zBTFD is just an idea... but it has grown and been strengthened
by many creative individuals. Here are a few of them.
zBTFD is just an idea... but it has grown and been strengthened
by many creative individuals. Here are a few of them.
OUR CURATORS
Amanda Mersereau
Originally from Hamilton, Amanda Mersereau moved to Brantford in February 2018. She has been involved with social justice work since childhood, and co-founded Unite Against Hate in June, 2020. Since then, she has directed several projects with Unite Against Hate to support Brantford in anti-racism education by promoting Brantford's Black-owned businesses, and highlighting Brantford's Black history.
Christopher George
Ally, collaborator and founder of Unite Against Hate, zBTFD, Brantford Apparel among other projects. Christopher is a long time community organizer and activist. Some projects he has help create in the past include The Ford Plant (co-founder), Murdered City Music Fest (co-director), ZZZ Monthly Music Series (founder), zWKND, Snoozzzefest, Day In The Woods (director), Day On The Grand (collaborator).
OUR COLLABORATORS
Gnathan Campagnaro
Nathan (Gnat) Campagnaro is a multidisciplinary artist from Guelph and Cambridge Ontario, with the majority of his life being spent living on a wetland (swamp) between the two cities. Nathan is known for his work on event posters, comics, shirt design, toy making, and more recently has gained attention for his work in the diorama medium. His themes tend to teeter between cute and disgusting, but always with humour at its root. He also plays drums.
Cadence Nixon
Cadence is a 21 year old artist. Currently working as a tattoo artist, she has been expressing herself through various mediums for as long as she can remember. As an artist, she doesn’t like being put into a box or letting any one thing define her style. She loves diving into projects that she is passionate about and using her talents for the greater good.
Allie Gingerich
Allie is a self-taught artist and accessibility advocate who believes art is for everybody. She is a vintage collector and loves to experiment with new mediums.
Maya mckeag
Maya is a queer artist based out of Hamilton. With a background in illustration and printmaking; they are inspired by the bright and surreal, their work often aims for simplicity and weirdness. Their work is playful, while also looking through the lens of pessimism. They love fun juxtaposition.
Maichina Veri
Maichina Veri is a writer based in Brantford, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Montreal’s Concordia University and has a background in Journalism – Print from Niagara College. In addition to writing for BTOWN, she self-publishes zines and always has her fingers in some creative endeavour.
Paul SMith
Hello, my name is Paul Smith and I'm a photographer, artist, and visual storyteller who lives and works in Brantford, Ontario. After graduating from Applied Photography at Sheridan College in 2008, I opened Photohouse Studio with my Partner in 2010. Over the past 11 years, I have taken on commercial, editorial, portrait and wedding commissions. Fostering and supporting a local artistic community has always been a passion of mine. I'm proud to say I have worked with and contributed to other local publication in the past and I'm so excited to now be a part of BTOWN.
Tim Ford
Tim is a freelance observer from Brantford, Ontario. He quit his job on his 40th birthday and hasn’t really done much since. He likes to metal detect but truthfully, he doesn’t go out that often, if at all. I think he likes the IDEA of metal detecting more than actually going out and getting dirty and buggy and digging holes. One day he’ll get back in the habit and find his treasures.
We have been active in our community for many years.
Here are some of our past projects.
We have been active in our community for many years.
Here are some of our past projects.
2002-2009 THE FORD PLANT
Located in downtown Brantford, Ontario, Canada, its small spaces and unique atmosphere create one of Canada's most intriguing rock venues, as well as one of the more lively. The Ford Plant holds only about one hundred people, with the party-like environment often spilling out into the streets.
2003-2006 MURDERED CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Every August since its inception, The Ford Plant has hosted a week-long music festival called the Murdered City Music Festival (often simply called Murdered City). This festival showcases numerous independent Canadian acts and local artists, and is known to bring larger bands to a relatively small crowd.
2010-2013 THE BACKROOM
Brantford's hole-in-the-wall record store. Hundred's of hard-to-find vinyl. Fun times while it lasted.
2014-2018 ZZZ MONTHLY MUSIC SERIES
ZZZ was an art collective that focused on promoting and creating outsider art, culture and music. Events held by ZZZ are organized with the goal of being accessible to everyone.
2015, 2017 SNOOZZZEFEST & zWKND
Our mandate was to support local original underground music, ZZZ provided a platform to hundreds musical artistic styles from all across North America since it formed in 2014.
Please reach out if you are interested in joining our team at zBTFD.
Please reach out if you are interested in joining our team at zBTFD.