Carmen Ocampo Velázquez (She/They) is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist, curator, and psychologist originally from Colombia. Her experience centers on healing, identity, and social change through collaborative engaged art. Drawing on a clinical psychology background spanning over 30 years, she catalyzes creative processes that foster individual and communitarian resilience and empowerment. Carmen holds a Master’s in Environmental Studies and is the founder of Matiz Project, a transdisciplinary collective harnessing the transformative power of art to deconstruct social narratives and reclaim collective voices. Currently, she serves as an Art & Wellbeing Facilitator and Board Member at Lakeshore Arts (LSA).
Treasures of Ours
Kadeem Parchment
Age: 29
Ethnicity: Canadian/Jamaican
Treasure: Doctor Bird, Jamaica, Swallow-Tail Hummingbird
It’s a tattoo of Jamaica’s national bird. It represents my parents culture.
The doctor bird, scissor-tail or scissors tail hummingbird, is indigenous to Jamaica, where it is the most abundant and widespread member of the hummingbird family. While most authorities now consider it a separate species, some (including the American Ornithologists’ Union) continue to consider it conspecific with the black-billed streamertail. The red-billed streamertail is the national bird of Jamaica.