MEET OUR TEAM
STAFF
ZANDI DANDIZETTE
they/them
Executive Director & Founder
Zandi is a nonbinary settler-immigrant new media interdisciplinary artist. They seek to decenter colonial legacy, and empower voices affected by systems of oppression. They graduated with a BMA in Animation in 2014 from Emily Carr University. Zandi has been a co-founder of the JBG since 2014, and was the longest resident from the artists-in-residence program. They are a current board member of CARFAC National. They helped co-found the Arts and Cultural Workers Union & VALUCOOP, develop Pressure Point, previously served on the board of VIVO Media Arts Centre, President at the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres, and have represented BC at ARCA.
DIANA LUPIERI
she/her
Ceramics Studiolead
Diana Lupieri is an illustrator and ceramicist in Vancouver, BC. She is interested in building community and relearning how to look at the world through art. Volunteering at the JBG for the last two years she has now taken on a stronger role in managing studiospaces.
JUDAH KONG
they/them
ODERA IGBOKWE
they/them
Hot Fruit Figure Drawing Organizers
Judah Kong (they/them) is part of MangoSweet, an artist collective and DJ duo that runs QTBIPOC centred events. They wish for fun, snacks, and an apartment with a dishwasher.
Odera Igbokwe (they/them) is an illustrator and painter. Odera loves to explore storytelling through Afro-diasporic cosmologies, Black resilience, and queering the archetypal hero's journey.
Judah and Odera started Hot Fruit Figure Drawing as a means to celebrate and explore the richness across the spectrum of queer and trans bodies and expression in art.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOJANA NEDIC
she/her
Chairperson
Bojana Nedic is a consultant and industrial-organizational psychologist residing on the stolen lands of the Coast Salish people. Born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, Bojana and her family immigrated to Canada, during the NATO bombings.
Her propensity for systems thinking led Bojana to work in various industries, building healthy and diverse teams along the way. Not-for-profit and volunteerism has been a dedication of hers over the years. Bojana leads herself and her team in a way that can make significant impacts and achieve transformative results.
NAATOÍYIKI
CHEYENNE MCGINNIS
she/they
Member-at-Large
Cheyenne McGinnis aka Naatoíyiki (Holy Whistle), is a Blackfoot/Cree emerging artist. A member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, they are also affiliated with the Blood Tribe Nation through their mother. Naatoíyiki grew up in 3 worlds – the modern day colonial world, the Cree world, and of course, the Blackfoot world. They have been painting and drawing for over 15 years and are inspired by Pictographs, Blackfoot War history drawings and Winter Counts. Their work aims to inspire wellness and pride, recounting histories and imagining the future for Indigenous Peoples. They do woodburning, glass etching, and leather work, as well as acrylic painting, charcoal drawing, and pastel work. They are also now moving into digital art.
BRONWYN WORRICK
she/her
Executive Secretary
Bronwyn practices as a strategic sustainability and resilience consultant and has experience leveraging holistic and systems-based approaches. She has supported the planning, facilitation, and implementation of sustainable infrastructure projects across North America. In 2019, Bronwyn co-founded luuceo consulting; a small, entirely women-owned sustainability and strategic solutions firm based out of Vancouver.
HEIDI NAGTEGAAL
they/them
Member-at-Large
Heidi is queer, pansexual, agender or gender neutral depending on the day, a first generation Dutch immigrant, settler, Hard of Hearing, diagnosed Bi Polar, ADHD, and Autistic, undiagnosed OCD, someone that has experienced body pain and physical developmental problems, while being hyperlexic and extremely smart. So it’s a mix. There are things they excel at, and barriers. Heidi is not a perfect person, but aims to continuously learn and unlearn to be a better ally, community member, family member, co-worker, and friend.
As an artist, Heidi has exhibited internationally and locally, with an intention to talk about things that are hard to express in words, by embodying physical and emotive forms. They also started arts organizations Hammock Residency and Centre Centre, which focus on different models around art making, care, and inhabiting third spaces.
JILLIAN JUSTINE BROOKS
she/her
Member-at-Large
Métis artist exploring traditional painting techniques, focusing mainly on animals with a 90s twist on wood canvases. Jillian runs Métis Bannock Queen and donates profits to Indigenous organizations.
Originally from Nistawâyâw.