Umbrella Arts Magazine

Drew is a multidisciplinary artist from Ontario with a fine arts degree in Film Studies and a postgraduate diploma in Digital Production. An independent filmmaker, designer, podcaster and amateur musician, Drew considers himself first and foremost a muse; he just really loves art and helping passionate artists and artisans realize their vision. From theatre to crafts to music and photography, Drew is committed to enriching the thriving art communities in the Quinte region. Drew has been the graphic designer of the Quinte Arts Council’s Umbrella magazine since 2019 and in 2025 he assumed the role of QAC Program Director.

In the early aughts, Drew began his foray into the art world, making documentaries with his brother Adam, which have been shown around the world on television and international film festivals. For the Gray brothers, art is about team work. Together with a small crew they take a hands-on approach, producing, writing, directing, shooting, editing – whatever needs to be done to realize each project. Concurrently, Drew spread his wings into freelance graphic design and live event video production, specializing in the performing arts.

Recent years have seen Drew design an art book called Voices: Artists on Art through Stonehouse Marketing, the interface of a multimedia app for a financial planning company, and produce a justice-seeking true crime podcast that worked closely with criminologists, law enforcement agencies and the bereaved families of unsolved violent crimes. Drew has enjoyed working with wonderful local institutions such as the Belleville Public Library, Quinte Ballet School, Quinte Film Alternative, and Belleville Downtown DocFest. Drew also worked in a supervisory capacity at the Empire Theatre from 2022-2025.

Through QAC initiatives Drew endeavours to assist local artists and organizations in the development and promotion of a variety of creative ventures. Let him know how he can help!

📩 Contact Drew: drew@quinteartscouncil.org

Abena “Beloved Green” Tuffour is an award-winning poet, freelance writer, and dancer. She uses spoken word to create, engage, and elevate. Her poems address cultural, social, and environmental issues, relationships, and reflect on everyday life as a small-town raised, semi-nomadic, first-generation Canadian. 

Allen Steinberg graduated from Loyalist College’s Public Relations program in 2021 and has a background in Journalism and Communications. Since 2019, he’s been working on growing his band Arm’s Length, releasing two EPs and receiving acclaim from major music blogs like Stereogum and Pitchfork. He’s currently sorting out touring plans and writing a full-length album.

Kiki Carr is a writer and published author who focuses on personal development, poetry, local community and mindfulness. She is from a small town east of Toronto and is a new resident to Carrying Place. Find her @_kikicarr

Scott Williams is retired from corporate life and is grateful to have found writers’ communities in Belleville and Quinte West. He is co-owner of a small craft brewery in Madoc, and spends much of his time wondering how exactly that happened. He lives with his long-suffering spouse and two very opinionated basset hounds.

Jennifer Shea is a seasoned communications professional with more than 35 years of experience in journalism and public relations. In 2014, Jennifer launched an independent communication business – Job 1 Communications. Jennifer grew up in Belleville and returned to the city in 2005 after working and raising a family in Kingston.

Ardith Racey is a retired English teacher who now enjoys being a freelance writer and entrepreneur. An avid reader of fiction, Ardith now considers herself a streaming convert. She lives near Tweed, with her husband, Hugh.

Peter Paylor is a Belleville-based writer and playwright. He is a member of the Quinte Playwrights’ Collective and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Peter serves as Director of New Play Development for River & Main Theatre Company at Theatre in The Wings in Belleville’s downtown art and gallery district.

Gabrielle Faith Edwards grew up in Prince Edward County and has loved performing ever since she was a child. Whether through talent shows, church concerts, or church plays, she always found her way to a stage. As she grew, she found herself more and more in love with acting. Immersing herself in film and television helped save her life when she was struggling heavily with depression. Drama classes in high school and kids’ plays at Stirling Festival Theatre were outlets for her acting passion. When COVID-19 struck, she practiced her acting by finding monologues online and performing them in her family’s home garage. She always found a way, whether big or small, to be doing what she so very loved.

Edwards also loves to model for photographers when she has the chance! Having recently graduated from her acting program at Seneca Polytechnic, Edwards looks forward to her future as she continues to reside in Toronto, continuously auditioning for projects, working in the arts, and looking to further her training and education in acting. She loves doing what she does as it is her true heart’s passion and talent, which she considers a gift from God. Her ultimate goal is to make a positive change in people through her acting and open more doors in the industry for creative and passionate people like herself.

Lin Parkin is a local writer with over 10 years’ experience interviewing artists, musicians and entrepreneurs. She also works with companies coast-to-coast to create long and short-form articles, blog posts and website resources. In 2018, she and her husband returned to the Bay of Quinte area to put down roots with their son.

Greg is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, recording artist, audio engineer, music events coordinator /promoter, writer, dog trainer, published author and co-owner and operator of Bark Like A Dog Studio.
He resides in the backwoods north of Marmora with his loves Norma Jeanne and their dogs.
njgreg.com

Fiona is a freelance writer, journalist, editor and runner. She’s also a passionate storyteller who never outgrew her love of the question, “Why.” 

Over the past 17 years she’s written for national magazines and websites on topics related to food, farming, the environment and social justice, and has worked with several NGOs and not-for-profits. She is also editor for Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario,  and enjoys teaching workshops and mentoring new writers. Fiona served as the Communications Director for the Quinte Arts Council from 2019 to 2022.

She has an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King’s College, a BAA in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), and a BA in international development from the University of Guelph. Fiona is currently working on a collection of lyrical essays and poetry called Digging Deep: On Food, Farming and a Life in Contradiction.

Matilda Aide (she/her) grew up in the beautiful oak hills just outside of Stirling. From a very young age her mother instilled a love for all facets of arts. Always encouraging her to be creative, whether that be painting, photography, illustration, or knitting a cozy blanket. Matilda left the beautiful roaming hills of Quinte West and stepped into the concrete jungle of Toronto to attend Ontario College of Art and Design University. There she received a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Advertising and discovered a wonderful blend of creativity, innovation and communication. Since leaving OCADu Matilda has worked locally as a Marketing and HR Coordinator and most recently as a Marketing Strategist. 

In February of 2020 Matilda embarked on a solo journey to live abroad in Edinburgh Scotland, of course to her dismay she could not have predicted how much Covid would impact that adventure. Nonetheless she was able to stay for 8 months and in that time soaked in the culture, environment and used the time of solitude to work on her own artistic endeavours. After returning home she was filled with a passion for her own local community and the desire to help show the world how special it is. 

Paul Kite is a failure. He will tell you that he has failed at most creative endeavours, but he enjoys the experience. However, painting, drawing, guitar, piano, even doodling have all taken a back seat to writing. Paul loves to write, and it provides a vehicle to share his ideas and storytelling. Paul has been able to combine his love of art and writing; his lighthearted and entertaining articles about art have been printed by various publications and he is a weekly contributor to the Tweed News. Having travelled widely and worked in hi-tech for most of his life, he finds being the owner of an art gallery a natural habitat for his creative mind.

Paul says,
“Every person is an artist, we all have a story to tell, I struggle to tell mine on canvas, but the pen allows me to travel to wherever my mind takes me.” Paul’s gallery, Quinn’s of Tweed, in Tweed, Ontario, is housed in a large old heritage building. He is always keen to show people around the gallery and talk about art, or anything for that matter. For Paul, each new encounter is potential fuel for future stories and articles. So, drop in, have a chat, and maybe, you might
end up in one of his stories.

Allison is a writer, educator, and dance artist. She’s called Toronto, Montreal, Geneva, and Zurich home over the years, and now she lives, works, and plays in Belleville. She loves exploring her new home by bicycle, meeting people in the community, and learning about all the Bay of Quinte area has to offer. She teaches dance to students of all ages at the Quinte Ballet School of Canada and with the Prince Edward County Arts Council. She works with clients in the non-profit sector and regularly writes personal essays and feature pieces for publications on a regional, national, and international level, including for Chatelaine, HuffPost, Business Insider, and Bay of Quinte. Allison invests her time and energy in projects that align with her many passions and was a 2025 artist in residence at The Drake Devonshire.

allisonnichollongtin.com

County Arts profile

IG @allisonnichol

Greg is a published writer, an amateur photographer, a home chef, an avid cyclist, longboarder, reader and budding chess player.

He is also a professor of Communications and Mathematics at Loyalist College.

He resides in downtown Belleville where he cultivates a healthy will to live by walking the bayshore trail and recording the varied life forms that share our community.