Menu
The purpose of the Living Temagami Arts and Culture is to promote community interest, engagement, appreciation, and education in the arts, culture, heritage, local history, and other areas.
David is an Indigenous singer-songwriter performing contemporary Native Canadian Music. He hails from Teme-Augama Anishnabai (Deep Water People) in beautiful Northern Ontario. His Debut CD, “Right City Wrong Town” was nominated Best Blues CD by Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards 2013. Inspired by successful Folk, Country, Rock and Blues artists, David’s storytelling describes fresh takes on heartbreak, loneliness, love, hope, joy, and a cool summer breeze. Much of his song material intertwines the mystical power of the land and its ancient people against a backdrop of natural forces……..wind, water and waves.
Dianne is a local to Temagami, Ontario. Dianne is a leather work artist who excels in beading and the making of other fine leather craft products, she has established a line of needle felting and knitting products. Dianne currently resides in Temagami with her husband, Joe. Together they have two children and two grandchildren, Siena and Gus.
Gerry is a passionate Professional Fine Art Photographer and urban explorer. Raised in Temagami since 1953 and moved here full time in 1972 Gerry creates amazing Artistic Landscapes, outstanding astrophotography and inspirational Creative Portraits. He is very active in the photography community and the business of photography. Gerry loves to share and educate people in the art of Photography through workshops and personal and group sessions. Gerry has many projects he is involved in.
Heather Reid is a local photographer and fine artist who has been a resident of Lake Temagami since 1996. Her love of photography grew from a hobby into a more professional capacity in 2005 and she now uses her photos as inspiration for her art work. She is a self taught artist who works mainly in oil and acrylics but also dabbles in watercolour. The subjects for her paintings range from wildlife to landscapes to Northern Lights. Heather’s photography and fine art encompasses her passion for wildlife and the outdoors especially the night skies and the all elusive Northern Lights. Many of her photos are taken on her island and neighboring islands. She also has several vantage points of the northern sky on the island or the mainland to take pictures of the Aurora Borealis.
Hugh McKenzie (Zaagiidgeaway Gabo) is an Ojibway artist from Lake Temagami. His prints are images conveying spiritual meaning, animals and birds. Hugh was born on Bear Island, Lake Temagami. He says growing up on the family trap-line was the early inspiration for his interest in the land and nature. In 1967 Hugh went to work and live with his friend and fellow artist Benjamin Chee Chee in Hull Quebec. Together they produced work and sold it to the Canadian Indian Marketing Services. They did several art shows in Ottawa and Chee Chee produced a mural for Expo 67 that became well-known. Chee Chee died in 1976. Hugh continued to carry on his art, perfecting the sponge and stencil technique first developed by himself and Chee Chee earlier.
Jennifer Pereira is an oil painter born in Toronto, ON she currently works and lives in Cobalt, Ontario. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Queens University where she majored in oil painting and printmaking. Jennifer has shown works of a variety of mediums in several group and juried shows. As an outdoor enthusiast and animal lover, inspiration for her works flow effortlessly from her experiences and surrounding environments.
Jonathan (Jon) Cadang is a Canadian naturalist, backcountry guide, forager and oil-painter working with traditional techniques to create works that are as much sculpture, as they are paintings. He is inspired by the works of Bill Mason, who was a Canadian filmmaker, artist, author, naturalist, and conservationist. Much of Jon’s work is influenced by Bill Mason’s use of various palette knives to create uniquely textured marks with oil paints. Formerly, Jon spent two years at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADu) before pursuing studies at Sir Sandford Fleming College School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences where he achieved recognition for his proficiencies in field dendrology and field ornithology.
Judy Gouin grew up in Ottawa and Kingston, Ontario. She is a graduate of the Chelsea School of Art in London, England. She worked in screen printing, combined with photography, for twelve years at Open Studio in Toronto. In the ‘eighties, she stopped working as an artist to be the Film, Photography and Video Officer at the Ontario Arts Council. In 1991, she moved to Temagami and has worked in painting ever since. She is represented by Living Temagami Arts & Culture Centre.
Leighsha (Lesha) was born in South Western, Ontario. She grew up on a tobacco farm where her love for the land began. As a child she would drive slowly around the country side looking at the tobacco crops in the fields. The family farm was sold when she was twenty six, and on the final day Lesha took her fathers chair from the harvest table. During the tobacco harvest season he sat at the head of the harvest table on that chair. In 2020, she began photographing the local farmland and buildings around Earlton where she now resides. The local landscape reminded her of her childhood growing up on the family farm. Late in 2020, she took her father’s chair to photograph at the old Gauthier Barn located outside of the Earlton town. She has been photographing the chair in different settings ever since reminding us all to slow down and take a good long look at the view because the land might not exist forever.
Lindsay is a freelance artist who studies the sponge stencil style of work through Hugh McKenzie, a boyhood friend of Ben Chee Chee who became a success using that medium. Lindsay also does free hand acrylic and oil painting which he enjoys. He has been successful in selling his art over the last 30 years and he looks forward to continuing to do so in the future.
Lindsey is a First Nations Ojibwa from Bear Island, Temagami Ontario. When she’s not on the lake she’s down south beading every chance she can get. Drawing inspiration from the exploration of Ontario. Lindsey offers all sorts of beading styles; from looming, to Christmas ornaments and hats but, you can always find her earrings and sets here in our shop!
Lori was born in Muskoka and lived there until moving to Northern Ontario in 1992. At that time, she did not have a lot of free time with raising the children and work, and honestly did not have a great deal of interest in the arts, and focused her free time away from work for the most part on upgrading and enhancing the interior of her home and took a new found interest in gardening, knitting and Ukrainian Easter Egg designs. Almost all of her vacationing time as a family was spent in the Temagami area, mostly on Red Squirrel Lake. As the kids grew up, Lori continued to vacation in Temagami but began spending more of their time on Lake Temagami.
Artist and master carver Marc Degagne, lived for more than 30 years on his family farm, at the northern tip of Algonquin Park, in Ontario Canada. His love for wood began by carving spoons for maple syrup and axe handles, to help with the family business. He would often steal away into the woods to carve beavers, and other woodland creatures that surrounded him. As time went on his passion for carving grew, along with his talent. Completely self taught, Marc entered a number of competitions over the years and won many awards for his design and artistry. In tune with the sites and sounds of of grey timber wolves, birds, owls, turtles and bears, Degagne captures their spirits in beautiful wood carvings.
Pura Vida crafts is run by Wayne and Connie Brown of Elk Lake, featuring beautiful wood carvings focusing on wildlife and nature. Their sculptures have adorable poses from loans, elks to owls and even garden gnomes! They have every type of craving you can think of, they also do custom orders upon request.
Shirley Gilson has displayed her work at the Cobalt Classic Theater Mezzanine Gallery and recently had some of her art displayed at the Studio Libre in Haileybury and the Temiskaming Art Gallery. She started to develop an interest in watercolor after taking a workshop with Laura Landers in 2017. She has been a member of the Temiskaming Palette and Brush Club since as well as the Temiskaming Art Gallery. Laura has been instrumental in developing Shirley’s love of painting. Since then, she has tried her hand at acrylic, pastel and mixed media and watercolor pour. Palette knife painting has become her latest passion. Shirley started drawing and crafting when her grandchildren were very young. She used to host Saturday morning crafting classes in her home for many years. This included painting on rocks and many of them are still proudly displayed in her various flowerbeds. Shirley also has a love of writing poetry and has had some of her works published. Painting has become a source of relaxation and fulfillment in her life.
Shirley has twenty years of continuous studies and experience ranging from calligraphy, papermaking and crafting books in Singapore, working towards her BA in Arts at Nipissing University, and extensive online art courses through well renowned Canadian artist Johannes Vloothius, and New Zealand artist Richard Robinson. Shirley’s work attempts to capture the serenity of Northern Ontario’s landscapes through a representational style. Shirley wants people who look at her work to be drawn into the beauty of our landscapes and to feel the tranquility engulf them as they remember how utterly wonderful life is when we walk hand in hand with nature.
Tina Cote is a First Nation artist who creates jewelry specializing in beading techniques. Tina is married to Lindsay Cote, together they perform many traditional First Nation ceremonies and love going out into the bush to create music and art! Wasamanido Miigizi Kew is her spirit name which means White Spirit Eagle Woman, Tina’s clan is Miigizi Dodem.
Wally Irvine is a local First Nation Temagami artist and the creator of the Owl’s Nest gallery which celebrates Teme-Augama Anishinabek culture. Wally locally produces wood carvings, paintings and more!
Victoria Gentlebird Wilde is a holistic wellness practitioner, spiritual sage healer and traditional lifepath counsellor.
Develops and delivers programs to engage people and promote our rich history and diverse cultural heritage. This includes, but is not limited to, art, craftsmanship, music, dance, and theatre.