VOAF 2026*

2026 Festival Gallery

Photo Credits: Angelina Safarik

Thank you to the artists, visitors, and team who made our 10th annual festival possible. See you next year!

Visual Artists

Performing Artists

Art Groups

2026 Advisory Committee

LeiGh Press is a mixed media visual artist, her greatest joy being creating art. When not arting, LeiGh lives to be outdoors. She works as a community support worker. Her daily encounters with crowy friends inspire much of her work. LeiGh is currently working on a memoire on grief.

Charlie Sandeman (he/they) is a sculptural artist living on the occupied lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations. Working primarily in ceramics while exploring other sculptural mediums, his work explores themes related to trans and queer identity, chronic and mental illness, and neurodiversity.

Taja De Silva is a seasoned writer, illustrator, and designer with experience working for various non-profit, Indigenous, and legal organizations. She was a first-generation student when she attended McGill University, achieving a B.A. in Religious Studies and Geography in 2022. Currently, Taja is working on the launch of her independent art practice and is excited to bring that perspective, among many, to the CACV Board. Taja is connected to her Fijian-Indian heritage and is committed to equity, accessibility, and culturally grounded approaches to work and care. She is also training to become a Paramedic, starting with Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) training, and is an Emergency Department Support Volunteer at St. Paul’s Hospital, where she supports people in moments of acute crisis. Outside of work, Taja enjoys skiing, traveling, and the arts, but nothing beats a home-cooked meal from her Auwa (“grandma”). Taja was born in Kitimat, BC, on the unceded territory of the Haisla Nation, and now lives and works in Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. If you have a project geared at supporting northern artists, let her know!

Annika Walsh is a transdisciplinary artist-researcher who explores food, cooking, and everything in between. Their work often takes the form of performance, participatory experiences, and other embodied modes of engagement. Love, gratitude, and curiosity are the compass points guiding Annika’s art-making and life-living. They completed a BFA with a specialization in Media Arts at the University of Ottawa in 2022. Currently completing a Master of Science in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia, their research investigates how Chinese-Canadian adoptees’ relationships with food shape feelings of identity, connection, and belonging.

Sepideh Habibnattaj is a visual artist currently based in Vancouver, BC, where she works from her cozy home studio. Originally from Iran, her journey as an artist began in childhood, fueled by an early fascination with painting. She studied graphic design in high school, followed by a Bachelor of Arts in Painting at university of Guilan, where she first explored academic realism before gradually discovering her own expressive style. Deeply influenced by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, Sepideh’s work merges personal emotion with cultural symbolism. Her early pieces depicted self-portraits—long hair covering her face— set against intricate Persian patterns, a quiet rebellion against the hijab she was forced to wear in Iran. Over time, her work evolved into more symbolic compositions, including a series called Chimera, where human forms merge with animal heads, exploring the shared instincts and emotions between humans and animals. Another key theme in Sepideh’s work is memory—particularly how it fades. In a university illustration class, she began creating imaginary fish, intrigued by their fleeting memory span. This became the foundation for The Fish Memory collection, where she uses cardboard, wood, and ink to portray emotional fragility and the transient nature of thought. Sepideh has held multiple exhibitions across Iran and has sold artworks to cafes, restaurants, and private collectors who resonate with her unique voice. Today, she continues to develop Chimera and The Fish Memory as parallel collections, each reflecting her ongoing exploration of identity, resistance, and the subconscious.

A. Cisneros is an artist living and studying on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Their practice is multidisciplinary, spanning from painting and drawing to textiles and sculpture, although it is ever growing and evolving. Often using found fabrics, patchwork is used as a visual language in this work. Mexican heritage and the intersection of cultural identities play a crucial role in the creation of both the artist and their work.

Vida Mehin has over 20 years experience as a securities lawyer in the public and private sector in Canada and the United States. She has provided advice on capital markets regulation and banking law to market participants. As a mother of four young children, Vida has a particular interest in children’s involvement in the arts and women’s empowerment in artistic businesses. She is excited to join CACV as a board member to support artists and to foster a vibrant local arts community. Previously, she served as a board member of the Vancouver Ballet Society.

Pierre Leichner: Between Arts and Sciences, I first chose science. Curious about the mind, I eventually became a psychiatrist. But my frustration with the business mentality that has infiltrated health care led me back to question my early decision. I received my BFA from Emily Carr in 2007 and my MFA from Concordia University in 2011. I am presently a full-time interdisciplinary artist with a socially engaged practice. My works have focused on environmental and mental health issues. I am a member of the Gallery Gachet and the Art Is Land collectives, a board member of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver and the Emily Carr Alumni.