Kiera Sitzer, treasurer

Kiera is an artist and writer currently exploring themes surrounding relationships and love. Her first experience with Wonder'neath was through their collaboration with Visual Arts Nova Scotia's New Grad Residency and she is excited to give back in any way she can. Her time at Wonder'neath's studio facilities will always be a treasured moment in her art practice. When not creating, Kiera loves to drive around Dartmouth and sing loudly with the windows down.

Melissa Marr, Secretary

Melissa Marr is a practicing visual artist, educator, and arts advocate located in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. For over 20 years, she has been deeply committed to the development, creation, education and promotion of arts and culture in the Maritimes. She has passionately shared her knowledge of the arts and has been an eager collaborator in multiple settings. With extensive experience working in the fields of socially engaged art, collaborative art education, and mentorship, Melissa has recently joined AGNS in the role of Art Education Specialist. Before that she was dedicated to the development of 2482 Maynard and her role as co-founder and co-Artistic/Executive Director of Wonder’neath Art Society. A dedicated parent, much of her formative work relates to experiences alongside her children in their early school years at Joseph Howe and SJAM schools through program like ArtsSmarts and ArtReach. 

LaMEIA REDDick

LaMeia is often called a ‘Bridge Builder', someone who holds space between institution and community. Her work as a community engagement consultant supports organizations in feeling empowered in their approach to engage community.

LaMeia works to bring together new ideas across a number of fields. Her passion for art, design and community keeps her busy with building particularly in the local green economy. 

Some of LaMeia's more recent exciting projects include working at a local floral shop as a designer and business developer. She also runs a youth program out of the basement of her North Preston home which will one day grow to be a hub space for local and non-local community. 

Nita Nand

Nita (she/her) joined the WAS board in June 2022, having recently moved to K'jipuktuk/Halifax from London, UK, but originally from New Zealand. Nita is a chartered accountant with over ten years of experience. She has had a global career in various finance roles, spanning six countries. Art and sports have always had a substantial role in Nita's life. You can often find her on the frisbee field or running around the city in the evenings. She is looking forward to learning more about the local art scene through her role with WAS and is excited to be able to support the local arts community.

Ilyes chibane

Ilyes is a multimedia visual artist and musician with a background in architecture and design, drawn to exploring his surroundings and expressing them through urban sketching and printmaking. Since

moving from Algeria to Kjipuktuk/Halifax in 2022, he’s become actively involved in the city’s vibrant arts scene, with highlights including Nocturne–Noisemakers 2024 and Love Notes from the North End postcards 2025. Ilyes is passionate about how art connects people and is always looking for ways to share and experience creativity within the community.

Becka Barker

Hi, I'm Becka. Here's a little bit about me. My studio practice is mostly making experimental animation and hand-made films, but sometimes I include performance, writing, and audio work in what I make. Most of my work involves collaboration, participation, or some other kind of collective action. A lot of my art labour over the years has included teaching at NSCAD, mentoring emerging artists, doing academic research, and working in not-for-profit arts administration. I've participated in Wonder'neath fairly peripherally over the past six or so years, mostly helping facilitate drop-in animation during Open Studio (with Jess Winton and AFX). I live about a 15 minute walk from here with my teenage son, middle-age partner, and senior cat. I'm a soccer mom and I love cooking. I also love gardening like a bad singer loves karaoke: it's fun but I'm not great at it. If fellow Wonder'neath members deem me a good fit, I'm keen to contribute to and learn from the board over the next two years as a member. Thanks for considering my nomination. :)

Kim Cain

As a visual artist/educator based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, my work has explored the African Canadian existence here in Canada and how it relates to the larger global African Diaspora. After achieving my BFA

and B.Ed. from NSCAD University (2001) I began my career as an exhibiting artist. While participating in the “In This Place.” (1996) I began to unpack some identity issues I maintained while attending my

formal education in Ontario as an eighth generation Canadian. My dilemma was, although my parents grew up with the rich history of being connected to the land and culture of Nova Scotia, my upbringing

in Ontario was more influenced by the cultures of the Caribbean and the African Diaspora. It was through the immersion of living in Nova Scotia and attending NSCAD my identity as an artist and as a Nova Scotian was explored through art in various group exhibitions.

Erin Wunker

Erin Wunker is a writer and teacher. She teaches literature and creative non-fiction in the Department of English at Dalhousie University where she also serves as Department Chair. She is the Director of the newly-created Centre for Contemporary Writing, and former Chair of the Board of CWILA: Canadian Women in the Literary Arts. Her writing and teaching focusses on feminist poetics, memoir, theories of archives, and auto-fiction. She is the editor of several books including Avant Desire: A Nicole Brossard Reader (with Sina Queyras and Geneviève Robichaud, Coach House, 2020) and Public Poetics: Critical Issues in Canadian Poetry and Poetics (WLUP, 2015). She is the author of The Routledge Introduction to 20th and 21st Century Canadian Poetry (2023) and Notes from a Feminist Killjoy: Essays on Everyday Life (2015). Her next book is a collection of essays with the working title All the Waking Hours: On Boredom and Bother (forthcoming with Assembly Press). Erin would love to give time, energy, and collaborative thinking to Wonder'neath, a place that has been and remains central to her family's weekly life.

George hope

My name is George Hope. I was born and raised in Happy Valley- Goose Bay, Labrador. I am of Inuit and Naskapi decent.

I have an Interdisciplinary Fine Arts Degree from NSCAD, with a focus on jewellery fabrication, as well as a diploma in Graphic Design and Applied Arts from the NSCC. I have worked in the jewellery industry for the last 26 years. I create a line of Inuit inspired jewellery that acknowledges and celebrates my heritage.

Priya Andrade

Priya Andrade blends artistic practice, adult education, intercultural design, and community development. Based in Halifax, she creates space for dialogue, creativity, and inclusive learning through teaching, consulting, and volunteer initiatives.