Staff
Membership & Communications Coordinator
Emily Zhang is an arts administrator with a BA in Art History from the University of British Columbia. She has been heavily involved in the arts and culture sector within the lower mainland for the past couple of years, having worked with organizations like the Craft Council of BC, the Port Moody Arts Centre, and Coquitlam Heritage. She practices ceramics, mixed media, and textiles in her spare time.
Board of Directors
President: Miah Shull Olmsted
Treasurer: Tina Overbury
Tina Overbury is a multi-disciplinary artist. She’s a writer, storyteller, and performer who works with narrative and story structure as a vehicle for human connection. Her recent work: OMYGOD is an unapologetic storytelling for reconciliation experience about the women we burned, the babies we buried and the Gods we worship, currently in video format. Tina O’s art centers around visceral storytelling experiences within a circle based practice. Always off-the-cuff and spoken from her core, Tina also hosts two podcasts: Harleys and Hairspray with Madlove Music, and GATHER for HER with PowHERhouse. Tina has created pieces for film, the stage, and in her writing. She is a Story Coach and Facilitator with The Writer’s Adventure community, hosting writing retreats and coaching authors. Tina’s work is rooted in myth, mysticism, and always with a spirit of PLAY.
Trevor Van den Eijden
Melany Nugent-Noble
Based in Kelowna, on the unceded territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) people, Melany Nugent-Noble (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and arts administrator. Through her research and practice she uses tactics of play that aim to collate, destabilize and amplify repetition and patterns in everyday routine. Her work is grounded in S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), which informs her understanding of the relationship between making art, problem-solving, and creativity.
Melany holds an MFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Vancouver, 2015). She was the City of Kelowna’s inaugural Artist in Residence (2020), and a Fellow of the Art & Law Program (New York, 2018). Since 2017, she has served as the Assistant Director at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art.
For more information, visit: https://melanynugent-noble.com/
Wallace Koopmans
Wallace is an Abbotsford based painter and photographer. Having lived in British Columbia his entire life, he finds inspiration representing his home province. Landscapes and the human impact on them is a recurring theme in his work. Wallace studied studio arts at Kwantlen College but believes learning is a life long pursuit. Lately he has concentrated on traditional and alternative photographic processes in his darkroom.
For more information, visit: http://wkoopmans.ca/notebook/
Get Involved!
CARFAC BC is seeking a members from Northern BC and those with grant writing experience to join our Board of Directors. For more information or to apply, click here.
If you are a professional visual or media artist interested in improving the working conditions of fellow artists in British Columbia through advocacy and education, you are invited to submit a Board of Directors Expression of Interest form. Candidates should have a strong commitment to CARFAC BC’s mission, vision, and values and a demonstrated passion for the visual arts. You will learn alot about the logistical side of British Columbia visual art, and benefit from being a part of our organization with its long history of advocacy for the arts.
Ideal candidates will have a broad range of skills and experience. Those with experience and skills in one or more of the following areas are encouraged to apply:
- Fundraising and development
- Accounting or financial management
- Advocacy, lobbying, or labour experience concerning artists
- Law/legal matters
- Board governance
Previous volunteer experience in the nonprofit sector, especially at committee or Board level, is recommended. Positions are open for Directors-at-Large.
Board members will serve on CARFAC BC’s Board of Directors for a two-year term (2021–2023). Board members are expected to contribute 5-8 volunteer hours per month, depending on committee or executive roles. Meetings are held approximately 10 times per year and are held via video conference.
CARFAC BC strives to be an inclusive and safe space for all, and to accurately reflect the diversity of the various arts communities that we serve. We strongly encourage applications from artists who are members of marginalized and/or underserved/underrepresented communities, especially individuals who identify as: First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, or people of colour; diverse gender and sexual identities (including LGBTQ2+); people living with dis/ability, etc.
Interested parties should read the CARFAC BC Board of Directors Terms of Reference document to review full details of Board responsibilities. For more information or to apply, please send an email to director.carfacbc@gmail.com with the subject line “CARFAC BC Board of Directors” and include a brief statement of your interest in the organization, your experience and relevant skill sets. Thank you!