Lora Northway is a multi-disciplinary artist in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She is an exhibiting artist, arts educator, curator, graffiti artist, and youth outreach co-ordinator. She received her HBFA from Lakehead University, with a focus on mixed-media installation and a minor in Women’s Studies. She has also obtained a Certificate in Arts Education from York University.
Alongside her studio practice she is a coordinator for Definitely Superior Artist Run Centre (Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts Winner 2013). She is the founder of three youth collectives; Die Active Graffiti Art Collective, Neechee Studio Aboriginal Youth Arts Collective, and inVISIBLEink, an LGBTQ art and writing group. For 10+ years she has delivered dozens of workshops to groups of all ages and sizes. Most recently she spoke at TEDx on youth-led creative production and developed/delivered a conference of the same topic for Aboriginal youth leaders from Northern Reserves. She also helped develop the Ontario Culture Strategy as key artist speaker for Thunder Bay as well as chosen as artist for the cover of the final Ontario Culture Strategy document, and spoke on a panel for Emerging Ideas at the Northern Conference for Arts, in the North Bay. She has participated on several Ontario Arts Council Juries, has received two Northern Arts grants, an Emerging Artist grant, and was the recipient of the Artist Run Centre’s and Collectives Emerging Cultural Leader Award, as well as the Cultural Educator Award for the City of Thunder Bay, 2015.