Mentors

Introduction to Mentors

Mentors are a vital part of the Access Activations course. As community experts in disability arts with experience working as Access Activators themselves, each mentor brings lived experience, professional expertise, and deep commitments to disability justice and cultural accessibility. They will guide your groups as you partner with cultural organizations by offering critical insight, feedback, and expertise. Mentors will help you connect theory to practice, drawing from their own knowledge of access work, community organizing, and the arts.

Angela Sun — Mentor for the Reel Asian Film Festival
Angela Sun is a multidisciplinary artist, arts worker, and community organizer. She has been deeply involved in disability arts and cultural accessibility work in Toronto, including contributing to consultations and programming with the Reel Asian Film Festival that bring disabled artists and audiences into fuller participation in the arts. Angela’s mentorship will help guide students working with Reel Asian to consider how cultural festivals can embed access across venues including venues in rented spaces, engage with disabled filmmakers, and work with all exhibiting filmmakers to integrate access into their artistic practice and post-production.

Velvet Wells — Mentor for the Theatre Centre
Velvet Wells is a multidisciplinary artist, facilitator, and advocate for accessibility in live performance. Their practice spans comedy, music, and theatre, and they are dedicated to creating more inclusive, relaxed, and joyful performance spaces. Velvet brings both artistic and organizational experience to mentoring, helping students think through access policies, performance formats, and practices that make theatre more welcoming for disabled and marginalized communities.

Heidi Persaud — Mentor for the Onsite Gallery
Heidi Persaud is the gallery manager for Tangled Art + Disability. Heidi has a wealth of experience supporting galleries, museums, and cultural organizations to engage disabled audiences. She has been involved in projects that foreground equity and access in contemporary art spaces, with a focus on both visitor experience, staff training, and “back of house” practices, including archival practices. Heidi’s mentorship will support students working with Onsite Gallery to explore how cultural accessibility can be embedded in exhibition planning, public engagement, and institutional culture.

Kristina McMullin — Mentor for the IOTA Institute
Kristina McMullin is a designer, communications specialist, and Access Activator whose work centers on disability justice and accessible design. She has collaborated with arts and community organizations, including Tangled Art + Disability, Akimbo, and the IOTA Institute, to create access-forward communications and digital resources that reflect the leadership and creativity of disabled people. Kristina brings expertise in visual storytelling, design justice, and lived experience to support students as they develop access plans with an emphasis on communication and partnership building with the IOTA Institute.