Write By The Water 2025 Cohort

About the program

Write by the Water is an 8-part intensive writing workshop series for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) writers of all kinds, ages 18+, to explore new works or to fine-tune works-in-progress, in a safer and inspirational environment while being mentored by an industry professional. The program aims to explore varied and diverse approaches to historical narratives, considering how we may draw on our own memories to revisit these histories.

Each week participants will gather to strengthen writing skills, and share stories, led by professional writer, language enthusiast and arts-educator Jedidiah Mugarura.

Program Details

Dates: Wednesdays, September 17 – November 5, 2025
Time: 5:30 to 7:30PM
Cost: FREE!
Location: In-Person at Lakeshore Arts (2422 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Etobicoke) and by the waterfront at Amos Waites Park.

Each in-person session will be held (at least in-part) by Lake Ontario at Amos Waites Park. Opening with body movement as language embodied, before visiting the page.

Who is this program for:

BIPOC Creative Writers: authors, playwrights, poets, lyricists and writers of any other medium, ages 18+.

Due to an overwhelming response, registration is now closed. Please note registration is limited. Only selected participants will be contacted with a confirmation email.

If you require more information or help with this registration, please contact Steffi Ng, Programs Coordinator at ProgramsCoordinator@LakeshoreArts.ca.

Showcase

Join us for a Poetry & Prose Showcase from our Write by the Water program participants, on April 2, 2026!

Featuring performances from:
Andrea Gutierrez
Anjalee Nadarajan
Anu Makinde
Rachel Barduhn
Jen Katchunga
Chelsea Nyomi

Details:
Date: Thursday, April 2nd
Time: 6:30-8:30PM
Location: Lakeshore Arts (2422 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Etobicoke)
FREE admission

BONUS: Copies of the printed collection, featuring works from this year’s participants, will be available!

About the Facilitator

Jedidiah Mugarura is a storyteller from Kampala, Uganda currently based in Tkaronto. A writer of Nkore descent, his storytelling seeks to find and reimagine the missing vowels to the songs we once sang before colonial violence, to project a future of agency and possibility for those still negotiating their bodies in empire. His poems and short stories appear or are forthcoming in Contemporary Verse 2, Brittle Paper, Humber Literary Review, Lolwe, Transition and Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora. His debut poetry collection, Nyamuteza, was winner of the 2025 Sillerman Prize for African Poets and is forthcoming in the Fall 2026 with University of Nebraska Press.

Francis Tomkins (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice includes animation, collage, zine making, and workshop facilitation. They have a BFA in Cross-Disciplinary Arts: Publications from OCAD University and have worked within the arts and accessibility sectors at Tangled Art + Disability, StopGap Foundation and Toronto Queer Film Festival. Their work has been featured by Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS), RestFest Film Festival, and Arts Etobicoke. Francis is passionate about how art can be used to create and sustain connected communities.

Renu Indapurkar (she/her) is a Toronto-based portrait artist whose love for art began in childhood, inspired by her grandfather, a painter and art teacher. Growing up around his practice and teaching, art became an integral part of her everyday life and a natural way for her to express and connect with the world.

She works across mixed media, oil, watercolour, oil paint and coffee painting, and specializes in portrait art. For the past five years, Renu has been running her small business RK Artworks, creating commissioned pieces that celebrate people and personal stories. More recently, she launched Live Wedding Painting, where she paints live at weddings, capturing meaningful moments as they happen.

Twenty-five years ago, Charlotte founded Wuthering Bites, a café on the Lakeshore in Mimico that focused on the arts and community. With a diverse background in teaching, research and advocacy, and a passion for writing and visual art, Charlotte is thrilled to now be working with Lakeshore Arts as they launch exciting new initiatives for our South Etobicoke neighbourhood. She is especially thrilled to have a unique opportunity to focus on engagement and programming for seniors.

Annie Katsura Rollins (she/they) is a community arts worker, researcher, and puppetry artist. Finding a sense of much needed belonging in community theatre as a young person, she pursued understanding this feeling of connectedness through the arts with degrees in performance (BFA), theatre performance, direction, and puppetry (MFA) and finally a study in traditional lineages of folk puppetry in China (PhD). She concurrently tested this understanding through over 20 years of professional work in art education, facilitation, and community building.

Since moving to Toronto in 2017, Annie has worked in the community arts sector and co-founded and co-curates with Concrete Cabaret, Toronto’s only experimental puppet slam. Annie is a professor in the University of Connecticut graduate certificate program in puppetry arts. She believes that having the arts in our everyday lives is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Sin Tung (Steffi) Ng (she/her) explores the complexities of Asian immigration experiences through curation, writing and photography. Interweaving these three artistic practices, Ng seeks to build site-specific exhibitions, public programs and installations that amplify marginalized voices and make space for joyful encounters across diverse cultures. Her works have been featured at the DesignTO 2025, Xpace Cultural Centre, Unit 270 and the Graduate Gallery.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Sin Tung/Steffi is currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Her recent interests include AI image-making of demolished architectures, long-distance friendships and Japanese city boy fashion.

Revital Weiss is a queer Jewish arts worker who believes in the transformational power of the arts. Revital works with artists to develop socially-minded arts programming for marginalized communities. She also advocates for opportunities for emerging artists, particularly BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+ folks, and incarcerated/formerly incarcerated people. Revital has co-curated and supported arts projects at Neilson Park Creative Centre, the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, FENTSTER Gallery, and King Heritage and Cultural Centre. Revital holds a Master of Museum Studies. In a past life, Revital was an urban planner.

Write By The Water 2025 Cohort

Community Survey 2025

Open House 2025

Francis Tomkins

Renu Indapurkar

Charlotte Sheasby-Coleman

Kadeem Parchment

Annie Katsura Rollins

Steffi Ng

Revital Weiss

Sherry Pom Foreman

Andi Canales

May Yebuga

MY REASON FOR SERVING ON THE BOARD…