Jacqueline Ohm is one of our newest contributors. She lives in Boyle Street and writes our Quarters Arts updates.

She has lived in the area for almost five years. “I came to this area out of a suggestion by a friend, who recommended the apartment building. He thought I would take well to this area and I have!”

As far as the benefits of living in the area go, she lists, “the proximity to anything: LRT, Downtown, festivals, libraries, farmer’s markets, the river valley, events, and the hubbub of the urban core.

Jacqueline is President on the board of directors of the Quarters Arts Society. “The Artistic Director scouted me out. I attended events one summer held by the Quarters Arts family, and I guess they liked my energy and asked me to come on board. What Quarters Arts wants to do and activate within this community I was already personally passionate about,” she says.

In fact, it was Quarters Arts that encouraged Jacqueline to start contributing to Boyle McCauley News. She writes about upcoming events, interspersed with her own personal musings that relate to the themes of the issues.

Jacqueline, who does horticultural work in the downtown core for a living, volunteers with a number of other organizations both in and outside of the area. “I am on the Special Events Committee for Latitude 53 Art Gallery, I work with the Boyle Street Community League, and Abundant Communities Initiative to help foster connections within our neighbourhood. I like supporting initiatives that help to represent groups on the fringes: the Not Enough Festival and Brown, Black, and Fierce are two amazing festivals I think are doing amazing work and am looking forward to helping out more.”

It is no wonder that Jacqueline is interested in volunteering with arts organizations, as she herself has a very creative side. “I have a music project, Conjure, which has steadily booked shows over the past year. I’ll be playing in October in the UP+DT Festival in downtown Edmonton. I like attending shows, the library, walking, biking, and writing thoughts down on paper. I work almost exclusively with a talented local photographer, Sandy Phimester, where we collaborate on material and make some wonderful film images.”