ABOUT US
Staff
The Centre[3] staff is a dedicated group of individuals who share a passion for social change through artistic and social practices. If you have any questions, comments, or collaboration ideas, we’d like to hear from you.
Colina Maxwell
Executive Director
Originally from Toronto, Colina Maxwell moved to Hamilton in 1999. Maxwell is a practicing visual artist, as well as the co-founder and Executive Director of Centre[3] for Artistic + Social Practice. The centre has helped fuel a growing arts community in Hamilton with Maxwell at the helm.
She meaningfully engages the core of our community through boundary-breaking contemporary art and pushing the barriers in presentation, education, and community arts. In 2011, Maxwell was awarded the Arts Management for the City of Hamilton, and in 2013, she was awarded the Women of Distinction award for Art and Culture. As a feminist and an artist, Maxwell’s artwork is politically charged, exploring gender, social constructs, and labour.
Maxwell has a substantial amount of formal training in visual arts and art history: BA of Art History and English Literature (University of Toronto), Visual Arts (University of Toronto, Sheridan College joint program), Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and a summer at the Glasgow School of Art. She has successfully secured a wide range of project grant funding from the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.
Julie Shea
Director of Operations
Julie Shea is a life-long Hamiltonian where she has raised two daughters, successfully ran a business, and participated heavily in her community. Julie graduated with an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, followed by a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. Upon completion of her formal education, Julie began a career in financial planning and eventually became a managing partner of GIC Financial Services, where she worked for 15 years. Julie eventually sold her business and decided to shift gears and begin an entirely different career in public service. While not a visual artist, Julie is a musician and songwriter.
Julie has always been very community minded and recently served as Volunteer Co-Chair for Telling Tales Festival, President of the Hamilton Rotary Club, and is currently the Chair of Body Brave.
Angela Busse
Print Studio Manager
Angela Busse is a multi-disciplinary artist whose studio practice explores photo-based processes via traditional printmaking, and ceramics.
Alex Borghesan
Studio Manager
Alex Borghesan is a Hamilton artist and art educator with a focus on observation, surface modification and experimental play. Most of Alex’s works go through several stages of development in the preparation and finalizing of each piece.
In addition to creating art I work as an arts educator for youth and those living with challenges. It is here that I aim to help not only pass on art-making skills but foster safe spaces and community development to those in need. With the hopes to allow people to grow, find themselves and connect with others that can also help them grow.”
Sarah Sproule
Social Practice Coordinator
Sarah Sproule (she/they) is an emerging artist and arts administrator originally from Waterdown, ON. She received her BFA in Studio Art as well as a BA in Art History from McMaster University. During that time, she focused both her artistic practice and research on contemporary sculpture. Sarah works primarily in the casting and mould-making process, utilizing plaster, clay, and found objects to create dimensional images of abstracted bodies.
Sarah is currently serving on the Board of Directors at Hamilton Artists Inc. and is a member of the Assembly Gallery. As an administrator, Sarah has previously held positions at Hamilton Artists Inc., at McMaster University’s Archives and Research Division, and The Bertrand Russell Archives and Research Centre.
Walter Penado-Vasquez
YouthCAN Social Enterprise Manager
Walter is a Hamilton-based Artist. He graduated from Centennial College Fine Arts with a graduate specialization in Arts Education And Community Engagement. He has taken part in Centre[3] digital printing and archival technician work and has taken part in non-profit initiatives in Hamilton through Centre[3]. He is a practicing traditional and digital artist.