Introducing Members of the Next Gen…
BCTC continues to engage young people throughout the province through our Aspiring Emerging Associates Touring & Training program (AEA). Participants of the Next Gen are those looking to connect and who are willing to participate in activities and events in order to learn more about the performing arts, touring and presenting in BC.
This year’s Next Gen welcomes young people from around the province. We are also pleased to have Valentina Acevedo Montilla, a member of the Next Gen for the past three years, take on the role of Coordinator.
Valentina Acevedo Montilla (she/her) is a Mexican-Venezuelan artistic curator. She holds a BA in Art History and Anthropology from UBC with a focus in museum studies. Valentina is deeply committed to amplifying the work and voices of young emerging creators, especially those belonging to communities that have historically not had equal access to resources and space.
She is a music, film and literature lover that loves to bring friends together for house concerts, poetry readings and book clubs. She believes in the importance of developing deep and honest relationships with the artists and institutions that she works with, placing notions of care and horizontal exchange at the forefront of her practice. She is the Performing Arts Assistant + Youth Engagement Coordinator at the Evergreen Cultural, the Director of Development + 20th Anniversary Coordinator at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, and the the Next Gen Committee Coordinator at the BC Touring Council. She is based on the unceded and ancestral Coast Salish Territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.
Amber (she/her) has adopted the belief that creating things should always be fun. That art of any kind has the power to heal personal wounds, inspire greatness, and demand happiness. She is a musician, performer, and amateur artist hailing from the used-to-be-small town of Chilliwack, BC. She has been performing in and around the Fraser Valley, across Canada, and down into the United States for going on 15 years now. She has also participated in countless music & theatre festivals, and community theatre productions both on stage, in production, and in a management capacity. Currently, she finds herself immersed in an arts occupation at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, where she wears many hats to help keep the arts thriving in her community, including the programming of their youth engagement program, which aims to highlight, give experience to, and inspire young performers of the community. She would not be where she is today if she had not had those inspirations herself.
Jessica Fowlis (she/they) is an arts & entertainment marketer, multidisciplinary artist, and theatre practitioner. As an arts marketer, Jessi is passionate about uplifting the arts as an integral part of our communities, supporting emerging creators, and developing new accessibility & engagement strategies for arts & culture organizations. Most recently, she has shared these ideas at the City of Coquitlam’s 2019 Cultural Summit, and as part of the Next Gen Committee.
Jessi both lives and works in Coquitlam, BC, where she is the Marketing Manager of Evergreen Cultural Centre, located on the unceded, traditional, and ancestral core territories of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nations, which lie within the shared territories of the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Sḵwx̱wú7mes Úxwumixw (Squamish) nations in the region that is known colonially as the Tri-Cities. When not at Evergreen, Jessi is a coffee enthusiast, cat parent, and the founder of Stargazer Creative.
Luisa is a passionate art maker, coordinator and facilitator. She grew up in the vibrant, culturally rich city of Singapore where she developed her ideas of multiculturalism through her exposure to a myriad of cultures, traditions and practices of the Arts. She has recently earned her Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Music from the University of British Columbia and has been especially inspired by her ethnomusicology ensemble training. During Luisa’s time at UBC she took on the role of Artistic Presentations Assistant at the Chan Centre of Performing Arts where she confirmed her joy for coordinating World Music Programs for youth. She now works with children and is fostering her own hand percussion skills to eventually facilitate World Rhythm Gatherings for both children and adults. Luisa’s vision is to foster a sense of unity, strength and joy by engaging communities with interlocking-rhythms from around the World!
Currently living on the unceded traditional territory of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlim) Nation and working on the unceded traditional territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/ Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Phay Moores is an Intimacy Director, director, internationally-trained actor combatant, and professional actor based in what is now known as Vancouver. She is English, French, and Assiniboine. She currently works as an administrative assistant for Intimacy Director Siobhan Richardson; an artistic associate and producer for Full Circle: First Nations Performance and the Talking Stick Festival; and Intimacy Director for various projects around Vancouver. Phay’s goal is to continue to provide and advocate for safe practices in our theatre, film, and other creative spaces.
Sandstrom Morrison (he/him) is a semi-professional musician, and currently the bassist for the alternative rock band, The Infirmary. Born and raised in Smithers, B.C. located in the beautiful Bulkley Valley. Sandstrom is a member of the Wetsuwit’en First Nations located in the village of Witset (formerly known as Moricetown). During the summer, when he is not playing music festivals, Sandstrom is a general camp manager and bass instructor for the Smithers Youth Guitar Camp. Organized by the BVFMS, the goal of the youth guitar camp is to provide a safe and fun learning environment to encourage and inspire future artists and musicians. He is currently working to further his education in; environmental monitoring, natural resource management, bass guitar performance, and studio recording.
Trevor Stewart (he/him) is a multi-instrumentalist and bandleader currently bringing the funk to his hometown of Burns Lake, BC. After bowing out of his beloved job as a Subaqueous Ceramic Sanitation Technician (Dishwasher) at a local Chinese food restaurant, Trevor soon realized: “If I’m looking for job security, why not be one of 2 drummers in a town of guitar players?” A crown of monopoly was placed upon his head that very day. In 2018 Trevor was named “Youth Citizen of the Year” by the Burns Lake Rotary Club for his volunteerism and contribution to keeping the performing arts a vital facet in the community. That same year, Trevor was promoted from Youth Representative to a Director of the Lakes District Arts Council, a volunteer association dedicated to showcasing performing artists from across Canada in Burns Lake. Trevor is now entering his 3rd year as a Next Gen member.