Capture Photography Festival is pleased to announce the appointment of Faune Ybarra as the Festival’s new TD Assistant Curator of Engagement and Katja Lichtenberger as Grant and Development Coordinator. Executive Director Emmy Lee Wall states “We are excited to welcome Faune and Katja to our team. Faune’s deep commitment to making art accessible to all publics is strongly aligned with Capture’s values. We are also thrilled to welcome Katja with her diverse experience in the art world so we can nurture capture’s relationships throughout the community.”
As TD Assistant Curator of Engagement, Ybarra will have the opportunity to assist with researching, developing, planning and executing public programs, events, and public-facing communications to offer significant engagement with all aspects of the Festival. This position is made possible with the generous support of Capture’s Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank Group (TD), through the TD Ready Commitment. “At TD, we’re committed to amplifying diverse voices and supporting initiatives that offer the next generation of talent opportunities and a voice in the stewardship of arts and culture experiences for our communities,” says Stuart Keeler, Senior Art Curator, TD Bank Group. “We all feel welcome when we see ourselves thoughtfully represented in the world around us. That’s why, through our corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, we’re proud to support programs like the TD Assistant Curator of Engagement that create space for emerging professionals facing barriers in the sector and help drive progress for a more inclusive and equitable tomorrow.”
In her role as the Grant and Development Coordinator, Lichtenberger will assist with researching, developing and writing grants for the Festival and support all development activities including researching and preparing sponsor, donor and foundation applications and coordinating development events.
Faune Ybarra is a diasporic artist and researcher as well as an art administrator. In her artistic and administrative practice, she seeks to foster community connections among those who might not have had a chance (due to systemic barriers) to engage with art/ists. As a researcher, she looks at dialogical methodologies to nurture community art projects for Indigenous, Black, and racialized folks and she’s committed to facilitating dialogue and connection among BIPOC art/ists with the conviction that art is a tool for systemic re-imagination and change.
Katja Lichtenberger has worked in public art for the better part of the last two years, overseeing a large portfolio of projects as project manager and providing a strategic approach for community aspirations for public art. She has supported a wide variety of artists in diverse practices for developing concept proposals and realizing public art projects, and engaged with City, indigenous and community advisory in the development of public art plans, performing in-depth research and writing. Previously, Katja worked as an exhibition docent and research assistant at Rennie Museum, leading tours and providing support for programming and events. Originally from Germany, Katja moved to Toronto as a teenager and came to Vancouver in 2015 to attend the University of British Columbia where she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Management degree.
