We’re excited to share the final projects from the 13 Fellows in I Love My Gig Ontario 2025. Each Fellow took time to look back on their pandemic experiences and explore what care can look like now and in the future. The Fellows call on us to help carry their wisdom forward and let it guide how we care for one another in the years ahead.
Our thanks to the Care Team for their vital support. We also thank the Canada Council for the Arts, Government of Canada, Ontario Arts Council, and Government of Ontario for their generous funding.
Bad for Business
By Kamee Abrahamian
February 4, 2026
This piece is a poetic reflection on care, creativity, and politicized artmaking. It is rooted in diasporic experience, burnout, and belonging. It weaves personal narrative, community visioning, and a residency experiment into a call for relational, rest-centered cultural work.
Alphabetical Order
By Abhimanyu
February 4, 2026
An A to Z of one tweet’s COVID fallout: anxiety, threats, Poha breakfasts, love and therapy, all guiding a gentle decision about where home, safety, and a future can still exist.
Care as Resistance
By Claudia Arana
February 4, 2026
This work-in-progress is a collection of poems, essays, and curatorial writing that explores how artists use care as a way to heal, connect, and stand up to harmful systems.
Love Notes to a New Parent
By Jayal Chung
February 4, 2026
A zine on queer parenting through the pandemic that features illustrations, prompts, and excerpt writing entries.
The Secret Gift and Life Becoming
By Michele Anne-Marie Dickson
February 4, 2026
This work reflects on how the pandemic has changed daily life and creative work, exploring resilience, inner energy, and ways of connecting with and caring for others during future challenges.
Elemental Remembrance
By LOR
February 4, 2026
A reflective work shaped by pandemic solitude, drawing on nature and the elements to explore resilience, connection, and a sense of belonging beyond isolation.
Everyone’s Child Matters
By Star Nahwegahbo
February 4, 2026
A reflective story using art to process loss after the pandemic, honouring a loved one and calling for compassion, accountability, and being a safe place for others.
Wild Offerings
By Jillian Peever
February 4, 2026
A reflective account of post‑pandemic artistic practice that uses nature, movement, and self‑care to explore sustainable ways of working, reconnecting, and building capacity for care, community, and resilience during future crises.
Future … The Blank Canvas
By Rojin Shafiei
February 4, 2026
Inspired by COVID-19, this work imagines a fairer world in crisis. It addresses inequality, grief, and recovery, highlighting art as a tool for care, resilience, and connection in uncertain times.
Bloom Anyway
By Affrica Spence
February 4, 2026
A colouring, poetry, and mini mental health booklet inspired by the experiences of Black and Disabled women during the pandemic.
Exploring Care-Based Futures
By Amanda Tkaczyk
February 4, 2026
A creative guide re-imagining volunteering in Ontario, offering practical tools to address challenges while supporting care, resilience, and new paths away from burnout.
Masked Mondays
By Aquil Virani
February 4, 2026
Masked Mondays promotes regular mask-mandatory times at cultural venues, helping make arts spaces safer and more accessible for everyone through a focus on care, inclusion, and shared responsibility.
Plate Spinner
By Velvet Wells
February 4, 2026
This project challenges productivity culture and embraces rest, accessibility, and community care. It explores disability awareness and Afrofuturist visions to imagine healthier, more sustainable ways of creating and connecting.