Meet Our Board

Niloufar Samadi is an Iranian interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and performer whose work explores identity, memory, intimacy, and the body through a feminist and queer lens. Trained in theatre with a BFA in Puppet Theatre from Tehran University of Art, she initially worked in performance before expanding into film and visual arts following her immigration experience. This shift allowed her to experiment with new mediums, integrating her theatrical background with analog film and multimedia installation. Through tactile and sensory storytelling, Niloufar’s practice challenges conventional boundaries, engaging audiences in nuanced explorations of intimacy, representation, and the layered nature of personal and collective narratives.

Saghi Ehteshamzadeh (b. 1995, Tehran) is a queer interdisciplinary Vancouver-based artist/curator whose practice encompasses video art, live visual performances, new media, and art installations.

Holding a Bachelor of Cinema Studies from the Art University of Tehran and graduating from Capilano University's Arts and Entertainment Management Program in North Vancouver, Saghi's diverse artistic background informs their creative endeavours.

Saghi's art practice draws inspiration from their personal experiences navigating disabilities and advocating for social justice, particularly within Iran and the ongoing struggle for wxmen's equality. Their video practice is characterized by a unique blend of compressed, low-resolution imagery and pixel manipulation, and their live visuals feature a fusion of exotic retro videos alongside digital scans of nature and urban environments.

Beyond their artistic pursuits, Saghi has held positions such as the Exhibitions Manager at North Van Arts and currently serves as the Associate Curator at the Centre of International Contemporary Art (CICA) in Vancouver and the Co-chair at VIVO Media Arts Centre's board of directors.

Sarah (she/they) is a white settler of mixed European ancestry, living on unceded lands belonging to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. She is a writer, artist and non-profit administrator currently working as Fundraising and Development Manager at the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA). Prior to joining the BCCLA team she worked within the arts sector, most notably as Director of Development and Special Programs at DOXA Documentary Film Festival where she oversaw all development opportunities, communications and marketing initiatives, and ancillary programming including the Kris Anderson Connexions Mentorship Program. She is passionate about building organizational capacity and strengthening community relationships across sectors. Their previous work experience includes The Cinematheque, Gender Equity in Media Society, SAD Magazine, and the Vancouver International Film Festival. Sarah is also an avid reader, part-time drummer, and sign language (ASL) student.

Sufi Rafat is a non-binary trans masc Iranian and uninvited settler on the traditional territories of the Kwantlen First Nations, also known Surrey BC. Sufi is an Architectural Technologist and Masters of Architecture student, Programming Coordinator for MENA Film Festival, an emerging multi-disciplinary artist, and grassroots community organizer for their intersecting communities. Sufi hopes to synthesis their artistic explorations with their formative education to digest and dissolve their personal dilemmas, critiques, and wonders of the potentials of spatial and visual rejection of colonial and capitalistic societies inspired by queer theory, the abolition movement, and metaphysical spirituality. They hope to continue facilitate the bridging of the various creative and queer SWANA communities together  as a means of healing the siloing of their local diasporic communities.

Chloe Alexandra Thompson is a Cree, Canadian, interdisciplinary media artist based in New York. Thompson approaches performance and installation as a mode of connection.

Thompson’s work has previously been presented by CTM Berlin, and Hellerau (DE); Onassis Foundation (GR & USA); Beyond the Frame, and MUTEK Tokyo (Japan); MUTEK Montreal (2019 & 2022), Send + Receive Festival, and Quiet City (Canada); British Council Arts and Somerset House for Amplify DIA, Arebyte, and Hervisions (UK) ; Performance Space New York, Basilica Hudson, Pioneer Works, Qubit (NY); On the Boards (WA); Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Northwest Film Center, Disjecta, and Yale Union (OR), among others.

Presently a part of ONX Studio (Onassis Foundation), Thompson has participated in residencies at Pioneer Works (NY); HERVISIONS x Arebyte AOS residency (UK), MIT OpenDoc Lab through the Indigenous Screen Office of Canada, and Amplify residency in collaboration with Somerset House and MUTEK (UK). She has been awarded funding from the Canada Council for the Arts for her work around AI in collaboration with the Metacreation Lab at Simon Fraser University. Thompson also recently created a Virtual Reality work in collaboration with Matthew Edwards as part of MUTEK’s inaugural Immersive Collection with distribution through Astrea Immersive.

Thompson has lectured and facilitated workshops as a part of Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Time Based Art Festival (PICA), NYU ITP, NYU Abu Dhabi, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, among others, and was a part of the inaugural group of Cycling’74 Certified Max Trainers.

Sharing and promoting arts and culture has long been Lynn Chen’s passion. She believes that arts, culture and a strong community not only build identity but also help one to appreciate other people and the world in new ways, opening up space for deeper understanding and greater sensitivity.

As a co-founder of Cinevolution Media Arts Society in 2008, Lynn has funneled this passion into promoting intercultural engagement through film and media arts. After working as a Programmer and Designer for the organization over the years, Lynn assumed the role of Artistic Director from 2013-2016. While Lynn has transitioned her career towards Community Engagement and the Arts as a Program Coordinator at the Vancouver Art Gallery since 2014, she is also an experienced graphic designer, having graduated from Emily Carr University of Arts and Design where she majored in Communication studies.

Sameena Siddiqui a Ph.D. candidate and SRSF doctoral fellow in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, University of British Columbia, Canada. She did her M.Phil. from the School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, and has presented her research work at several international conferences, residencies and published in peer-review journals. Her dissertation research won the MFAH Joan and Stanford Alexander Dissertation Award, US.