Critical Distance DIRECTORY Una Janicijevic

Una Janicijevic is a Toronto-based Serbian Canadian artist, designer, and mother whose work is shaped by principles of inclusivity, sustainability, and collaboration. Working across art, publishing, media, and education, she creates interdisciplinary projects that explore care, belonging, and participation within cultural and social spaces.

As an immigrant and a parent, community sits at the centre of Una’s practice. She is drawn to stories of resilience and connection, where children are understood as part of larger ecosystems and complex subjects are approached with curiosity rather than fear. Through collage, drawing, and tactile image-making, she experiments within small worlds—observing patterns, rearranging fragments, and imagining more hopeful ways of relating to one another. Her work often examines how caregiving and lived experience shape access to cultural spaces, inviting intergenerational participation and nontraditional forms of engagement.

Una’s artwork has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and published internationally. She is the co-founder of Milk Teeth Collective, a grant-supported initiative focused on supporting artist-parents through community programming, arts education, and sustainability-centred projects.

Alongside her artistic practice, Una has built an extensive career in design and creative direction. With years of experience as an award-winning editorial art director, she has led and collaborated on projects spanning magazines, digital storytelling, exhibitions, branding, and educational initiatives. Her approach combines strategic thinking with a handcrafted visual sensibility, bringing warmth, materiality, and narrative depth to both artistic and commercial work. She is interested in creating accessible, meaningful experiences that foster participation, dialogue, and connection.