Manny Travers, Executive Director
Manny Travers (he/him/il) is a bilingual multidisciplinary artist from Fredericton, New Brunswick. A recent graduate from Mount Allison University, Manny holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and certificate in Visual Communications & Culture. He is currently pursuing a certificate in Contemporary Management of Arts & Culture at the University of New Brunswick. His artistic practice includes drawing, sculpture, and woodblock printmaking, which revolve around subjects like the automotive, the individual, and plant life. With experience in apparel design, digital literacy, and visual media, Manny looks forward to bringing a new perspective to the arts community of Saint John.
Photo credit: Gabbie Dupuis
Contact: tiersespace@gmail.com
Lindsay Jacquard, President
Lindsay Jacquard is an arts educator and administrator from Nova Scotia, now living in Saint John, New Brunswick. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Arts Management from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University. She is passionate about encouraging and enabling creative pursuits, working with organizations such as the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, Halifax Regional Municipality, and Imperial Theatre. Lindsay’s own artistic practice involves painting, portraiture, strangeness, and play.
Contact: third.space.president@gmail.com
Lindsay Hazen, Vice President
Lindsay Hazen (they/them/iel) is a cultural worker and singer who performs music as Stellaleona, and also works in the Box Office at the Imperial Theatre. They are a co-founder of Moondrip Collective, a queer run record label and community organization. They are passionate about inclusive and equitable spaces and the role of the artist in decolonization and social justice. Stellaleona has been featured in First Listen Zine; on CBC Radio and Pagan Place podcast; and won the Party Sauce Award 2022 for Best Experimental Artist as well as Local 107.3 Best of Saint John Award 2021 for FEMCORE Artist of the Year. They recently expanded their artistic practice to performance art and are a recent graduate of ArtsLink NB’s CATAPULT program. Their work can be found on Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
Ben Peterson, Secretary
Ben Peterson (he/him/his) is a queer settler and an architectural historian raised in Saint John. Ben holds a BA in Architectural History and Theory and Law from Carleton University and an MA in Art History from Concordia University. Ben works in development planning and built heritage. He is fond of speaking publicly and his writing has appeared in publications including Visual Arts News and RENDER: Graduate Journal of Art and Culture.
Crystal Drew, Treasurer
Crystal Drew is a visual artist and photographer from Saint John, New Brunswick. She’s passionate about artist run culture, community arts programming and strives to engage in these fields while growing her own creative practice. She has exhibited with George Fry Gallery, Third Space Gallery, Flourish Festival and participates in local craft pop-ups. She holds a certificate in Foundation Visual Arts from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and is currently completing NBCCD’s Photography/Videography diploma program. She works as Director of Communications for NBCCD’s Student Association and sits on the George Fry Gallery Committee as their Student Representative.
Simmi Obscura, Communications Officer
Simmi Obscura is an abstract, mixed media artist exploring her soul through play, colour and whimsy. She has been practicing her craft over the past 10 years after graduating with a certificate in graphic design. Her work consists of pieces that spread from canvas to walls. With bold colours and big energy her work inspires play and curiosity. Her process of expression comes from her curiosity of wisdom, emotions, and the human experience. Currently living here in uptown Saint John she intends to spread her light to its residents. Let her dazzle you with creativity and fun that will leave you feeling like a kid full of wonder.
Graeme Stewart-Robertson, Member at Large
Graeme Stewart-Robertson is an environmental geographer and artist living and working in Saint John, where he maintains an artistic practice in contemporary photography, geographic representation, and digital imaging. For the past decade, he has brought his range of expertise to support the vital role Indigenous and local communities in Canada and around the world play in protecting and safeguarding land and seascapes essential to global conservation goals. Graeme currently works as the Lead of Partnerships for SOI Foundation, working to inspire and empower youth, communities, innovation and leadership in the pursuit of a sustainable blue future.
Kate Beresford, Member at Large
Kate Beresford is an arts administrator, and lifelong lover and supporter of the arts. Born and raised in Elmira, ON, she lived in Ottawa for 20 years and moved to Saint John in the Fall of 2020. A graduate of Carleton University’s Art & Culture program, she is passionate about providing support for artists of all kinds, and has worked at various cultural institutions including the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of Nature, and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Currently she is working at the Canadian Dance Assembly, a non-profit organization that provides support to professional dancers across Canada. She herself is an enthusiastic but amateur dancer, who also loves hiking, riding her bike, and is always up for exploring new places.
Caitlin Lapeña, Member at Large
Caitlin Lapeña is a visual artist living and working in Rowley, New Brunswick. Her work has been shown across Canada and the United States, including exhibitions at Peanuts Gallery (Vancouver, BC), Paradice Palase (Brooklyn, NY), Weird Things (Toronto, ON), Hamilton Artists’ Inc. (Hamilton, ON), and has been published in Peripheral Review and Bed Zine. She is also co-director of Peter Estey Fine Art & Auctions, a socially minded auction house and fine art specialist focusing on folk and idiosyncratic Canadian art. She holds a BFA from Queen’s University and a postgraduate certificate in Arts Administration & Cultural Management from Humber College. She has held various arts administration jobs, including at CARFAC Ontario and the Ontario Museum Association.
Dan Smeby, Member at Large
Dan Smeby holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University and has worked extensively with the creative arts therapy foundation Les Impatients, in Montreal. He has held international residencies in Kuwait City, Kuwait; Kampala, Uganda; and Detroit, Michigan. Most recently he has completed the Boîte Blanche Residency at Galerie Sans Noms in Moncton and the Cross-Cultural Creation Residency at the Saint John Arts Center, both in his home province of New Brunswick. His most recent film “A Mains Nues” is being distributed by Psyche.co and has been officially selected at numerous Canadian festivals including FIN, FIFA, and FICFA.