“I believe beauty emerges from the sparked embers of creativity and diversity that is why I am honored to have the opportunity to be at Evolution Dance Theatre as a board member. The company’s mission to spark social change by creating multi-disciplinary artistic shows, rooted in diversity and acceptance, is a message that echoes my own rudimentary values as an artist. Together, we hope to continue to bring our audiences transformational experiences that will create impact and ignite a common sense of human comradery and I look forward to the journey ahead.”

Arya Landers is a powerhouse of creativity and innovation, whose artistic career spans more than fifteen years across multiple disciplines, including painting, playwriting, performance art, and acting. As the Founder and Artistic Director of Paper Picture Productions (Faces Magazine Ottawa Awards 2025 – Best Ottawa Theatre Group), Landers has carved a distinctive path in the arts, blending her passion for storytelling with her sharp entrepreneurial acumen. With a professional background in business, marketing, and the arts, she has produced theatrical spectacles on stages across Canada, Europe, the UK, and India, as well as spearheaded corporate management projects.

Landers refined her craft under the mentorship of Gemini Award-winning actor Shannon Lawson and Award-winning Greek director, Kostas Gakis. She also honed her skills in Shakespeare and contemporary theatre with programs at The Royal Academy of Art. As an award-nominated actor (Faces Magazine Ottawa Awards, 2023), her repertoire includes celebrated television and stage roles. On TV, she is recognized for her role as Cherry Lime on the Chicago Network’s Undercover Detectives. Her stage credits include iconic characters such as Jocasta in From Antigone to Medea (Greece), Polonius in Hamlet (UK), Sabah in Follow Your Heart (Canada), Medea in Medea, and Queen Satyavatia in Grandsire: The Life of Beeshma (India), while performing at prominent venues such as the National Arts Centre and the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

Landers’ talent extends to improvisational theatre, with credits in productions such as What Fuddlemugs Do In The Dark, Murder At The Monster Mash, and By Grinch! Santa Got The Boot. As a director, she made waves with her debut of Frayne McCarthy’s jukebox musical The Awakening, which premiered at the Gladstone Theatre, toured to The Royal Theatre Thousand Islands, and concluded at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. Her creative vision continues to expand, as she collaborates with the estates of Michel Tremblay and André Gagnon to produce Nelligan: A Musical Tragedy.

In 2023, Arya added playwright to her impressive list of accomplishments with the debut of her full-length play, Grey Ghost: Prisoners of Souls and Masts, staged in Ottawa and at the Royal Theatre in Gananoque. She is set to release two major publications in 2025: her poetry anthology, The Tortured Poet Departs, and a non-fiction work, An Actor’s Blueprint in 2026.

Beyond the stage, Arya is an award-winning painter, recognized as one of Ottawa’s Top 15 Visual Artists in 2022 by Faces Magazine. Her multifaceted artistry and relentless dedication to the arts position Arya Landers as a visionary force in today’s creative world.