Ilsa AHmad
Director

Ilsa Ahmad (b.2000) is an emerging multidisciplinary artist currently living in amiskwaciywaskahikan/Edmonton, Alberta. Working in painting and new media, Ilsa explores the vanishing boundaries between digital realms, divine spaces, and their own emotional body. Pulling non-linear and sometimes nonsensical narratives from her dreams, lived experiences and stream-of-consciousness writing, Ilsa mythologizes these confessions/offerings as a form of storytelling, investigating the implications of radical honesty in all realities. ⁠
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Recent exhibitions include I don't know how, but I'm taller at FAB Gallery (2023), these bodies heal slowly and in our own time at McMullen Gallery (2023), and the soil between plants at Latitude 53 (2022). Ilsa co-curated Growing Pains at dc3 Art Projects (2023) with Amanda Komarniski and Lisa Bourque. ⁠ 

gordon harper
Director

Gordon Harper is a visual artist and an advocate for architecture and urban spaces. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta, and has exhibited at venues throughout the province, including the Art Gallery of Alberta, Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre, and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. He is represented by the Peter Robertson Gallery.

When he is not painting in his studio, you will find Gordon cycling through the River Valley, or trying to mix the perfect Sidecar.

ISABELLE HEBERT
Treasurer

Isabelle Hebert fell in love with theatre at the age of 9 when she saw her very first live professional theatre production in Edmonton. In 2012 Isabelle received her BFA in Technical Theatre with a Specialization in Stage Management and subsequently pursued a full time career as a Stage Manager in Edmonton. She later switched gears and joined ATB, and started her banking career. In 2017 ATB established the Branch for Arts + Culture. She has been with that team since the very beginning, and truly loves blending both her passions: the arts and helping people with their financial needs. She currently leads the financial side as their Business Leader. Her love of the arts community and helping bring its financial stability has also led Isabelle to be on Edmonton Screen Industry Office’s advisory committee since 2018. She is thrilled to be part of Latitude 53’s board as their Treasurer.

Emily Jan
Director

Emily Jan (b. 1977, Los Angeles) is an artist, writer, and educator based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) / Edmonton, AB, on Treaty 6 territory.  She creates intricately crafted, hyper-realistic installations of found objects inhabited by handmade flora and fauna and is guided in her work by the spirit of exploration, kinship, and curiousity.

Jan has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Contemporary Calgary, the Textile Museum of Canada, the Doris McCarthy Gallery, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, and the 10e Biennale Nationale de Sculpture Contemporaine.

She teaches on the sculpture faculty at the University of Alberta and sits on the Board of Directors for Union House Arts, Port Union, NL, and Latitude53, Edmonton, AB.

Ferdinand Langit
co-chair

A quintessential design and fine-art geek, Ferdinand Langit is a non-profit professional who has held various roles that have focused on marketing, communications, fund development and community engagement. He attended the University of Alberta where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a specialization in Political Philosophy. His volunteer experiences include co-hosting a show on CJSR Radio and serving on the board of the Pride Centre of Edmonton, as well as the Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists. In his spare time you can find Ferdinand playing on his Nintendo Switch.

Riaz Mehmood
Director

Riaz Mehmood is a multidisciplinary artist who uses video, photography and computer programming as his primary means of expression. His research explorations involve examining emerging technologies and their relationship to art, and his practice often visits themes of multiple and fluid identities, geographical, psychological and cultural displacement, magic realism, and the development of knowledge. He immigrated to Canada in 2000 as a professional engineer and decided to pursue a career in the arts. Mehmood holds an MFA from the University of Windsor (2012) and completed the Integrated Media program at the Ontario College of Art and Design (2005). He has participated in several international and national artist residencies and workshops, and his works have been shown nationally and internationally.⁠

Maddie Post

Director

Maddison Post is a 22-year-old emerging artist residing in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) on Treaty 6 territory. Maddison holds a Diploma of Studio Arts with Distinction from MacEwan University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from the University of Alberta. Maddison focuses her practice on storytelling and creating narratives based on research, personal connections and material exploration. Creating sculptures, videos, drawings, paintings, soundscapes, and installations fuel Maddison’s multi-media practice. Maddison uses her artistic practice and research to discuss themes personal to her own identity, creating personal and meaningful connections with viewers. Maddison continues to grow her practice and contribute to art communities locally on Treaty 6 and is hoping to explore international art communities soon.

Emily Riddle
director

Emily Riddle is a nehiyaw writer, researcher, and library worker. She is a member of the Alexander First Nation in Treaty Six territory and lives in her traditional territory in Edmonton. Her first poetry chapbook will be published by Moon Jelly Press in 2021. She is on the Board of Advisors for the Yellowhead Institute, a First Nations think tank based out of Ryerson University. She has experience working with First Nations and Metis communities on policy, governance, and communications projects. She is currently the Senior Advisor, Indigenous Relations for the Edmonton Public Library and was named Top 30 Under 30 by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation in 2019. Her writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Teen Vogue, Vice, Canadian Art and other publications.

Jake Tkaczyk

Director

Jake Tkaczyk is an Edmonton-based arts leader and theatre artist whose work centres on collaborative creation and imaginative, community-driven cultural practice. With experience across performance, multidisciplinary program design, and organizational leadership, he brings a thoughtful, future-oriented approach to supporting artists and the structures that sustain them.

A graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting program and Red Deer Polytechnic’s Theatre Performance and Creation program, Jake holds a PhD in Creative Practice through the Transart Institute for Creative Research and Liverpool John Moores University. His professional path includes key roles with Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Theatre Alberta where he has worked closely with artists across disciplines including: dance, music, opera, and experimental performance, informing his commitment to cross-pollination in the arts.

Jake most recently served as General Manager of Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre, guiding operations, financial strategy, production planning, and sector partnerships during a period of organizational renewal. There, he introduced Alberta’s first year-round Pay-What-You-Will model for both subscriptions and single tickets, broadening access and strengthening community relationship-building. As an educator, he has taught at the University of Alberta, The Citadel Theatre’s Foote Theatre School, and Grindstone Theatre. He is also a past Artist Intern at Northern Light Theatre and recipient of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts’ Young Artist Prize.

Jake currently serves as Managing Director of the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, where he is leading a new chapter of artistic ambition, community engagement, and national touring activity. He is thrilled to join the Latitude 53 Board and contribute to the organization’s work of championing experimental, interdisciplinary, and equity-driven artistic practices in Edmonton and beyond.

mATT WARD
Co-chair

Matt Ward (he/they) is a queer nêhiyaw from Driftpile Cree Nation (Treaty 8) living on Treaty 6 territory in amiskwacîwâskahikan. With a background in community based research and Critical Indigenous studies, they work for an Indigenous public relations and engagement firm and volunteer in the housing/homelessness, poverty reduction, and broader community services sector. Their current roles include Engagement Manager at pipikwan pêhtâkwan and Chair of the Human Services Community Granting Committee at the Edmonton Community Foundation. In their free time they’re usually found downtown Edmonton, where they live.