Hello! My name is Dawn Deschamps, I’m an Elder from the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement, where I lived for many years with my husband and sons. Although an Elder, I consider myself a longtime learner and believe that everyone has good within them and a lesson to teach. I hope that by offering my guidance at Banff Centre, I can bring out the best in others and show them that they are capable of anything they set their mind to in their journey.

Joanna Gladue, Kihêw Iskwew (Eagle Woman), is a proud Cree woman from the Treaty 8 Bigstone Cree Nation whose healing work is deeply rooted in culture, creativity, counselling and community. With over a decade of experience as a trauma therapist, she weaves art therapy, somatic movement, and Indigenous knowledge systems through a two‑eyed seeing lens, witnessing powerful transformations as clients reconnect with cultural identity, expression, and ancestral strength. 

Joanna’s own healing has been shaped by powwow dancing, beading, drumming, singing, and teachings learned through ceremonies, round dances, powwows, and cultural gatherings. A dancer and former dance instructor, she honours movement and artistic creation as vital pathways to wellness and cultural continuity. Currently in her first year of her PhD in Psychotherapy and Counselling, Joanna continues to advocate for culturally grounded, land and art-based healing practices. She is grateful to be sharing her passion for the arts and culture with the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Richard Tognetti is Artistic Director and Lead Violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism.

Richard performs on period, modern and electric instruments and has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras as director or soloist. In 2016 Richard was appointed the first Artist-in-Residence at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court Concert Hall and he was Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia from 2008 to 2015.

Richard’s arrangements, compositions and transcriptions have expanded the chamber orchestra
repertoire and been performed throughout the world. He curated and co-composed the scores for the ACO’s documentary films Musica Surfica, The Glide, The Reef and The Crowd & I, and co-composed the scores for Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Tom Carroll’s film Storm Surfers. Richard collaborated with director Jennifer Peedom and Stranger Than Fiction to create the award-winning films Mountain, which went on to become the highest-grossing homegrown documentary in Australian cinemas, and River, which won Best Soundtrack at the ARIA, AACTA and APRA awards.

Richard was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010 and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. He is the recipient of seven ARIA awards and in 2017 was awarded the JC Williamson Award for longstanding service to the live performance industry. He plays a 1741-44 Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù violin on loan to him by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
 

Christopher Lane is an internationally recognized director, producer, consultant, and educator working at the intersection of theatre, virtual reality, and emerging technologies. His projects blend live performance practices with digital innovation, including The Hunt: A Shakespeare Story, the VR musical prototype Sunshine, and the VR Backstage Tour for the Chichester Festival’s Digital Stages Project, which won the 2022 UK Theatre Award for Digital Innovation. He served as Creative Director of the UK-based VR storytelling studio Relative Motion from 2017 to 2023, where their Shakespeare VR production was recognized by UKRI as among the most influential immersive experiences of the past two decades. Lane has also consulted and trained for major institutions including the Banff Centre, the Stratford Festival of Canada, Stockholm University of the Arts, the Royal Opera House, and Theatre Aquarius, sharing expertise in VR/XR storytelling and digital performance. With over 25 years in theatre direction/production and advanced degrees from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Lakehead University, and the University of Western Ontario, he continues to shape immersive storytelling across stage, screen, and education.

Nandini Purandare is the Honorary Editor of The Himalayan Journal and President of The Himalayan Club in India. She treks in the Himalaya and writes for the Avehi-Abacus Project, a collection of children's curricula. Nandini Purandare along with Deepa Balsavar founded The Sherpa Project to collect oral histories of the Sherpas of Darjeeling.  Their research and interviews resulted in the award winning book  Headstrap: Legends and Lore from the Climbing Sherpas of Darjeeling which won the prestigious Boardman Tasker Award in the UK and the  Climbing Literature Award in Banff.