DesignTO was founded by a group of creatives from equity-seeking or equity-deserving groups (including women, youth, LGBTX and people of colour), and continues to be led by people with diverse and intersectional identities, from many places and age groups spanning five decades.
We strive to be as diverse as the City of Toronto. This starts with our team and extends to DesignTO’s community of artists, designers, curators, partners and attendees. In our most recent year, we had equity-seeking representation as follows: 100% of our 18-person team, 86% of our board, 52% of our exhibitors, and 81% of our audience.*
This representation at the heart of the organization has helped us to achieve our goal of reflecting the diversity of Toronto. But we also recognize that we still have a lot of work to do. We recognize and are working on where we are lacking, working to increase representation and access to the festival for these groups.
*Equity-seeking groups are communities that experience significant collective barriers in participating in society. This could include attitudinal, historic, social and environmental barriers based on age, ethnicity, disability, economic status, gender, nationality, race, sexual orientation and transgender status, etc. Equity-seeking groups are those that identify barriers to equal access, opportunities and resources due to disadvantage and discrimination and actively seek social justice and reparation. (Source: University of British Columbia, Equity & Inclusion Office.)
DesignTO Team
adé (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer and recent graduate of OCAD University’s Environmental Design program. Her work…
Anna (she/her) is an architect with a Bachelor of Architecture (University of Toronto). She lived and worked extensively in…
Deborah (she/her) is a curator and architect, with a broad range of experiences in contemporary art, design and architecture…
Diana (she/her) is an architectural designer with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture (McGill University). Having been passionate about…
Emily (she/her) has an Honours BA in Anthropology (York University), and a Graduate Certificate in Museum and Gallery Studies…
Creating and managing businesses of various sizes, Jeremy (he/him) has worked at Informa Canada, the Gladstone Hotel, Ryerson University,…
Kenson (he/him) is a multidisciplinary designer specializing in web design and development, digital signage, and branding. With a background…
With a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Art History and Microbiology (University of Guelph), Kerala (she/her) is a freelance…
A 2Spirit Cree from Taykwa Tagamou First Nation, Kikki (they/them) is an art director, photographer, and designer, pursuing a…
Michael (he/him) has over 10 years of experience in design, marketing, and social media. With a degree in industrial…
As a queer, multicultural, and multifaceted art director, Nabila has spent her life living in four countries and speaking…
With a BFA in art and art history (University of Toronto), Olga (she/her) is an artist, administrator, and part-time…
Robyn (she/her) is an arts administrator and programmer who holds a Master of Architecture (post-professional, McGill University). For over…
Dedicated to storytelling and a champion of Canadian design, Tory (she/her) has over 20 years of experience producing engaging…
Wing (she/her) is an emerging arts worker and artist with an Honours Bachelor of Arts (University of Toronto Scarborough)….
Zhuyun (she/her) is an emerging visual artist based in Toronto. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts (OCAD University), she…
