About Us
About CCSa
As a leader in contemporary art education, we believe that everyone possesses a unique seed of creativity that should be valued and nurtured. That’s why we are dedicated to innovation, inspiration, and excellence in all our programs. 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.
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, where she manages the school’s operations and oversees its team. For over 20 years, she has dedicated herself to the fields of art education and art entrepreneurship. Nahal founded CCSA in 2017 with the goal of developing an innovative, accessible art education program for children, teens, and adults in Toronto. In 2018, she initiated and hosted Canada’s first children’s art competition. An artist herself, Nahal’s work has been showcased in exhibitions 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 Manager
Stuti Mishra
Stuti is a Toronto-based Digital Marketing professional with an MBA in Marketing Management and a Business Marketing Diploma from George Brown College. With seven years of experience in Social Media Advertising, she specializes in Performance Marketing and Brand Management. A nonfiction reader, swimmer, and art enthusiast, Stuti is passionate about crafting impactful campaigns and continuously learning in the evolving Digital Landscape.
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.
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.
ANDREW HARRIS
Visual Arts Instructor
Andrew Harris is born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at OCAD University in 2017, a Masters of Fine Arts at NSCAD University in 2023, completed the Drawing Year at Grand Central Atelier in 2024, and recently finished the Painting Year at Grand Central Atelier in May 2025. He has exhibited work in Toronto, Halifax, New York, Zürich, and Shenyang. He is represented by Katzman Art Projects.
Andrew’s philosophy for teaching is students are in school to learn, but they are also young artists who are developing as well. He believes there is a way to simultaneously create a space that allows for critical thinking, engagement and learning, but also to allow the students to teach themselves and excel in a way that best serves them.
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.
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.
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.
KELLY MARIE
Visual Arts Instructor
Kelly is a Toronto-based artist and graduate from Seneca College’s Independent Illustration program. She specializes in watercolor portraiture, mixed media drawing, and collage. As a freelance artist, Kelly is the chief illustrator for an ongoing children’s book series. She is passionate about the value that art education can bring to a person’s life, especially in their formative childhood years.
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.
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.