T H E   T E A M

Our Founders

KIAM
KI(EL) AM(ANDA)

Kiel (Artist/Co-owner)

Kiel has been passionate about art from a young age. Kiel studied art and graduated with honours from the University of Guelph; a diverse program that allowed him to explore different techniques of art making. Following this, Kiel obtained his teaching degree from Lakehead University in 2012. Since graduating he has been creating work and building the art practice and business. His passion for creating art and his knowledge of the importance of education and hard work, is what drives his vision for helping other artists learn the tools needed to succeed. 

Amanda (Artist/Co-owner)

​Amanda has always enjoyed artistic ways of expressing herself. Despite being told by a teacher at a young age that she wasn't good enough to pursue a life in art, Amanda graduated with honours from the University of Guelph Studio Art program in 2010 and obtained a Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University in 2013. Amanda has also worked in the corporate world learning about business, finance, and organizational skills for business success. Helping other artists see past their insecurities to explore their passions, organize their business and achieve their goals, while not feeling overwhelmed along the way, is what guides her dreams for Art in The Ward. 

Artist Community

​The artist community we have become a part of over the years has been such a supportive and inspirational space. We have met numerous artists over the years that love to be part of a close community who are there to support and lift each other up along the way. Our hopes with Art in The Ward is to provide a community of artists that support each other towards success, living their passions and doing work that is meaningful and important.

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Our Story

We haven't always created art together. We both loved making art and have been doing so from a young age. But it wasn't until we went backpacking through Europe in 2003 that it sparked our discussions about exploring a life in art. While backpacking we went to galleries in the UK, France, Italy and Spain. We marvelled at ingenious architecture, and sat in awe watching street artists work with such passion and focus. Being exposed to so much art and history inspired us to want to create art that resonates and inspires others. We returned home after a few months of backpacking and started art school the following year. We dove into the art program at the University of Guelph and explored many ways of creating. Exploring photography, print making, drawing, painting and sculpture we felt the program gave us different tools and techniques to further develop our art practice. After graduating from the University of Guelph, we completed our teaching degrees at Lakehead University. 

Knowing that we had a love for art and teaching, we have explored different ways to create a life doing so. Since 2010, we have been working collaboratively as KIAM Studio, creating work that documents our experiences. Following our passion, inspiration and formal training, both in art and education, we developed Art in The Ward based out of Guelph Ontario. We wanted a space that was inclusive, inviting and innovative for workshops, classes and art events for our community. Art in The Ward provided the art community with tools that would inspire them, give them confidence and encourage them to find and follow their passion. This studio space and what we were able to do in it gave us the inspiration to reach out on a larger scale through an online platform to artists around the world.

​Recently we gifted that space and the contents of it to two recent graduates and collaborative artists from the University of Guelph. The physical space will remain a creative space that brings people together and invites individuals to explore themselves through art, while also giving an opportunity to emerging artists to start a business in the arts.  This is something we are very excited about and honoured to do. We love helping and supporting other artists and wanted to continue this in a bigger way.

Through many conversations with artists over the years, the same problems, issues and roadblocks come up. At every art show, workshop, webinar and coaching session we have been to, we have asked and continue to hear the same questions over and over. Through our conversations and experiences, we have tips, tools and answers to many of those questions. We have spent 1000's of dollars learning what to do (and more importantly, what not to do). We have spent countless hours and late nights learning systems, listening to podcasts, sitting through workshops and seminars, researching best practices and building our business. We want to help other artists save time and money. We want to provide artists with the tools and strategies we used for success and help artists maintain their focus and succeed doing what they love. We hope you will join our community and benefit from the content!