My name is Kayla and I’m a 29 year old Labrador Inuit woman and mom. I have spent a lot of time in Kingston growing up, it’s my second home. I am a self-taught artist and work in acrylic paint and digital work but use other mediums in my spare time. My artwork is usually related to my Inuit culture and upbringing in Labrador, as I paint different things from my family history and folklore. Being in the city makes me miss home so I paint to escape there. I am learning my native language(s) and my artwork has been helping me learn different words as I name my paintings.  I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for my travels, driving, flying and hitchhiking across Canada, I had many adventures and not all were good. Sometimes the subjects or ideas behind my work show a vulnerable side of me and look into my past. I am an advocate for mental health, BIPOC issues, domestic abuse, and I have almost become a MMIW myself so I hope to create art to help bring awareness to these things that many people in this country have the privilege of ignoring. I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but it’s a work in progress as I explore how to express my thoughts onto canvas with paint. This year is opening a lot of great opportunities for me and I look forward to whatever is next.