Meet the Team

Adonis has long had an interest in theatre and after graduating from the Community Worker Diploma Program at Toronto's George Brown College in 1988, Adonis moved to Nova Scotia to pursue a BA in Theatre at Dallhousie University. During the summer of 1998 and 1999, Adonis performed in lead roles with a Black theatre company assoicated with the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre. The theatre company was founded to highlight Canada's racist past and present contemorary issues faced by Black communities in Eastern Canada. The experience would serve as a major influence in Adonis's later work. Adonis returned in Toronto in 1991 to work with a newly formed resident group in Regent Park anxious to develop arts-based interventions for hard-to-reach youth and deal with stigmatation of Regent Park.

When engagement through theatre proved challenging. Adonis turned to the popularity of media, taking extensive production and post-production courses at Trinity Square Video (1993 to 2000) and imparting what he learned to Regent Park youth through the establishment of community video production programs. In time these programs would lead to a 24-hour, closed circuit television station (Regent Park TV).

Adonis continues to manage and coordinate video production programs at Regent Park Focus and serves both as the Artistic Director for Regent Park Focus hub, as well as the Executive Director for the FOCUS Media Arts Centre.

Dawar is a dynamic filmmaker, videographer, and published photographer hailing from Regent Park. With a diploma in Film and TV from Pakistan, earned in 2014, Dawar's journey into the world of visual arts began with a strong foundation in cinematic techniques.

Venturing into entrepreneurship, Dawar established his own production company, where he honed his craft through a myriad of projects. From renowned advertising commercials to captivating music videos, Dawar's portfolio boasts a diverse range of work, all underscored by his commitment to advanced filmmaking techniques.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Dawar is deeply invested in community engagement. He devotes his time to teaching media and cinematic techniques to youth at risk, leveraging his expertise to empower the next generation of creatives. Through mentorship and education, Dawar strives to foster creativity and provide opportunities for personal and artistic growth within marginalized communities.

Despite immigrating to Canada in 2020 amidst a challenging global landscape, Dawar remained steadfast in his creative pursuits. Undeterred by the circumstances, he continued to contribute actively to Ontario's creative scene, participating in independent photography and videography projects.

His dedication to both his craft and community serves as an inspiration to aspiring artists and advocates alike. Through his work and mentorship, Dawar leaves an indelible mark on the world of visual arts, enriching lives and nurturing talent along the way.

Tyrone is actively the Radio Regent Coordinator and New Media Coordinator at the FOCUS Media Arts Centre.

Elson Hsieh is a software and website programmer and began his programing career with multi-years of experience in PHP, Javascript, MS-SQL, and MySQL. Aspiring to horn his skills as indie game developer, Elson entered Trios College, a private career college focusing on technology, and graduated at the top of his class.

Elson Hsieh is a seasonal Unity Software Programming Instructor at Regent Park FOCUS.