Erika Shrestha is a graduate of the Arts Education and Community Engagement program at Centennial College. This program was the perfect marriage of Erika’s passion for social justice and art-making.

As a graduate of Georgian College Fine Arts program, Erika has been a practicing artist dabbling in many different forms of media. Her media of preference is garbage, also known as “found objects”!

“Thrift shops and garage sales have always held a certain allure for me. Discarded items, which were at some point ‘useful’ to their previous owner, lay on shelves ready for me to intervene and give them a new purpose. These objects ignite in me feelings of reverence and nostalgia, propelling me to mix and match and weave together elements that otherwise may never have met. These sculptural works are communal pieces in a sense, as they come to life from items that already have a story of their own, these stories become intertwined and breathe new narrative – a shared narrative”

Erika completed an internship at VIBE Arts where she gained experience in mural making. She worked alongside community artists and children from a grade 5 class in bringing to life a shared view of what “community” means. She was also involved in a program being offered at the Toronto Plaza Hotel where she facilitated an animation workshop for school-age children. These experiences have been a driving force in Erika’s zeal to continue this line of community-engaged work.

Erika is a member of “Art Echoes”, a new collective where she hopes to continue her adventures in community art and spread the joy, healing, and freedom that creativity can gift us.