Rosemary Nowicki lives in Steveston, British Columbia and hopes to always be close to the Fraser River. Born in Vancouver and raised in Richmond, she has never been far from it. She started writing poetry about fifteen years ago when a life-long love of words finally overtook her reluctance to put pen to
paper.

Johnny D. Trinh is a community-engaged artist with practices in spoken word, theatre, and culinary arts. Johnny’s research interests are in autoethnography, and the cultivation of identity through food, story, and memory making. Trinh holds an MFA: Interdisciplinary Studies, and holds leadership roles at: Vancouver Poetry House, Stage to Page Performance Society, and Historic Joy Kogawa House. “It takes a community to build an artist... whether we are nurtured by it, or resist against it.”

Chris Patterson is an award-winning writer and Associate Professor in the Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of two novels, a poetry collection, two anthologies, and three non-fiction books on topics ranging from literature, race, writing, and new media. His latest book,
Of Floating Isles: on growing pains and video games, will be released in September with Arsenal Pulp Press. Chris is also the surviving husband of the scholar and writer Y-Dang Troeung, who was an Associate Professor in UBC ‘s English Department, and authored the multi-award-winning book Refugee Lifeworlds: The Afterlife of the Cold War in Cambodia, and the bestselling family memoir Landbridge [life
in fragments].

Roland Neveu began his career, as a photographer, in the early 1970s after a stint at the university of Rennes, in Brittany (France).
Quickly immersing himself in the Grand Reportage arena, he became one of the few western photojournalists to witness the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975 and followed the refugee crisis around Southeast Asia in the following years.
For almost two decades he travelled to hot spots around the globe on assignment for leading international magazines such as Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Business Week and People magazines.
Living mostly in Asia since 1992, he has worked on several movie projects including Matt Dillon's "City of Ghosts" that was shot in Cambodia. All along since the seventies, he regularly travels to Cambodia which over the years had become one of his most sought after stories.

Edgar discovered his passion for music as a child growing up in Manila, teaching himself to play classical guitar pieces by ear. With his father imprisoned as a political detainee, the family had no means to afford formal music lessons. Yet, driven by his love for music, Edgar developed his craft through informal collaborations with childhood friends, many of whom would go on to become renowned professional musicians and composers. His musical journey continued after immigrating to Vancouver, where he embraced new opportunities to explore diverse styles of music unfamiliar to him back home. Immersing himself in the city’s rich multicultural music scene, Edgar once again relied on his finely tuned ear and intuitive approach to breathe life into his guitar.

Chau Sambo Meas, born November 13, 1951, in Tani Took Meas, Cambodia, is an artist devoted to preserving Khmer culture through his work. Inspired at age eight, he refined his skills in Phnom Penh and later graduated from L’École des Beaux-Arts in 1973. A scholarship to Japan was interrupted by Cambodia’s civil unrest, prompting his move to Canada in 1975. In Montreal, he reconnected with his roots, blending traditional and modern art with his wife, a classical dancer. Despite personal loss, including the death of his son in 2008, Sambo finds strength in art, capturing Cambodian life and resilience. His work is a powerful tribute to cultural identity and the enduring spirit of his people.