Meet the Artists
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Gilad Cohen is a Jewish-Canadian Toronto-based artist, photographer, podcaster, public speaker, and advocate for human rights. Since 2008, Gilad has worked as a community mobilizer with a focus on connecting audiences to urgent and compelling stories through multimedia arts.
In 2012, Gilad founded JAYU, an award-winning Toronto-based charity that serves the arts community through the annual Human Rights Film Festival, The Hum, a human rights podcast which he produced and co-hosted, as well as the iAM Program, an initiative that provides arts and social justice mentorship to more than 200 equity-deserving youth from across the GTA each year.
Gilad is deeply passionate about mental health, often speaking about it publicly and advocating for better practices in the arts and non-profit sectors. In 2020, this led him to shifting his organization to a 4-day work-week, extended paid sick and vacation leave, and more.
As a photographer, Gilad specializes in portraits and travel photography.
He is an alumna of the Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab and the Rothschild Fellowship at Cambridge University in the UK. He has sat on the Board of Directors for several arts and human rights charities including Global Youth Volunteer Network, Scarborough Arts, and RISE Edutainment. He currently sits on the Board of HanVoice, Canada’s largest North Korean human rights advocacy group.
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Kristen Avery is a Toronto-based artist whose work focuses on lifestyle and portraiture photography.
Her journey into photography began with her two beloved dogs, Beans and Cashew, capturing the raw, everyday moments that define the bond between humans and their pets. What started as a personal passion quickly evolved into a love for storytelling through images—a passion that continues to fuel her creativity today. She finds great fulfillment in knowing that her work has helped preserve meaningful memories and created a lasting connection between people and the special moments in their lives.
Beyond her artistic pursuits, Kristen is deeply committed to giving back. She dedicates time to animal rescue organizations and is passionate about mentoring and uplifting fellow photographers. These activities, alongside her artistic endeavours, bring a profound sense of purpose to her work.
By day, Kristen works as a business analyst at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), where she plays a role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of systems that support clinical trials. Collaborating closely with program directors and operational teams, Kristen helps streamline processes and enhance outcomes for research that aims to improve population health.