Clelia Scala, Chair

Clelia Scala is a visual artist whose work includes mask and puppet design, installations, collage, and illustration. She recently returned to Kingston from Niagara where she served on the Board of Directors for the Niagara Artists Centre as Board Chair for four years. Clelia’s work has been in galleries in Canada and the United States and in theatres across North America and Europe. She teaches theatre design at the DAN School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University. 

To reach the Chair of the KAC Board of Directors, contact board@artskingston.ca.

Nevena Martinović, Secretary

Nevena Martinović (she/her) is a theatre history and performance scholar, as well as an amateur playwright. Her research primarily focuses on intersections of acting and aging in eighteenth-century British theatre, though she has also published articles on contemporary theatre. Since graduating with her PhD in English Language and Literature, Nevena has been working as the Education Manager at various provincial and national not-for-profit organizations. She also teaches courses on literature, theatre studies, communication, and diversity and inclusion at several Canadian universities and colleges.

Amanda Baker, Treasurer

Amanda Baker (she/her) is a producer, theatre artist, and technologist specializing in immersive and interactive theatre. She holds a BAH in Computing and the Creative Arts and a Certificate in Business from Queen’s University, and a Master’s in Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Toronto. She is currently the Festival Administrator for The Kick & Push Festival and Bookkeeper for Generator. Her recent work includes production managing Single Thread’s “Virtual Ambrose,” UX Designer for “The Social Within the City”, and Quality Assurance for the Cohort coding framework. As a disabled artist, accessibility is a strong aspect of her practice, and with CCA support she is currently working on an autobiographical show exploring the humour and realities of living with chronic illness.

Alyce Soulodre, Director

Alyce Soulodre is a self-taught visual artist, and works as the Grants Officer at the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area. She earned her PhD in English from Queen’s University, where she explored horror and mystery texts from Victorian novels to contemporary B-movies. Her fascination with creatures and plants of all kinds is reflected in her work. Alyce also serves on the Board of Directors at Union Gallery. She lives and works on the unceded territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Huron-Wendat.

Barbara Bell, Director

Barbara is a certified professional coach with a focus on working with arts practitioners, helping them over stumbling blocks to allow them to move toward their desired creative goals. She has shared her creativity in the Kingston community in many ways: as an actor, theatrical and film producer, television host, editor, writer, and former AD of Kingston WritersFest. Barbara is past-chair of the City of Kingston’s Arts Advisory Committee, participated in the inaugural Mayor’s Arts Awards Working Group, and chaired the inaugural Nominations Committee, and has served on a Kingston Arts Council’s Arts Advocacy Committee and Kingston Writers’ Refugee Committee.

Jake Torrie, Director

Originally from Ottawa, Jake Torrie studied at the University of Toronto before moving to Kingston for graduate studies in the arts. Jake has volunteered with the PhD community initiative at Queen’s University on a study of the economic impacts of the arts in Kingston. Personally, Jake enjoys distance running, culinary arts, literary fiction, cinema, and music. Jake has played as a drummer in a few rock bands and completed a master’s thesis at Queen's University about the political economy of Canadian symphony orchestras.

Rae McDonald, Director

Rae McDonald is an Equity and Inclusion consultant with the Limestone District School Board. After graduating with a BA in Theatre Studies (Acadia University), and a BEd from the Artist in Community Education program (Queen’s University), Rae has spent the last 24 years as an educator and local artist, creating and implementing arts-based programming with a social justice lens. In addition to teaching, Rae has worked on various Ontario Dance and Drama writing teams connecting Arts curricula to inquiry-based learning grounded in culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy (Council of Ontario Directors of Education, Council of Dance and Drama Education). Locally, Rae continues to be involved in theatre initiatives, as both an actor and director and sits on the board of Kingston School of Arts. Provincially, she is the executive administrator for the Council of Ontario Dance and Drama Educators. Rae is excited to work alongside KAC, supporting local artists, and building community connections.

Brett Christopher, Director

Brett has been an active member of the Canadian Theatre community since graduating from George Brown theatre school in 2001. Celebrated as both a professional actor and director, he has worked with a variety of theatre companies across Canada including: Canadian Stage, Stratford Festival, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, Segal Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Western Canada Theatre, Magnus Theatre, and the Arts Club. He is also the recipient of both the Masques and Mecca Awards for his performance of the solo show I Am My Own Wife at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal. During his 5 year tenure as the Artistic Producer of Theatre Kingston, he founded both the Storefront Fringe Festival and The Kick and Push Festival and worked with a variety of local arts organizations such as Cantabile Choirs, Kingston Symphony, Kingston Writersfest, Blue Canoe Productions, and the Queen's Drama Department as well as chairing the City of Kingston's Arts Advisory Committee and sitting on the Board of Tourism Kingston. For the last 6 years, he has held the role of Managing Artistic Director at the Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque, Ontario. The Playhouse, with an operating budget of $2.7 million, annually produces 8 professional plays to more than 45,000 people and creates a series of educational and engagement creative opportunities for people in the region.

Diane Black, Director

Diane Black is a Kingston artist who began her training in the field of illustration and spent many years in the commercial art world. She has a full time studio practice where sculpture is the primary focus. She also enjoys drawing, painting and printmaking.

Diane’s sculptures are an exploration of life's subtle (or not so subtle) moods through the expressive, unguarded faces and gestures; mostly amusing, sometimes dark, always a reflection of real life. Humour is often used to create a point of connection between the artist and viewer, a way of dropping defences so that observations can be made in a revealing but unthreatening way. Her work has been exhibited in Galleries throughout Ontario and can be found in private collections both in Canada and internationally.

Diane is on the board of the Organization of Kingston Women Artists (OKWA) and is an active member of the Kingston art scene. She teaches drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpture and has coordinated art workshops which attract participants internationally.