We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. @CanadaCouncil #BringingTheArtsToLife

As spring approaches we want to take the time to highlight the creative work and community spirit of some of our Akin Waterfront Members. Introducing Marcia Bianchi, Vicky Vyas, and Niki Nazhand! Continue reading to learn more about these artists, their art practices, and why they love working in an Akin studio!

Marcia Bianchi (she/her)

Image Description: Marci Bianchi leans on a wooden table in her studio, facing forward. She is wearing black painting coveralls splattered with paint, her hair is long and brown. Behind her, the white walls are filled with large paintings in various stages of completion. In front of her is an easel with a blue figurative painting. On the left wall is a coat rack with sweaters and jackets, to the right is a clear plastic shelf.

Marcia Bianchi is a contemporary figurative artist based in Toronto, Canada. Her work has evolved since pursuing a career in graphic design, when she began fusing the design principles with canvas. Heavily influenced by psychology and the exploration of the mind, her intention is to create pieces that will allow the viewer to experience a moment of ease.

Bianchi graduated from the University of Toronto and continued to develop her practice as studio assistant to Canadian Painter, Michael Adamson. Since then, she has completed a studio residency with the Akin Studio Program at Auto BLDG. She has participated in multiple exhibitions, most notably, a digital billboard in Times Square, New York City, with Artist Talk Magazine in 2022, and prints of her work are sold in the gift shop at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her practice continues to evolve as she explores mediums and muses.

Follow Marcia on instagram @marciabianchi.studio or check out her website www.marciabianchi.ca

Image Description: Title of painting; “Age of Phase II”. An image of a body curled up, knee to chest, is painted in blue with yellow highlights in the centre, against a grey blue and yellow textured background.

Tell us about your work!
My work explores the space between movement and stillness, often expressed through the lively curves of the female form juxtaposed against a solid ground. Through the use of oil paints and a neutral palette, my paintings are a translated state of mind — I intend to capture the essence of whatever is behind a blank stare and draw attention to it. Motivated by my theory that if we confront the uncomfortable, we will find solace.

What's your favourite part about being an Akin member?
Being an artist comes with a lot of isolation and uncertainty. However, the sense of community that comes with being an Akin member can be a guiding light on an otherwise unlit path.

What's your favourite part about being in Akin Waterfront?
I moved to Akin Waterfront because of the location. I often find a sense of calm being by the water and I like when that translates into the work. As an east-ender, I also enjoy the proximity to my home. I look forward to the warmer months when I can commute with my bike along the lake. That’s a good warm up to a productive day at the studio.

What's something you bring into the Akin community?
I‘ve worked out of a few different Akin locations over the years and in each studio I really try to get to know the artists I’m working beside, get a sense of their practice, and make a point to share advice or opportunities that might be useful.

Vicky Vyas (she/her)

Image Description: A close-up selfie of Vicky Vyas’ face. She’s wearing a blue-grey hoodie, her eyes are brown and her hair is silver. She is holding a thick paintbrush saturated in bright blue paint. Behind her is a wall with bright green and red paintings.

Artist! Painter! Educator! Vicky Vyas started painting at an early age and continued to develop her craft throughout her schooling. She obtained her BFA in Fine Arts - Visual Arts, specialising in Painting. At that time, she was one of few Canadian-Indian artists painting about the Indian Diaspora. This made her artwork stand out and she began to get recognition for her contributions in art and was presented with an Award of Excellence. Shortly after, she landed her first solo show in NYC, in Soho on Broadway, where she was told that she was ‘like the South Asian Frida Kahlo’. Little did she know at the time how closely her life would resemble Kahlo’s. Just as her career began to take off as an artist, on Dec 6th, 2001 she was hit by an 18-wheeler truck while driving. She lost her memory and her mobility for a few months, but recovery took years. By the time she began to paint again, she was no longer one of the few South Asians painting about similar themes, and it’s been a long hiatus from painting since then but she has started back slowly, after multiple surgeries; with cages, plates and rods in her spine. In Vicky’s own words “Painting excites me and breathes life into me and it is the one thing that takes away my pain.”

Follow Vicky on instagram @vickyvyasart

*A painting of the deity Krishna*, nude with blue skin, draped in gold jewellery and a golden headdress, surrounded by five shirtless figures all wearing blue jeans. In the background the sky is pink, blue and green, green shrubs and trees with green and pink leaves extend inwards from both edges of the canvas. Overlaid on top of the painting is a photograph positioned at the top right. The photograph is of a sketch of black ink on white paper roughly outlining the same figures which appear in the painting. Below and on the right, black text against a white background is layered atop the edge of the painting and reads “from start to finish.”

Tell us about your work!
As a Canadian Artist who comes from a South Asian background, I began to explore themes of identity, sexuality and traditions, while contrasting East vs. West and Modern vs. Traditional within them. After experiencing various traumas in life I began to shift my themes to the trials and tribulations in life; my own and that of others. I continue to use symbolism that I know and understand from my background, and although I use some religious figures in my work, it is not meant to be religious, rather a comparison of what is understood through the stories told vs. the experience here in the west. Colour excites me and I am not afraid to be bold with it, as well as using various textures in my painting. As I evolve, I find my work evolves, as it is often a reflection of my life and my experiences in that moment.

What's your favourite part about being an Akin member?
I love being an Akin member as it allows myself and other Artists to be part of an art community that promotes its artists and introduces them to each other. With artists of various crafts, Akin also allows for collaboration with fellow artists.

What's your favourite part about being in Akin Waterfront?
My favourite aspect about being a part of Akin Waterfront is that from the minute you walk in, you see big, bright, beautiful paintings which is super inspiring to me as a painter. Fellow Akin Waterfront members are super friendly, supportive and always willing to share ideas, sites and information that is beneficial to any artist.

What's something you bring into the Akin community?
My funny, friendly personality! I like to connect/introduce members to each other, in order to form more of a community vibe at Akin Waterfront. Otherwise we would all be hiding in our studio spaces and listening to our music not knowing anyone is there.

Niki Nazhand (she/her)

Image description: Niki Nazhand leans back in a white chair in the foreground, facing forward. She has black, shoulder length hair and wears a white shirt beneath a blue apron covered in paint. Behind her is a bright painting on an easel of a face, zoomed in to showcase only the nose, mouth, neck and shoulders. The figure wears a red-purple shirt and the background is a bright green fading into purple.

Niki Nazhand was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1989. She has a BA in Fine Arts from Tehran University and an MFA from the Academy of Art University San Francisco. She has attended a few art residencies in renowned universities such as Columbia University and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. After finishing her master’s program in 2015, she moved to Dubai, where she continued painting and held a few group exhibitions; she had a studio at Tashkeel studios, a leading art studio and gallery in the region.

Nazhand travels a lot, and during her travels, she attends painting workshops around the world; two of the recent workshops she attended were Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, and Rome workshops in Rome, Italy, where she painted with Nicolas Uribe, one of her favourite artists from Columbia. She moved to Toronto in 2020 and became an Akin member in 2021. When she is not in her studio she is attending on Mommy duties to her three year-old daughter or high maintenance Frenchie.

Follow Niki on Instagram @nikinazhand or check out her website www.nikinazhand.com

Image description: Niki Nazhand sits in a chair, in a studio, painting onto a canvas hanging on the wall. Niki is dressed in black, with white earbuds in her ears. Her black, shoulder length hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She holds a long red paintbrush. The image she’s creating is of a pregnant woman with a toddler standing beside her. In the background is a painting of a brown french bulldog against a bright green background.

Tell us about your work!
The scenes in my paintings are mostly day-to-day activities that mean a lot to me, reminiscing happy or painful memories of the past. I usually prefer to paint the subjects I know very intimately; that’s why I have done a lot of self-portraits in the past and continue to do so.

Some of my favourite artists are Jenny Saville, Alex Kanevsky, Nicolas Uribe, Ruprecht von Kaufmann, and, last but not least, Benjamin Björklund.

What's your favourite part about being an Akin member?
My favourite part about being an Akin member is taking part of a greater community with like-minded artistic people.

What's your favourite part about being in Akin Waterfront?
The favourite part about being an Akin Waterfront member is the proximity to the Distillery district if you want to get a break and have some food or coffee, and also to the water if you feel like clearing your mind and walking by the water (if weather permits).

What's something you bring into the Akin community?
I bring a different perspective and point of view to the conversations with my studio mates as an international artist with a diverse background. I also think my positive energy uplifts the mood of my studio pals.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

@CanadaCouncil #BringingTheArtsToLife