2014, Pride Toronto will host WorldPride, the biggest international celebration of LGBT culture and human rights. Francisco is also Chair of the Board of Directors of ArtsXplosion, producers of the Pan American Food Festival, which will be debut at Harbourfront Centre from September 20 to 22, 2013.
Elizabeth Sweeney
I am a contemporary visual artist, art gallery educator, accessibility consultant and emerging curator. I have a BFA in Studio Art from Concordia University (2001), a B.Ed from the University Of Ottawa (2005) and an MA in Critical Disability Studies from York University (2012) where I focused on disability art and contemporary curatorial practice. From 2006-2009 I was the Accessability Educator at the National Gallery of Canada and from 2010-2012 I was the Disability Arts Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts. I currently work as the Manager of Public Programs and ARTreach at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery. Originally from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, I live with my partner Anita in Toronto.
Rémy Huberdeau
Rémy is directing a first feature film with The Doc Channel, based on the hit short film Transforming Family (2011) , which has played in festivals and universities around the world.. His short film Au pays des esprits / Home of the Buffalo (2009) won “Best Canadian Film” at Inside Out LGBT Festival in 2011.
Rémy is also running a worker’s cooperative for translation and subtitling called the TRANS & SUB COOP. Rémy is a Franco-Manitoban filmmaker based in Montreal. Rémy’s been making short films and docs for the last 10 years.
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