About Heather Haynes
Culture Storm was started by Heather Haynes, former Founder and Executive Director of Toronto Free Gallery. Heather has over 30 years of experience working with artists and artist run culture. As the founder and director of Toronto Free Gallery, her focus was to successfully reach out to diverse communities and emerging artists, creating strong diverse community connections through outreach and programming.
Through her work at Toronto Free, Heather amassed a large network of working partnerships that span over performing and visual arts, film, music and theatre including groups outside of the cultural community. With this kind of network, she is able to create expansive and enriched programming, working partnerships and expanded audiences for the artist represented. Through Toronto Free and independently she curated and organized countless exhibitions, performances and talks, working with notable artists including Emory Douglas of the Black Panthers, The Yes Men, Sister Spit, The Pinky Show, Carole Condé & Karl Beveridge, Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable, Favianna Rodriguez, and countless talented emerging artists and performers.
Heather Haynes received her B.F.A. from The San Francisco Art Institute and later studied an M.A. in Political Philosophy and Cultural Analysis at the Universiteit van Amsterdam in the Netherlands. While in San Francisco, Heather was an exhibiting performance and installation artist, as well, she was the co-founder of Bewegung, a non-profit art space that hosted a multitude of events ranging from visual arts to new experimental music, film and literature.
In 2003, she moved to Toronto and established Toronto Free Gallery where she held the position of Executive & Artistic Director until 2013. Toronto Free Gallery was a non-profit art space dedicated to exhibiting works dealing with social, cultural and urban issues relevant to current times.
Along with her curatorial work, Heather is also a Senior International Programmer for Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival a former International Programmer for imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, a guest programmer for AluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival and a reader for Chicken & Egg Motion Pictures’ (EGG)CELERATOR LAB. She travels to film festivals throughout Mexico, Central and South America to serve as an industry delegate to identify documentaries for future curatorial selection and she serves as a work in progress coach for documentaries in rough cut stages. She has produced and wrote three award winning documentaries; Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, Super Amigos, and City Idol.
Heather maintains a passionate activism for political, social justice and environmental issues. She is specifically interested in the role of arts and culture in fostering community engagement and change. Her commitment to these issues informs both her curatorial practice and documentary productions.
The Culture Storm production of Stitch was nominated for a 2016 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Sound Design by Andy Moro and Luca Caruso-Moro.
Her curatorial work has been honoured by Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art's Untitled Art Awards and voted Best New Gallery by NOW Magazine.
Film awards include 2007 Top 10 Audience Award Hot Docs, Finalist Best Canadian Documentary Hot Docs, Best Screenplay Punto de Vista, Best Feature Documentary Cinequest, Full Frame Spectrum Award Full Frame, Top 10 Audience Award Hot Docs , Audience Award Chicago Latino Film Festival, Best Documentary Napa Valley Wine Country Film Festival, Audience Choice Award Oxnard Film Festival.
Through her work at Toronto Free, Heather amassed a large network of working partnerships that span over performing and visual arts, film, music and theatre including groups outside of the cultural community. With this kind of network, she is able to create expansive and enriched programming, working partnerships and expanded audiences for the artist represented. Through Toronto Free and independently she curated and organized countless exhibitions, performances and talks, working with notable artists including Emory Douglas of the Black Panthers, The Yes Men, Sister Spit, The Pinky Show, Carole Condé & Karl Beveridge, Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable, Favianna Rodriguez, and countless talented emerging artists and performers.
Heather Haynes received her B.F.A. from The San Francisco Art Institute and later studied an M.A. in Political Philosophy and Cultural Analysis at the Universiteit van Amsterdam in the Netherlands. While in San Francisco, Heather was an exhibiting performance and installation artist, as well, she was the co-founder of Bewegung, a non-profit art space that hosted a multitude of events ranging from visual arts to new experimental music, film and literature.
In 2003, she moved to Toronto and established Toronto Free Gallery where she held the position of Executive & Artistic Director until 2013. Toronto Free Gallery was a non-profit art space dedicated to exhibiting works dealing with social, cultural and urban issues relevant to current times.
Along with her curatorial work, Heather is also a Senior International Programmer for Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival a former International Programmer for imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, a guest programmer for AluCine Latin Film + Media Arts Festival and a reader for Chicken & Egg Motion Pictures’ (EGG)CELERATOR LAB. She travels to film festivals throughout Mexico, Central and South America to serve as an industry delegate to identify documentaries for future curatorial selection and she serves as a work in progress coach for documentaries in rough cut stages. She has produced and wrote three award winning documentaries; Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, Super Amigos, and City Idol.
Heather maintains a passionate activism for political, social justice and environmental issues. She is specifically interested in the role of arts and culture in fostering community engagement and change. Her commitment to these issues informs both her curatorial practice and documentary productions.
The Culture Storm production of Stitch was nominated for a 2016 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Sound Design by Andy Moro and Luca Caruso-Moro.
Her curatorial work has been honoured by Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art's Untitled Art Awards and voted Best New Gallery by NOW Magazine.
Film awards include 2007 Top 10 Audience Award Hot Docs, Finalist Best Canadian Documentary Hot Docs, Best Screenplay Punto de Vista, Best Feature Documentary Cinequest, Full Frame Spectrum Award Full Frame, Top 10 Audience Award Hot Docs , Audience Award Chicago Latino Film Festival, Best Documentary Napa Valley Wine Country Film Festival, Audience Choice Award Oxnard Film Festival.
