Sova identifies as a mixed -race person with white settler and Afro-Caribbean ancestry. She is also an artist who lives with a disability; she passionately identifies with the tenets of intersectional feminism and has dedicated her creative career to art and activism. Ilene’s art practice focuses on equity and diversity with a feminist focus on creating a dialogue around anti-oppression. She is also heavily involved in arts advocacy, community activation, and promoting pluralism in the arts. Sova founded the Feminist Art Conference and Blank Canvases, an in-school creative arts programme for elementary school students. She holds an Honours BFA in Painting from the University of Ottawa and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Windsor. Sova is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University. With extensive solo and group exhibitions in Canada and abroad, Sova’s work has most notably been shown at the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Mutuo Centro de Arte in Barcelona

Byron Armstrong is a freelance writer and award-winning journalist who writes about arts, culture, and community. His writing appears in Forbes (Arts), Esse arts + opinions, The Globe and Mail (Books), Whitehot Magazine, The National Gallery of Canada Magazine, and Arts Help. ​Byron has authored curatorial essays for the transatlantic exhibition "When the Bread They Have Cast on the Waters Comes Floating Back" at The D’Aguilar Art Foundation (Nassau, Bahamas) and United Contemporary Gallery (Toronto, Canada), as well as the retrospective show, "Barbara Moore: Life, Lessons and Legacy" at Caliban Arts Theatre. In addition, Byron edited the catalogue essay for "Ilene Sova's "UNKNOWN RELATIVE" exhibition at John B. Aird Gallery for the CONTACT Photography Festival, co-written by curator and Executive Director Carla Garnet, and the artist. He was also a juror and co-curator of John B. Aird Gallery's 2024-2025 "Portraits" online exhibition and publication.