Founding Members

Aanmitaagzi began as a convergence of like-minded artists, collaborating to create a community-engaged multi-arts collective on Nipissing First Nation. Now a successful not-for-profit, we honour and acknowledge the hard work of our founding members and their dedication to making our community a better place.

Penny Couchie – Co-Artistic Director – Dance / Theatre
Penny Couchie is a dancer, actor, teacher, choreographer and community arts practitioner of Ojibway and Mohawk ancestry from Nipissing First Nation, Ontario. She holds an Honors BA in Aboriginal Studies and Drama from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Read more…

Sid Bobb – Co-Artistic Director – Dance / Theatre
Sid Bobb is a Gemini award-winning actor from Salish territory in British Columbia. Combining his cultural knowledge and experience as an actor and teacher, Sid has been committed to helping bring Aboriginal stories and culture to the forefront. Read more…

Carol Guppy- Lead Artist – Video Arts/Cultural Teachings
Carol Guppy had numerous years of experience as a photographer. For over forty years it was a common practice to always have her camera at her side. Her favourite subject was people and occasionally animals and scenes. Video art was a natural succession of this interest. She worked on various projects using video to assist in teaching, documenting historical events, recording conditions, or showing locations. Read more…

Sherry Guppy – Lead Artist / Visual Arts
Sherry Guppy is a visual artist and arts educator originally from Temagami. Her art practice has been inspired and informed by many of the places she has lived: the traditional lands of n’Daki Menan, The Downtown East Side of Vancouver, the working class neighbourhood of Sudbury’s Flour Mill, and Oaxaca, Mexico. She shares a deep commitment to recovering and sharing stories and history through multi-disciplinary intergenerational collaboration, and this underlying approach resonates deeply within her creative process. Read more…

Perry McLeod-Shabogesic – Lead Artist / Visual Arts
Perry McLeod-Shabogesic of the “Crane Clan” is an Ojibway Anishinabe from N’biising (Nipissing) First Nation (NFN). The Ojibway people are a tribe within the larger Anishinabek Nation whose territory spans largely around the central Great Lakes of North America. NFN is located on the north shores of Lake Nipissing in Northern Ontario, Canada. Read more…