DANCER-IN-RESIDENCE: Roxy Menzies
Roxy Menzies, with a York University Honours BFA in dance, is an artist with two decades of experience who seamlessly blends dance, writing, and healing arts in her multifaceted practice. She has performed, guest-taught, or presented worldwide, with her interests predominantly related to forms within the African diaspora. Highlights of her dance career include training under The National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, performing/choreographing as an original member of PhemPhat/Blaze, representing women for Nike Dance in Europe and, most recently, the Opening Ceremony for the World Cup in Toronto in June 2026. Roxy was a keynote speaker on Dance Legacies at the International Blacks in Dance Conference, a dance researcher for Dancemakers' 50th Anniversary archival project in 2024, and is a Dance Committee member for the Toronto Arts Council, In addition to working with numerous arts organizations in Toronto, Roxy is also a mom. Follow her on Instagram: @roxyspiral or connect with her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/roxy.menzies.
Photo credit: Boaz Zippor
Photo credit: Boaz Zippor
DRAMATIST-IN-RESIDENCE: Alie Rutty
Alie Rutty is a Toronto-born-and-based performer, facilitator, photographer, theatre creator, and interdisciplinary artist. She holds a BFA in Photography from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson). Her eclectic practice seeks to forge unsuspecting friendships through various modes of collaboration. She has co-facilitated Improv Dance Jams for all ages and abilities, trained in clown and physical theatre at Sweet Action Theatre, and received a Toronto Arts Council Playwright’s Grant to develop her play You Can Live Forever, Grandma. Alie has participated in the 48 Hour Film Project, Ghost River Theatre’s National Devised Intensive, and recently made her Toronto Fringe Festival debut in Gerry’s Imaginarium, co-created by The Neighbourhood Follies – a devised theatre collective she co-founded in 2023. You can find her website here: www.alierutty.ca and follow her on Instagram: @nerdyginger66.
Photo credit: Denise Grant
Photo credit: Denise Grant
MUSICIAN-IN-RESIDENCE: Kathryn Henzler
Kathryn Henzler holds a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures: Japanese from the University of Southern California and an MMus in Music Technology and Digital Media from the University of Toronto. Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Kathryn first moved to Toronto to pursue her Master’s degree and decided to make this her home base, eventually becoming a permanent resident of Canada. She is an asexual, disabled, and neurodivergent “renaissance woman” who creates in the realms of music, fashion design, performance, and the written word. She is a singer, composer, musician, and recording engineer, and her main instruments include koto, viola, taiko, and piano. Her specializations include art songs, choral music, chamber music, music for theatre, and scores for short films and animation. For more information about Kathryn, please visit her website: www.kathrynhenzler.com. You can also follow her on Instagram: @fullmetal_flamingo or connect with her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KathrynHenzler13.
Photo credit: Deidhra Fahey
Photo credit: Deidhra Fahey
VISUAL ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE: Natalie Draz
Natalie Draz is a firm believer that “A city lives within a person as much as a person lives within a city.” Natalie was born in Ottawa, spent her childhood in New Zealand, and has lived in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Montreal before settling in Toronto a decade ago. As she researches and sketches neighbourhoods of Toronto, she records ways that a place builds itself: layering, creating and destroying. Her print practice transforms original drawings into etchings and screenprints in the forms of large-scale pop-up books and multi-layered papercuts – an invitation to viewers find their own personal geographies. Natalie has a BA Hons from University of Toronto and an MA from Concordia University. She has exhibited internationally, with residencies at Banff Centre for Arts, Women’s Studio Workshop and Frans Masereel Centrum. Her work is collected by the Toronto Reference Library, MIT, the Library of Congress, and other institutes and collectors. Her website can be found here: www.nataliedraz.com Follow her on Instagram: @nataliedraz or connect with her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/natalie.draz.2025.
WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE: Bee Quammie
Bee Quammie is a Jamaican-Canadian multimedia storyteller: a writer, TV personality, and public speaker. With a degree in Health Sciences from the University of Western Ontario, Bee spent over a decade in the healthcare industry (working in mental health research, international health, and acquired brain injury work) before transitioning fully to writing and media. Bee has written for several publications including The Globe and Mail, Men's Health, Chatelaine, Refinery29, Essence, Macleans, and others. Bee is a guest host and commentator on several Canadian television and radio shows, like CTV's The Social and CBC’s The Next Chapter. She’s also a highly sought-after public speaker with the National Speakers Bureau, offering keynotes across North America. She writes and speaks on topics like race and culture, parenting, mental health, and pop culture — and her debut book, an essay collection called The Book of Possibilities, was published by Penguin Canada in 2025. Bee is currently working on her second book and obtaining her Mat Pilates instructor certification. Bee lives in the Greater Toronto Area with her two daughters. Her website can be found here: www.beequammie.com. Follow her on Instagram @beequammie or connect with her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bee.quammie.
Photo credit: Eh Forbes Photography
Photo credit: Eh Forbes Photography
