FOUNDER and CURATOR

Ignazio Colt Nicastro is a contemporary art curator, writer, and community builder, celebrated for amplifying underrepresented voices in the art world. With over five years of professional experience, Nicastro has curated exhibitions that explore themes of queer identity, intersectionality, migration, diaspora, and cultural diversity. Through their work, Nicastro creates platforms for emerging and marginalized artists to navigate personal, political, and social inquiries, transforming lived experiences into profound artistic expressions.

Nicastro’s exhibitions have been showcased at prestigious events and institutions, including the CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto Pride, Nuit Blanche, Miami Art Week, Queer Tech, Vitaly, and various Toronto galleries. They are also the founder of IC Contemporary (ICC), a collective dedicated to supporting youth and underrepresented artists through accessible programming, such as art-making workshops and Art Bus Tour program.

Beyond curating, Nicastro contributes to critical discourse on cultural identity through writing published in Peripheral Review and Femme Art Review. Their essays challenge traditional narratives and invite reflection on issues of equity and representation.

CURATORIAL ASSISTANT

Kennedy Jolene (they/them) is a visual artist and emerging curator born and based in Toronto, Ontario, researching the nuances of the third-culture as a second-generation settler. Their current works depict narratives of internal and external conflict found constant within the new diasporic identity. Ken is currently pursuing their Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at OCAD University.

CTO and CO-FOUNDER OF TCH

Luigi Nicastro is a virtual reality developer who has his bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design.

His passion for developing extends in to his personal passion project as the CTO for IC Contemporary where he developed their social app: The Contemporary Hub. Using Unity, this virtual art gallery supports emerging artists across the world with exhibition experience and bridges communities to art for free.

In 2019 he attended the MIT XR Reality Hackathon where his team won Best of Accessibility and Best of VR for their Unity package the Accessibility Toolkit.

COMPOSER

Matthew Davies is an emerging multidisciplinary mixed media artist crossing disciplines of music and 3D art. He has composed, produced, and engineered original musical works for over 5 years, while also writing and performing in various bands around Toronto, ON for over 8 years. More recently, Davies has joined the efforts at IC Contemporary as their soundscape artist. In this role, he produces custom soundscapes for their digital exhibitions that meaningfully supplement the exhibited works. The inclusion of his soundscapes aim to deepen the level of immersion for audiences as they maneuver ICC's digital spaces.