About Us
As a leader in contemporary art education, we believe that every individual holds a unique creative potential that deserves to be recognized and developed.
At the Canadian Contemporary School of Art (CCSA), we are committed to providing thoughtful, high-quality art education that goes beyond traditional approaches. Our programs are designed to nurture creativity with intention—combining technical skill, independent thinking, and personal expression.
We are a team of professional artists and educators based in Toronto, Canada, offering dynamic and engaging art programs for toddlers, children, teens, and adults. Our goal is to create an environment where students feel supported, challenged, and inspired to grow both artistically and personally.
Founder And Director
NAHAL BAHRMAN, MFA
Nahal Bahrman is the founder and director of the Canadian Children’s Art Foundation and the Canadian Contemporary School of Art (CCSA), where she leads the school’s vision, oversees its operations, and guides its team of artists and educators.
For over 20 years, she has been dedicated to the fields of art education and art entrepreneurship, with a focus on building meaningful and accessible creative programs.
Nahal founded CCSA in 2017 with the goal of creating a thoughtful and innovative art education experience for children, teens, and adults in Toronto. In 2018, she initiated and hosted Canada’s first children’s art competition, expanding opportunities for young artists to share their work.
As an artist, her work has been exhibited in Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. She holds a Master’s degree in Illustration.
Executive manager
ASAD SHARIFI, PhD, CHRP
Asad is a dedicated leader in education and talent development with over two decades of experience establishing and managing educational institutions, private colleges, and business schools. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics with a specialization in language teaching and education, and has consistently focused his career on advancing learning experiences across diverse global contexts. Building on his academic foundation, Asad pursued further studies in Human Resources Management at the University of Toronto and is an active member of the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario. His professional journey spans Canada, Switzerland, Austria, France, the UAE, and Iran, where he has designed and implemented innovative educational programs that bridge pedagogy, leadership, and industry needs.
Our TEAm
We are a team of professional artists and educators in Toronto, Canada working to provide accessible, dynamic art programs for toddlers, children, teens, and adults. With engaging in-studio classes and an exciting variety of online courses, we welcome local and international art lovers.
Digital Marketing Specialist
Melvin M. Thomas
Melvin is a marketer with an MBA in Marketing and a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital and Content Marketing from York University. With experience across a range of industries, he has planned and executed marketing campaigns that drive meaningful results and support business growth. He is passionate about understanding customer behavior and using data-driven insights to create effective marketing, build stronger brand connections, and deliver campaigns that resonate with the right audiences.
UX/UI DESIGNER
PEGAH SARGOLZAEI
Pegah is an UX/UI designer, and creative thinker who has always had a passion for art. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering. She also did her postgraduate studies in User Experience Design at Humber College since she was very interested in how people interact with different spaces. She already collaborated with the City of Toronto and also the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts at Humber College in the “Tiny Town” project.
Graphic Designer
AIDA MAHMOUDIE
Aida is a multifaceted Graphic Designer with a rich educational background. Holding a diploma in graphics, a bachelor’s degree in industrial design, and a master’s degree in illustration, she epitomizes a blend of technical prowess and artistic flair. Beyond her academic achievements, Aida is deeply passionate about art education. She has dedicated significant time to transfer her knowledge, teaching a spectrum of creative disciplines, including graphic design, painting, sculpture, and pottery, to individuals spanning various age groups—from kids to adults. With her expertise and commitment to nurturing artistic talent, Aida continually inspires and empowers aspiring artists to explore their creative potential.
Administrator
Audrey Pagulayan
Audrey is an actor, dancer, photographer, model and singer. Since she was a child, she has been performing, and she studied musical theatre at Randolph College for the Performing Arts. She has extensive experience as an administrative, studio, and virtual assistant. Audrey has appeared in several commercials, corporate films, print ads and television shows. Her previous work includes a flash dance mob for TIFF, a photography exhibit at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), modelled for several companies and sang in burlesque shows and numerous choirs. She was also a dance ambassador for the video game Just Dance 4.
Our INSTRUCTORs
Our instructors are highly trained professional artists. They bring to their lessons industry experience, expertise in their fields, and passion for children's art education. With our small class sizes, students receive personalized, quality instruction that develops their skills and nurtures their creativity.
Izzy Paez
Visual Arts Instructor
Izzy is self-taught multidisciplinary artist working in the style of magical realism. She has over eight years of professional arts career experience and local art events involvement, some events She has participated in include, Nuit Blanche, DesingTO and others over the years. Her artistic methodology is one of material exploration and abundant expression.
Her practice is rooted in storytelling, folklore, imagination, and dreams, drawing from her Mexican-El Salvadoran cultural memory and personal narratives as sources of creative navigation.
ABBY TIBON
Painting Instructor
Abby Tibon is a third-year Drawing and Painting student at OCAD University. Her main mediums are oil and acrylic paint. Abby uses her art to bring representation for Filipino Canadians. She focuses on making art that captures people’s stories. Abby believes in intent observations to express emotions through the human figure. She challenges herself to learn new mediums such as clay and digital media. Abby is currently striving to develop her animation skills, to create stories to share with larger audiences.
ANIKA BECKER
Visual Arts Teacher, Toronto
Anika Becker is a dedicated visual arts educator based in Toronto, holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Pedagogy. Her teaching practice centers on helping students understand and apply the elements and principles of art as tools for expressing personal emotions, stories, and ideas.
Drawing from her fine arts background, Anika provides students with strong technical foundations in a variety of media while encouraging creative risk-taking and authentic artistic voice. She creates a supportive, student-centered studio environment where learners gain confidence, refine their craftsmanship, and develop a deeper appreciation for the role of art in students' own, everyday experiences.
ONS BEN DHAOU
Architecture Instructor
Ons is a design educator and architectural sketching specialist with a PhD in Architectural Engineering. Over the past decade, she has combined academic rigor with hands-on creative practice, teaching architectural representation, perspective techniques, and visual communication to students and professionals alike.
She has contributed as an assistant lecturer, mentor, and workshop leader, guiding learners to develop confidence, clarity, and creativity in their visual expression. She also helps high school and university students build strong portfolios and develop visual skills that have successfully supported their acceptance into prestigious architecture and design programs across Europe, North America, and beyond. Her professional journey spans Tunisia, Hungary, Austria, and Canada, where she has designed and delivered courses, workshops, and personalized mentoring programs that bridge theory, design thinking, and practical sketching skills.
Ons uses architectural sketching as a language to see, understand, and communicate design ideas. Her work empowers designers to explore ideas through color, form, and perspective, inspiring them to think critically and express boldly.
Hyla Golden Del Castillo
Hyla Golden Del Castillo is a Colombian textile artist and distinguished fashion design graduate from TMU. She’s also the designer and creative director behind H.Y.L.A. A small sustainable fashion brand based in Toronto that focuses on making one of a kind pieces made from reclaimed, vintage and sustainable materials as well as unique zero waste jewelry. Her collections have been in multiple Toronto fashion weeks and national/ international media outlets. Hyla’s strong focus on sustainability centers around a conscious fashion/ user relationship where fashion and sustainability are part of a symbiotic environment that need each other in order to thrive. It is her goal and dream to pass this on to the next generation and inspire them to be conscious, critical and creative thinkers.
AIDA MAHMOUDIE
Visual Arts Instructor
Aida Mahmoudie is a multifaceted visual arts instructor with a rich educational background. Holding a diploma in graphics, a bachelor’s degree in industrial design, and a master’s degree in illustration, she epitomizes a blend of technical prowess and artistic flair. Beyond her academic achievements, Aida is deeply passionate about art education. She has dedicated significant time to transfer her knowledge, teaching a spectrum of creative disciplines including drawing, painting, sculpture, and pottery to individuals spanning various age groups—from kids to adults. With her expertise and commitment to nurturing artistic talent, Aida continually inspires and empowers aspiring artists to explore their creative potential.
ANGIE VOISIN
Visual Arts Instructor
Angie Voisin is an artist educator specializing in creating art-based programs in museums, galleries and schools. She has worked as a Program Coordinator for museum education programs at Markham Museum and at Bata Shoe Museum. She graduated from OCADU with a BFA in Fine Arts and is pursuing a MA in Art Education. In her research practice, she is interested in experiential learning in museum/gallery spaces and through online platforms. In her studio practice she reflects on her cultural identity as an Asian Canadian woman in landscapes, objects and memory; exploring a variety of mediums such as watercolor, ink, embroidery, drawing and photography.
Mona Rodriguez
Mona is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator with over 8 years of experience in fashion illustration, pattern-making, textile work, and mixed media design. Her practice focuses on accessible and creative approaches to garment design, combining drawing with hands-on making.
Her teaching integrates sustainability and resourceful fashion practices, with an emphasis on using available materials thoughtfully and developing adaptive design and making skills.
In the classroom, she introduces students to the initial steps of sewing machine use, foundational pattern-making, and creative experimentation through drawing, textiles, and introductory construction techniques.
Vickey Zhou
Vickey Zhou is a second-year Animation student at Sheridan College with a passion for visual storytelling. Her work explores themes of family, identity, and human connection through screenwriting and animation. She has worked on a comic on the side, and occasionally loves to participate in zines. On the side, she loves exploring downtown Toronto and cafe sketching with friends.
NAA-ADEI LAURA MARMON
Fashion Design Instructor
Naa-Adei Laura Marmon is a fashion designer with over 10 years of experience in the field. She is the creative director of her name sake brand and has showcased her designs at New York Fashion Week. With an education in fashion design at George College Naa-Adei is an expert in fashion illustration, digital illustration, pattern drafting, fashion business, cutting, and sewing.
Now, Naa-Adei seeks to pass her knowledge of fashion design to the next generation, by sparking inspiration in our youth.
NICHOLAS KASPERSKY
Digital Arts Instructor
Nick is an undergraduate digital futures student at the Ontario College of Art and Design. An enthusiastic animator, cartoonist and freelance illustrator, he has worked on several comics, character commissions and taught as a programming instructor at various Toronto schools.
Beginning from simple doodles of stick soldiers and fantasy maps, he has gained a passion for animated storytelling and world building, and currently works as the animation instructor at CCSA.
Samantha Van Rootselaar
Samantha is a Toronto-based animator with a passion for all things artistic. She has spent several years working in the animation industry, having animated on a variety of children’s shows and bringing characters and stories to life since 2020. Samantha is passionate about the animated arts, character design, and storyboarding. When she isn’t animating, she is illustrating and sketching out cartoons just for the fun of it. Samantha believes that developing one’s art is a lifelong journey, and strives to share her love for all things animated and cartoon with students who also want to tell their own stories through art.
Creative Writing
A.G. PASQUELLA
A.G. Pasquella is a writer and editor based in Toronto. His work has appeared in various spots including McSweeney’s, The Believer, Black Book, Joyland and the Utne Reader. His story “I Was A Teenage Minotaur” was chosen for Imaginarium 2013: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing. A.G.’s books include Yard Dog, Carve The Heart, Season of Smoke and Welcome to The Weird America. He is the co-editor of PAC’N HEAT: A Noir Homage to Ms. Pac-Man and also DEVOURING TOMORROW: Fiction from The Future of Food. When he’s not writing, A.G. makes music with the bands Miracle Beard and LASERGNU and makes up stories with his two children.
IRENA HULJAK
Drama / Acting on camera Instructor
Irena Huljak has taught Drama and Public Speaking since 2015. She is a professional actress in the ACTRA union. She earned a place on the Dean's list with her B.F.A. from York University. She went on to do a Master's, graduating at the top of her class. Not only has she received a certificate in Foundational Studies in TESOL but also has studied Voice and Speech for over six years with acclaimed coaches from Oxford and The American Shakespeare Company. She has a passion for FILm , T.V. , and theatre. She is capable of igniting students to do their best while surprising themselves and having fun. Seeing any student who didn't believe in themselves suddenly rise to the challenge is very fulfilling.