Our Team
My name is Sara Monadizadeh, a Calgary-based freelance illustrator/graphic designer and visual art instructor with a multicultural background and expertise in custom and character illustration.
With a Master’s degree in Illustration from the University of Art in Tehran, I bring a unique mixed media technique and strong background in conceptualsurrealistic style to my work. As an experienced art instructor and facilitator, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching various art programs to students of all ages and exhibiting my art in numerous international exhibitions, including shows in Tehran, Istanbul, Paris, and Florence. Currently, I serve as a Visual Art Instructor with the City of Calgary, sharing my passion for art with the community.
I’ve also collaborated with various art centers in Calgary as an art teacher and facilitator, empowering others to explore their creativity. Additionally, I’ve successfully facilitated engaging art programs for children and youth, incorporating diverse techniques like sketching, color creativity, painting, multimedia, and illustration. Committed to giving back, I’ve volunteered as a teacher assistant and facilitator at local art initiatives, supporting diverse students in exploring their artistic expression.
My work focuses on social globally issues in a surreal conceptual style, and I enjoy experimenting with color, texture, and mixed media to create mysterious atmospheres.
Armando Salazar Larrea is a photographer, filmmaker and educator with over twenty years of experience. Originally from Quito, Ecuador, his current practice focuses on the family as an investigation of memory, learning and life cycles. His photographs show human relationships and their ambiguities. His personal cinema explores space and time through family ties in constructing identity.
As a film professor, he specialized in Documentary Film, Screenwriting, Camera work and Film Aesthetics. He has published two photographic books, one on youth and music (Prelude-2015) and a second on youth and sports (Against Time-2022).
As an educator, Armando firmly believes in the power of personal discovery. His film and photo workshops are designed to guide students on a journey of self-discovery, helping them find their unique perspective on the world. Armando’s philosophy is that understanding the language of cinema and photography is not about devices or techniques, but about the patient and beautiful process of discovering how we see the world and our relationship with it.