Meet the 2025 Jury

A panel of three distinguished Canadian art professionals are solely responsible for determining the exhibition’s content, selecting the Jurors’ Choice Award winner and Honourable Mentions. We are pleased to welcome three exceptional jurors whose experience and insight will be instrumental in providing a high-quality experience for both artist and visitor.

Jim Bravo, multi-award-winning painter and muralist (Toronto)

Jim is a Toronto-based oil painter and muralist of Afrolatino descent, born in Ecuador, whose vibrant public artworks have become fixtures across Ontario. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCADU) with a focus on Fine Art and public monumental painting, Bravo has completed over 30 public murals and numerous private commissions, including high-profile collaborations with StreetARToronto and Indigenous Artist Philip Cote. His community-engaged practice includes mentorship through youth arts initiatives and leadership on major regional projects such as the 2024 IDEA Mural Cycle in Muskoka. Among many accolades, Bravo is the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Kingston Prize for Contemporary Canadian Portraiture, multiple grants from the Toronto and Ontario Arts Councils, and four consecutive Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) Mural Awards from the City of Toronto.

Nicole Collins, interdisciplinary artist and Associate Professor of Material and Visual Culture at OCADU (Toronto)

Nicole is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Toronto, whose material-driven practice has spanned more than three decades. Focusing on the effect and subsequent affect, of time, memory, accumulation, force, and heat on visceral and ephemeral materials including wax, charcoal, plants, oils and metals, through painting, drawing, digital reproduction, installation, intervention, video, and sound, works have engaged with themes of mortality, grief, ephemerality, decreation, and resilience. 

Collins has exhibited widely, with solo shows at venues such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Koffler Gallery, and Bakuroyokoyama Gallery in Tokyo, and her work has been included in landmark publications like Abstract Painting in Canada (Roald Nasgaard) and the 3rd edition of A Concise History of Canadian Painting (Dennis Reid). Collins completed a BFA Hons. in Fine Art at University of Guelph (1988) and Master of Visual Studies at University of Toronto (2009). She is currently Associate Professor of Material and Visual Culture at Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCADU). Since 2024 Collins has served as co-director of the OCADU Sustainable Colour Lab, where she researches local natural pigment and binder sources and their applications to art practice.

Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization Department and Curatorial Initiatives, National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) 

Michelle is Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and a member of the Neyashiingamiing Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, and has Canadian Settler heritage of English/Scottish/French descent from her mother. She currently holds the inaugural position as Director of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization Department and Curatorial Initiatives at the National Gallery of Canada. Previously she was Director of the Indigenous Art Centre at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Curator at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan. 

LaVallee’s career is dedicated to championing Indigenous art and artists and exploring the colonial relations that have shaped historical and contemporary culture through numerous exhibitions, notably: Radical Stitch (2022-2025, co-curated with Sherry Farrell Racette and Cathy Mattes) and 7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. (2013-2016). Guided by decolonial and Indigenous methodologies, she works to challenge historical relationships with art and history institutions towards new ways of engaging with people, space, and the land. LaVallee has participated in a number of Canadian Indigenous Curators Delegations internationally and her work has been recognized widely, including with three Saskatchewan Book Awards.

Jurying Process

The jury will gather in-person to select the artworks to include in the show and select the award winners according to the award criteria. Inclusion in the exhibition is at the sole discretion of the jurors and their decision is final. Works that do not meet the conditions for entry as outlined in the Entry Rules will not be adjudicated.

Jurors will consider the following criteria when selecting artwork:

• Creative innovation (approaching chosen medium or subject matter with new perspective)
• Clarity of intention (consistency of ideas, processes, and narrative)
• Technical execution 
• Presentation (appropriate to the work)

The Jurors will be offering an optional critique of artwork for a fee of $20.00, which is to help offset the costs associated with this enhanced service. At the time of registration, please indicate if you would be interested in this optional critique, and your works will be noted accordingly.

Art Symposium