about the ddc
The Dirty Dishes Collective is a curatorial project co-founded by Dani Neira and Cassia Powell. Inspired by the piles of dishes that remain after gathering, we center collaboration, care, and community. Emphasizing queer methodologies and research-based practices, our projects take many forms including exhibitions, residencies, community libraries, workshops, publications, and dinner parties.
The DDC was founded in 2022 on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) peoples, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. As of 2024, the DDC is now based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
who we are
Dani Neira
co-founder / curator
Cassia Powell
co-founder / curator
Cassia Powell (they/them) is an emerging contemporary artist and curator based in the unceded lands of Lekwungen-speaking peoples, otherwise known as Victoria, BC. Powell is a BFA Visual Arts honours graduate from the University of Victoria.
Between their personal artistic practice and their curatorial focus, Powell emphasizes the critique of institutional and academic dynamics, and champions the importance of vulnerability and space-making within contemporary art spheres. Each one of Powell’s projects signifies vast lifeworlds of queer relationality, encrypted sociality, and utopian potentiality.
Dani Neira (they/them) is a second-generation settler of mixed Colombian ancestry based in Victoria, BC, on the unceded territories of the Lekwungen peoples. Their interdisciplinary practice involves curatorial projects, independent publishing, writing and visual art. Exploring the structures of memory, language and built environments, their work embraces affective knowledge and the queer slippages which occur in everyday life.
Neira holds a BA in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Victoria, and is the co-founder of collaborative curatorial project Dirty Dishes Collective. They have worked in a variety of curatorial and administrative roles within the cultural sector since 2016 and are currently a Program Coordinator at Open Space.