Heather Haynes has been curating visual arts, performance and film since 2006. (To see a detailed description of her work please visit the scroll down menu in this section.) Heather has over 25 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 connections through outreach and programming in Indigenous, culturally diverse and new generation communities.
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 a countless number of 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 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 nonprofit artspace 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 Director & Curator 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 an International Programmer for Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and for imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. She also produced three award winning documentaries; Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, Super Amigos, and City Idol.
Heather maintains a passionate activism for 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.
Her curatorial work has been honoured by Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art's Untitled Art Awards, and voted Best New Gallery by NOW Magazine
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 a countless number of 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 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 nonprofit artspace 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 Director & Curator 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 an International Programmer for Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and for imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. She also produced three award winning documentaries; Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, Super Amigos, and City Idol.
Heather maintains a passionate activism for 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.
Her curatorial work has been honoured by Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art's Untitled Art Awards, and voted Best New Gallery by NOW Magazine
