Kate Hilliard

Orillia is home to incredible artists, musicians, artisans, and creatives. We tend to see the performer or the artist first…but what about those working in the background to showcase and elevate these artists? We want to highlight someone who is an artist, but also very much an advocate and proponent of the arts. Meet Kate Hilliard. She is a creative, a curator, and an educator.  One of her formal titles is Artistic Director of Arts Orillia.

Kate grew up in Orillia, attending Regent Park’s French Immersion program, where she participated in dance and drama through Kiwanis, MAT and local dance schools. She then left home at the age of 12 to attend a professional dance school, which led to her touring North America and Europe between the ages of 17 to 30.

As a young adult, Kate eventually settled in Toronto and started creating dance/theatre and installation work while teaching at Toronto Metropolitan University at the same time. During those years, she became a mother, which she comments, “…has been the most creative endeavour yet!”

During the pandemic, Kate returned back to the north and moved to a place along the Black River in Washago. A love for nature made this the perfect place to land. She comments, “I’m pretty hyperactive, so through isolation (of the pandemic), I needed a passion project. It was during these years that I started devoting my time to Arts Orillia.”

Arts Orillia is a community-focused arts organization dedicated to making creativity, culture, and artistic experiences accessible throughout Orillia. Through performances, festivals, arts education, artist mentorship, and community projects, Arts Orillia supports local and emerging artists while creating opportunities for people of all ages to connect, participate, and experience the arts.

During this new undertaking for Kate, the expansion of the youth programming through Arts Orillia was a priority. Partnerships with the Orillia Youth Centre have increased access to the arts for those who attend. There have been more youth internships, co-op placements, arts day camps, and school workshops. Kate notes, “I’m really proud of our co-op program at Arts Orillia. This opportunity touches on all of the projects that we do as an organization: Jazz Fest, Gathering, and Future Fest, but I get to experience the way these initiatives impact the public through the eyes of a young person.” Her passion for mentorship shines here. Co-ops allow for students in Grade 11 and 12 to pursue their interests and gives them training for potentially pursuing a career in the arts.

Most people probably could not envision a future for an artist in rural, more northern communities outside of the traditional, metropolitan art hubs. But this has proven to be the opposite for Kate. She reflects, “I used to think that I could never be a professional artist outside of a big city. The fact is, the community of Orillia has supported my hopes and dreams of being an artist and contributing to creativity in the most profound way.”

In her role as Artistic Director, Kate is able to liaise with various community groups and schools, such as the SCDSB, North Simcoe Arts, Creative Nomad Studios, the Orillia Opera House, Sustainable Orillia, the Orillia and Rama First Nation Libraries, and the Four Directions Sixties Scoop Group of Simcoe/Muskoka. Her desire to combine community and the arts is evident in all that she does. Kate comments, “My passion is supporting youth and artists and all of these folks are doing important things for our future creative generations.”

While supporting the arts community in our region and all the projects she has on the go, Kate is also gearing up for a live performance installation. She exhibited her work Story Creatures at the AGO in Toronto last year, and the work will travel again in spring 2027. The work combines choreography, spoken story, digital/coded elements, and sound, exploring a futuristic story of renewal following environmental catastrophe. She notes, “I think it’s important to maintain my identity as a working artist because it drives my own creativity and reminds me of why it’s so important to support the artistic process.”

She also attributes her drive and commitment to the creative arts to raising two creative kids of her own. She hopes to foster a love for the arts in our community. “I want young people to know that they can stay here, or leave and come back while following their dreams.”

For being a dream supporter, creative, visionary, mentor, and active member of our arts community, North Simcoe Life applauds the efforts of Kate Hilliard as this issue’s Community Hero.

If you know someone pretty great, we would love to highlight them. Send us an email at: info@northsimcoe.life.