SSO Team

Christos Pantieras, President

Artist / Educator – Christos Pantieras completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture at York University (Toronto, ON) in 2015 for which he earned an Ontario Graduate Scholarship and SSHRC funding. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions including: The Ottawa Art Gallery (Ottawa), The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (Toronto), Modern Fuel ARC (Kingston), AXENEO7 (Gatineau), Artcite Inc (Windsor), Circa-Art Actuel (Montreal), and Artcite Inc (Windsor). Pantieras’ work is represented in the holdings of the Ottawa Art Gallery, the City of Ottawa and several private collections. He has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the City of Ottawa. Pantieras was shortlisted for the Ottawa Arts Council Mid-Career Award in 2019.

Ada Brzeski, Treasurer

Ceramics Artist – Ada Brzeski has received a bachelor of science degree in psychology, a bachelor of commerce degree and a certificate in volunteer management. In 2006 she began working in pottery, inspired by her Polish roots and the colourful Wycinanki (Polish paper cutting). Over the years she has held executive positions in numerous not-for-profit organizations, most recently acting as treasurer for the Ottawa Guild of Potters. She is one of the founding members of Studio Space Ottawa

Anna Frlan, Secretary

Artist / Arts Administrator – Anna Frlan was born in Ottawa to Croatia émigrés. She received her BFA from the University of Ottawa where she was introduced to sculpture and the material of industrial steel. After graduating, Anna bought a welding machine and plasma cutter and has been transforming steel ever since in innovative ways, while studying its history and impact from the twentieth century to the present. Always seeking to explore new forms, Anna created an entire kitchen of steel objects for her Kitchen Anatomy series in 2010, and exhibited her Atomic Anxiety series of sculptures at the Diefenbunker, Canada’s Cold War Museum, while she was artist-in-residence in 2016. Anna has received project grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa and the Corel Endowment for the Arts. Her work can be found in the collections of the Art Gallery of Windsor, Nortel Networks, The Canadian Medical Protection Association, Deloitte and Touche and the City of Ottawa.

Susan Cartwright, Member at Large

Visual Artist – Susan Cartwright holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of  Victoria and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Waterloo. She is a  former member of the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and of the  Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and is currently an external advisor to the Board of  Trustees of the National Arts Centre and Director and Secretary to the Board of Carleton Condominium Corporation 53. She was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2016 and received the public service’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2012. She  has also been awarded the Canada 125 Medal, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals, and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. Susan now pursues her art practice and is a printmaker, painter and  sketcher. Susan discovered printmaking in 2015 under the tutelage of Robert Hinchley at  the Ottawa School of Art. She realized that she had found a medium she loved and  has since then immersed herself in her studies and her practice. Susan creates relief  and intaglio prints as well as monoprints and monotypes and enjoys combining different  printmaking techniques in her works as well as using recycled materials to create  her blocks and plates.

Niki Economo, Member at Large

Visual Artist – Niki Economo is a professional artist whose approach to working  is organic with a strong sense of colour, movement, and energy. She is an elected member  of the Ontario Society of Artists and regularly participates in several group  and solo exhibitions and shows. Her work can be seen at the Ottawa Art Gallery and in the  collections of the Ottawa Heart Institute, Hochelaga Inn (Kingston), the 2019 CHEO Dream of  a Lifetime Home and many private collections. Niki provides live painting  demonstrations and instruction as a guest artist to local Art Associations. She has a  management background in the nonprofit sector and holds a certificate in business  administration from the University of Ottawa.

Christine Fitzgerald, Member at Large

Visual Artist – Christine Fitzgerald is a photo-based artist. A graduate of the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, and Acadia and Dalhousie Universities, Christine completed an artist residency at the Ottawa School of Art, was an invited visiting artist in print media at York University, and was one of 15 visual artists selected for the Canada C3 Expedition on Canada’s 150th anniversary. Christine has been the recipient of grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. Her work has been featured by the CBC, The Washington Post and the National Geographic. In 2020, her artwork was at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. as part of the featured exhibition, New Light: Canadian Women Artists

Jadzia Romaniec, Member at Large

Visual Artist – Jadzia received a BA in art and psychology.  She combined these two areas in her graduate studies in art therapy.  She holds a Registered Practitioner designation with the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association.  She has worked with several local agencies to deliver art therapy programming.  In addition, she has developed and delivered personal growth and team building workshops using visual arts for the workplace.  Jadzia has been an active member in Arts Health Network and several Ottawa studios.  Her commissioned work can be found in numerous schools in the Ottawa Catholic School Board. 

David Drapeau, Technology

IT Professional – David Drapeau is an expert in the creation of Enterprise IT Architectures with over thirty three years experience in the IT profession, most of it related to the telecommunications industry. He held the position of “Senior Director – Strategic IT Architectures” when he retired from Bell Canada. His post-retirement volunteer activities include providing IT advice and web site support to non-profit organizations (e.g. Studio Space Ottawa, the Ottawa Guild of Potters and Scouts Canada).

Past Board Members

Kathy Bergquist (President, 2019-2021)

Tiffany April

Atticus Gordon

Ray Romanovich

Susan Roston

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