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With the incomparable Sue Foley at her Guitar Women: Conversations & Life Lessons with Six-String Heroines book launch last night at Toronto’s legendary El Mocambo. Not only a virtuoso guitar player but now also an author and trailblazing scholar — the first to document pioneering female guitarists who came before her. The house was packed, the line up for signing long and the pre-performance interview fascinating. Brava. Encore. Take a bow. @suefoleyofficial @sutherlandhousebooks @theelmocambo @lesartsdesh #SueFoley #GuitarWomen #BluesGuitar #WomenRock

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Adding subtle ribbons of dimension to break up her solid base 🤎

Adding highlights dosen’t always mean making a big change. If you’re looking for something subtle this would be perfect for you. 🧸🤎

Dm to book!

#highlights #brunette #dimension

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As a multi-faceted performing artist, Kate Kelly, our dramatist-in-residence this year, is used to being in the spotlight. Kate is on stage a lot, whether acting, making music or performing spoken word poetry. Kate is an unwavering participant and supporter of local arts communities.

For example, she has been active in the Peterborough Theatre Guild for many years, whether as an actor or attending workshops to further develop her craft. Kate’s poetic gifts are considerable as well, from writing song lyrics to writing and performing spoken word poetry, even competing at the national level for a number of years. She is currently part of a musical duo called “High and Lonesome” and frequently sings and plays guitar at local venues.

To date Kate has published two books A Harsh and Private Beauty (Inanna Publications, 2019) and The Meadowlands (Inanna Publications, 2023) and she has recently completed a third novel, Tara Hope. This summer Kate will be busy with musical engagements, continuing her new found love of painting and beginning her fourth novel. Kate Kelly holds a Masters degree from Queen's University and is a high school English teacher.

About 10 years ago the Heliconian Club launched our artist-in-residence program. We’re about to wrap up this year’s slate of artists. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been spotlighting them as a small gesture of thanks for enriching our Club.

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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The Club wants to throw a spotlight on this year’s Dancer-in-Residence, Caitlin Griffin, an already familiar face around the Club. Just last week, she offered a free movement workshop to the delight of attendees.

This November she has returned to Montreal to perform with the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation. The tour programme features 2 group numbers, “Literature of the Body”, one dealing with global issues such as the ongoing plight of refugees, & the other inspired by the character of Molly Bloom from James Joyce’s literary classic Ulysses. Go to @gillis_margie to learn more

Last summer, Caitlin premiered her first full-length interdisciplinary show, Body as Nature at the Toronto Fringe Festival, in collaboration with poet Hana Shafi (Frizz Kid) & directed by Brendan McMurtry-Howlett. Images in this post were captured from Body as Nature, by photographer Aidan Tooth.

As this year’s Dancer-in-Residence at the Heliconian Club, she will pursue her choreography practice centred around nature.
Check her out @caitd_griffin or at caitlingriffin.com

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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This year’s Writer-in-Residence, Deirdre Kelly, is used to spotlighting fascinating subjects herself, but
today it’s her chance to shine! Deirdre is an award-winning author, critic, investigative reporter, fashion and lifestyle journalist and magazine editor with 4,000+ bylined Globe and Mail articles and hundreds
more in publications like Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, NUVO, Canadian Geographic, Dance Magazine, Dance Gazette and critics at large. She has just received five nominations for her writing and editing at
the Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPAS). Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning The York
University Magazine in Toronto since 2017, she is the author of three acclaimed books, Paris Times
Eight, Ballerina: Sex, Scandal and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection, and the Amazon bestseller,
Fashioning The Beatles: The Looks That Shook the World. Since publishing her homage to the Fab Four in
2023, Deirdre has been engaged in a whirlwind of related activities in Canada and abroad. Most recently, in December, she was a key presenter at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Beatles Fan Day. Next up, she will be presenting a virtual book talk for the National Arts Club of New York City, a veritable Who’s Who of the fashion and design industries.

On April 19, at the AGO, Deirdre will lead an in-person panel discussion called “The Beatles Have Never
Gone Out Of Style,” which is related to a fascinating upcoming exhibit called “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm.” In her spare time, LOL, Deirdre is working on a new book. To keep up to date on all her projects and activities, visit her website at www.deirdrekelly.com; or follow her on Instagram: @kellydeirdre.

Photos 1 & 6: Deirdre at her book talk at the Heliconian Club in 2024, by Ariane Blackman.

Photo 2,3,4,5: at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame , courtesy of DK.

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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In September the Club welcomed Doris Purchase as our Visual Artist-in-Residence, the subject of today’s
spotlight. Doris was born in Winnipeg but has made Toronto her home base for many years. Doris, whose formal training includes degrees from both OCAD and the University of Guelph, is a prolific mixed-media artist. Previously, Doris’ work has appeared in multiple Toronto galleries, including
Propellor Art Gallery, where she’s also a member and she has participated in the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and received a Jury Award from Latcham Gallery in 2018. Doris’s work is predominantly conceptual and draws on the materiality behind a painting. For more information about her work, visit her website: www.dorispurchase.com or follow her on Instagram: @purchasedoris.

Doris already has quite a line up of showings for 2026 at local galleries throughout the city. In January
she had work included in a group exhibit called “Dialogue in Time” at the Rainbow Roof Gallery in the
Colombus Centre. She also has a solo exhibit on display - “Memoirs” - at The Theatre Centre in the Queen Street West area this month, with a public reception to be held on the evening of February 3 from 5:30 to 7 pm. Up next is a project entitled “Things Change” at Neighbourhood Gallery beside Carrot
Common. This exhibit will be on display for 10 weeks in the spring with an artist talk on March 29 from
12 to 1 pm.

At the Heliconian Club, plans are well underway for “The Ribs of a Place”, Doris’ upcoming solo exhibit
that runs from May 29 to June 23. Save the date for the opening reception on the afternoon of June 6 where you can meet the artist and enjoy some complimentary refreshments in our historic hall in the heart of Yorkville!

Photo credits:
1: Joey Suriano,
3: Sue Ince;
4: Sharron Corrigan Forrest

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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Our spotlight this week is on our Dramatist-in-Residence Meryl Mourey. Meryl is a French actress, writer, and director based in Toronto. She has performed in French and international productions, including the TV series Mental, Cassandre, and Ripple, as well as the feature film Une belle course (Driving Madeleine). Her short film Bien à toi won several Audience Awards and was selected at the
Cannes Short Film Corner. In Canada, she has collaborated with the Théâtre Français de Toronto, most recently as part of Les Z’inspiré·e.s 12, acting for Franco-Ontarian youth in creating original theatre.

This year, Meryl has ventured into unfamiliar territory through the monthly Francophone open Mic
sessions at the Rivoli https://www.facebook.com/francopenmic.toronto/. She also teaches French at the Alliance Francaise and elsewhere. Meryl is the Heliconian Club’s first Francophone DIR and we hope she is successful in her plans to expand her creative research, develop new texts for the stage, and fostering
dialogue between Francophone and Anglophone artistic communities. Her work aims to connect cultures through storytelling while championing women’s voices and intergenerational narratives. You can follow her on Instagram: @merylmourey.

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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Our spotlight this week has landed on Stephanie Martin, a fairly new member who has already put an indelible stamp on the Club. Last year, as Musician-in-Residence, Stephanie and fellow AIR Elizabeth Ruth composed an anthem for us: The Heliconian Queens. It was performed for the very first time at the Club’s end-of-season event and will continue to be sung for years to come. What a marvellous gift they have given us!

Stephanie is currently Composer-in-Residence for the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. During her residency she will be presenting three new pieces commissioned by the TMC. ECHO, the first of these, was premiered on November 7 at Koerner Hall to a sold-out house. According to the program, the work, performed by choir and orchestra, “was written expressly for the purpose of being a companion piece to Brahms’ Requiem. Martin sets the text of an 1854 poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti, joining it to select texts from the traditional Latin Requiem (the Mass for the Dead). Rossetti wrote “Echo” shortly after the death of her father, writing on themes of memory and connection after death.”

Stephanie also leads the women’s ensemble Schola Magdalena in performances of both medieval and modern music. Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, at York University, Stephanie holds degrees from the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, and is an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. Recent compositions include an opera and two oratorios highlighting themes of conflict resolution, environmental stewardship, and unsung health workers. As conductor of Pax Christi Chorale from 1996-2017, Stephanie led full orchestral performances of English oratorio repertoire, and commissioned several new Canadian works. Stephanie’s smaller choral works have been performed across North America, Europe and Asia. Feel free to visit her website for a complete catalogue of works: www.stephaniemartinmusic.com or find her on Facebook Another new adventure awaits ~ Stephanie has recently been appointed the first O'Mahoney Visiting Fellow at Trinity College Dublin starting this fall!

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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This time the spotlight is focused on our Musician-in-Residence. Homa Samiei is a Toronto-based composer, pianist, and artistic director working at the intersection of Persian musical heritage and contemporary classical music. Her work spans opera, chamber music, and interdisciplinary performance, shaped by a commitment to narrative depth, cultural storytelling, and collaborative creation. Homa and fellow collaborators, siblings Milad and Shaghayegh Bagheri, recently performed at one of the immensely popular noon hour concerts at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, the breathtaking glass- enclosed space treasured by Torontonian music lovers. The program – CLAP…HUM…RISE – composed entirely by Samiei, blurred the boundary between stage and audience in a unique way, encouraging listeners to become co-creators.

Homa’s next big event is slated for Sunday, February 22 at the iconic Agha Khan Museum.
This intriguingly titled concert - THE CONFIDANT - begins at 8 pm. The concert is “a close collaboration
between Milad Bagheri (singer and co-composer) and Homa Samiei (co-composer and pianist), who
bring their unique musical languages together to create something new. They are joined by a full
ensemble of accomplished musicians, whose diverse backgrounds contribute to the concert’s rich and
dynamic sound world. The compositions are original or inspired by Iranian folk music. This program
showcases Iranian fusion music where traditional elements are interwoven into new music, creating
distinctive and evocative soundscapes.”

The Club is thrilled to have Homa on board this year and wishes her great success in all of her diverse
musical ventures. Homa can be found online on these platforms: www.homasamiei.com/;
soundcloud.com/homa-samiee; Instagram: @homasamiee | @chaam.art.centre | @chaam-Project.

Photo credits
1. Photo: Amirhossein Shakiba
2.Photo: Solmaz Tadris
3.Caption: Homa is performing in the Canadian Opera Company’s Free Concert Series in the
Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Photo: Karen E. Reeves.

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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APRIL 19 CONCERT: "Bach to Bop" brings together acclaimed cellist Kye Marshall and celebrated Canadian pianist Don Thompson for an intimate performance that moves between the discipline of Bach and the fluidity of jazz.

Doors: 6:30 PM | Show: 7:00 PM
Tickets: $30 (available at the door, or in advance at HeliconianClub.org)

This concert is presented in support of the Heliconian Hall, fundraising for the preservation of our beautiful heritage building in Yorkville.

Graphic Design by: Eshwaree Mathanki

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🚀 Meet the Neural Network Team! 🎉

We’re more than just an organization —we’re a community of innovators, problem-solvers, and future leaders passionate about technology, AI, and networking. Our team is dedicated to bringing you amazing events, valuable opportunities, and a space to connect with like-minded individuals!

👥 Meet Our Team:
💡 Director of Communications– @_ashleyabas
🎉 Director of Events – @diti_bored
📸 Director of Media – sesina
📝 Secretary- @_halemahon
💻 Technical & Social Media Manager – @mewdiegamer
💰 Treasurer- @evidentlyesh
📊 Marketing Assistant – @_maimuna_98
🎭 Events Assistant – @maximizedopamine
📱 Social Media Assistant – @bharbby_
📢 Internal Communication Assistant –@keeley.mcmurray
🚚 Logistics Assistant – @harmeet_21
🔬 Research Assistant – @kyrptart

We’re excited to meet YOU at our upcoming events! Stay tuned for more updates and get ready to level up your network and skills. 🚀

Drop a 🔥 if you’re excited to be part of the The Neural Network!

#Networking #AICommunity #TechInnovation #NeuralNetworkClub #FutureLeaders #AIRevolution #TechSavvy #DataDriven #NetworkingEvent #CSLife #MachineLearning #StayConnected #Opportunities #studentlife

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