Mara Ravins

I am a Latvian/Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, working in the medium of film, photography and painting, a history and theatre graduate from the University of Toronto and New Media graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. Taking roads less travelled, I have lived in different places around the world, immersed in different cultures and spent most of the 90's living in Riga, Latvia. I worked extensively as a performance/installation artist before devoting to film professionally for over 30 years as a production designer, set decorator/buyer, wardrobe supervisor, camerawoman, film financing consultant and script/story editor. My current project takes me into the realm of curating a contemporary textile/fibre art exhibition.

My own narrative and documentary films (as a writer, director) have played at international festivals garnering critical acclaim. I have served as a jury member on various arts councils and continue to mentor young artists.

In this time of societal upheaval - What do we value, hold dear? Where do we find Solace? Home? Safety? Hope? Joy? What new forms of self, identity, family, community, ritual or habit can we create beyond boundaries and old paradigms of being to experience more kindness, lov...

University of Toronto - History and Theatre
Ontario College of Art & Design - New Media

Performance/Installation Art documents in: Canadian Anthology of Performance Art, 1970-1990, Coach House Press, 1992.
July 2014 – Cannon Gallery, Hamilton Artists, Inc.
April 2017 – VAM Exhibit (4 paintings - Urban Princesses)
November 2020 – LATVIS Society of Artists Canada (fka CLAA Canadian Latvian Artist Association) virtual exhibit
May & Nov 2021 – LATVIS Society of Artists Canada, exhibit
September 2022 - Latvian Fall Festival, Utopia Ontario
Dec 2023/Jan 2024 - Interwoven Realities, 9th Toronto Visionary Art Exhibit
June/July 2024- solo exhibit of 30 paintings - Supernova Cafe & Gallery, Toronto
October 2024 - EKKT (Estonian Artist Society) Toronto, Latvian Centre Galley
Work documented in Latvian-Canadian Artists and Artisans, by Lote & Mierins, Marquis Books, 2019.
Photography work is also in private collections, including
Open Society Institute in New York.
Current 2025: Curator of Group Exhibition "Nature, Being & Technology" at the Cotton Factory in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, November 2025.