Brantford Public Art Subcommittee

The role of the City of Brantford’s Public Art Subcommittee (PAS) is to promote and enhance Brantford with Public Art, and encourage residents and visitors alike to visit public spaces. The PAS works to support City staff, advocate, develop and promote the growth of the Public Art Collection through commissioning new works, facilitating donations, and supporting temporary installations. The subcommittee also provides strategic input and advice to Council and Staff on all matters of Public Art.

The Public Art Subcommittee is responsible for:

  • Promoting awareness and understanding of the benefits of art in public spaces;
  • Providing strategic input and advice to City of Brantford staff and Brantford’s City Council regarding the type and location of Public Art as well as the development of policies and guidelines;
  • Assisting with the selection of Public Art;
  • Recommending any changes and/or additions to the evaluation criteria for section of Public Art, as required;
  • Working with City of Brantford staff to identify potential sites and projects for future Public Art installations, and
  • Making recommendations for the expenditures from the Public Art Reserve Fund for the purpose of new acquisitions of public art, or public art education.

About the Subcommittee

PAS is a volunteer subcommittee that exists to provide expert community input and support on the City's Public Art policies and procedures. The subcommittee also provides guidance and advice to City Staff. PAS is made up of community members committed to the promotion, advancement and advocacy of Public Art in the City of Brantford.

Member Bios

Aliki Mikulich

Aliki MikulichAliki is a practising artist with a degree in Art and Art History. Her mediums include painting, pottery and printmaking. Over her past 30+ years in Brantford, she has been involved in various activities around the community including leading workshops and group installations in local elementary schools, teaching at Glenhyrst Gallery and Brantford Potters Guild, working as Program Manager at the Brantford Arts Block and helping in creating various pieces of public art around town.

She sits on the Public Art Working Group, Grand Culture Group, and is the organizer of the Holmedale Art Crawl as well as a part of the Grand River Festival Organizing Committee. . Her work with the Brantford Potter’s Guild includes managing the pottery shop at Glenhyrst and being Studio Assistant at ClayWorks Studio. Her studio is in her home in Holmedale.

Aliki is an enthusiastic advocate of all things local.
Chris Paul Farias
Chris Paul FariasChris Paul Farias is a creative strategist, storyteller, artist, and public speaker. They founded the Unicorn Rebellion, a branding agency that helps not-for-profits and other organizations discover their brilliant truth. They've contributed as a columnist, correspondent, lecturer, and speaker for various media outlets (Marketing Mag, CBC), events, and conferences.
David M. Leng
David M. LengDavid Leng, P.Geo. has worked in the mining industry for over two decades.  He is the owner of a RGCI, a geological consulting firm based in Brantford with mining and exploration clients throughout Canada and around the globe.  He has an honours degree in geology from McMaster University and holds a professional geoscientist designation.  David has been involved in the Brantford arts community for many years, having served on the Glenhyrst board of directors since 2014 and been Chair of the Permanent Collection Committee since 2018.  In both professional and private life, David remains actively involved with many organizations.
Heather George
Heather GeorgeHeather is a mother, gardener, beader, curator, PhD Candidate and the Executive Director of Woodland Cultural Centre where she is leading the multimillion-dollar construction project to rehabilitate the former Mohawk Institute Residential School. With both Euro-Canadian and Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) family, much of Heather's personal and professional work has been directed at gaining a better understanding of Indigenous culture, heritage and responsibilities to community. Her current PhD research through University of Waterloo examines the historical and philosophical underpinnings of contemporary museum practices across Haudenosaunee communities. She seeks to better understand how material culture can be used to heal trauma and make space for cross-cultural dialogues. In 2019 Heather was awarded the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship for her research. Heather has spent over a decade working for urban and reserve based Indigenous organizations in the Six Nations of the Grand River territory focused on cultural preservation, heritage, and youth resiliency. From 2022-2023 Heather served as the president of the Candian Musuems Association (the first Indigenous woman ever to hold this role) and supported staff in the development of the Moved to Action report in support of the TRC call to action #67. This spring Heather will open her first international exhibition with the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève.
Janet Kempster
Janet KempsterJanet was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her passion for art became very evident in high school. She went on to earn a post graduate degree in Fine Arts. She and her husband immigrated to Canada in 1974, settling in Brantford. Choosing  teaching as a career Janet  taught high school art in the city for some thirty years.    She co-authored an illustrated history book ‘Brantford, Grand River Crossing’ published in 1986.  Janet turned from painting to photography in 1995 and earned an Art Photography Certificate from Mohawk College, Hamilton.  She later taught evening  photography classes there for ten years.  Janet has been very involved  in judging photography since 2001 with invitations encompassing areas from regional to international competition.  She has always remained involved in the arts in Brantford.  She was a volunteer for well over twenty years at the  Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, including a term as President. She has been a member of various city arts councils - most currently, the City’s Public Art Committee. Famous painter Paul Klee stated that “Art does not reflect the visible, but makes visible.”  Janet strives through her own work to ‘make visible’ aspects of the world around her that may be overlooked or unseen by others. She also hopes that through her photography she can evoke an emotional response, tell a story, educate, or simply create interest and enjoyment.
Wiktor Kulinski

Wiktor KulinskiWiktor currently serves as the Chair of Grand Culture, an organization dedicated to fostering a vibrant cultural scene in the Brant region. He also lends his expertise by sitting on various arts, culture, and heritage committees. With a PhD in Performance Theory and Anthropology, Wiktor's research bridges these disciplines to develop imaginative understandings of anthropological questions. More practically, he employs ethnographic methods to better understand and advance the creative and cultural sectors.