Strategic Partnership. Funds disbursed as micro-grants
Platform A is a partnership involving four organizations that have pioneered work in the field of community arts in Toronto: ArtStarts,Jumblies Theatre, Sketch: Working Arts for Street and Homeless Youth, and VIBE Arts. The four organizations work in different areas of the city and have distinct engagement practices. The aim of the Platform A initiative is to fuse the strengths and experiences of the four organizations to support a shared vision of seeding sustainable, high-quality community arts practice, and providing increased opportunities and access to the arts for youth and communities. The project is creating new opportunities through shared platforms, mentorships, organizational bridge building, and micro-grants and will test new models for collaboration and resource sharing in the youth and community-engaged arts sectors.
Platform A Recipients (2015):
Art Starts | Jumblies Theatre | SKETCH | VIBE Arts
Art Starts
Aaron Lal: Youth from Silversprings will design and produce their own hooded sweatshirts that will promote messages of anti-racism, cultural empowerment, and self-expression.
Alexandra Iorgu: Creating a collective piece of art using clay as a medium involving people all ages from the local Community Centre Franklin Horner, LAMP Early Years, Alderwood Library Branch and the Sir Adam Beck Junior School. The project will be displayed at the Alderwood Library and Sir Adam Beck Junior School.
Carla Soto: Facilitating multidisciplinary workshops for children to design costumes, learn storytelling, drama, dance, music and handcraft related to a folkloric Afro-Venezuelan festival, The Dancing Devils of Yare.
Gloria O'koye: ‘Unspoken Vocals’ is a program to engage youth ages 14-17 to learn the art of poetry and storytelling, gain confidence in public speaking, & create meaningful relationships. The program will host a series of informative discussion and workshops.
Jacqueline Comrie Garrido: Revitalizing a high traffic patient waiting room or family common area at the Toronto East General Hospital through the production, and installation of a colourful, high quality art mural.
Jasmine Gui: Creating an interdisciplinary pan-Asian showcase, launching the second issue of the magazine LooseLeaf and creating a communal meal sharing experience.
Jose Angel Olivares: Painting a small outdoor mural in Ward 11 to portray his home country Costa Rica, his love for Canada and also to raise awareness of the artistic abilities of people living with autism.
Keisha James: Producing and curating a multi-media gallery exhibit for young, emerging artists 16-35 years of age from across Toronto.
Lynx Sainte-Marie: Creating an arts-based workshop series to engage black youth ages 18-29 who identify as “spoonies”: individuals who live with various forms of chronic illness.
Magda Arturo & Julian Restrepo: Reconnecting second-generation Latin Americans living in Toronto to their roots by creating an interactive mural in the St. Clair & Lansdowne neighbourhood.
Nazanin Khani: Raising awareness about breast cancer by creating and exhibiting four sculptural pieces based on the experience of breast cancer survivors in Toronto.
Vincentia Amoako: Photographing the lifestyles of Lawrence Heights residents in their neighbourhood as it undergoes revitalization and presenting it in an exhibit that triggers all senses.
www.artstarts.net
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Jumblies Theatre
Art Village: Co-Founders, Coreen Gilligan and Sonja Thursby, will establish a weekly visual arts open studio (Art Hive) at Cornerstone Shelter, working with male residents towards an exhibition involving the larger Oakwood community.
Melanie Fernandez Alvarez: Searching for Stories in the Everyday will be a four-session story-gathering and storty-telling creative process, using objects and theatre, with a small group of adults in Central Etobicoke.
Erin Howley: The Room for Wellness project will consist of 6 evening drop-in workshops, involving visual arts and dialogue, with Sistering’s Harm Reduction Program, exploring and expressing notions of health and well-being.
Karis Jones Pard: Breaking Labels will involve LGBTQ youth (16 to 25) in conversations, sharing circles and mural-making to explore and share stories and experiences of coming out. Activiities will take place at Scadding Court and The Ground Floor.
Rhonda Lucy: Rhonda will lead a series of workshops with community members at a Jumblies location, facilitating a clay and papier mache mask-making process that draws on cultural teachings from her own Indigenous background.
Adrienne Marcus Raja: Exploring Camera-less Animation will be a series of workshops and final presentation, at The Ground Floor, and possibly other locations, with multi-age community members to experiment with approaches to hand-made films, resulting in abstract collaborative animation.
Caroline McFarlane: Caroline will design, build and equip an “Art Cart”, and develop and pilot portable visual arts activities to be offered in a hospital waiting room setting and develop a partnership for this project with Princess Margaret Hospital.
Jackie Omstead: Jackie will produce a workshops series, using theatre and other art forms, for people living in supportive housing at 150 Dan Leckie Way, in partnership with Community Living Toronto, and develop skills for inclusive integrated programming.
Jessica Shane: Over the course of 8 workshops, Jess will bring together Parkdale girls and women to explore themes of dislocation and belonging, through 3-D object creation, live shadow play and flimed performance.
Aitak Sorahitalab: Aitak is supported to research and explore commonalities in visual motifs between Ontario Indigenous and Iranian/Persian cultures, with a view to designing a collaborative ceramic project in a subsequent phase.
Stavria Thelassia: Stavria will design and pilot a workshop where participants bring and transform an existing piece of clothing into something unique, using ribbons, threads, small pieces of material, beads and more.
Dobrilla Tomic: Dobrilla will interview and photograph 5 regulars at the Happy Cup - a diner that “still welcomes people who may not have loads of money”, in her own Bloordale Village gentrifying neighbourhood, producing and sharing a final photo essay.
We Are For Women and Families: Five young emerging arts leaders living in Kingston Galloway will be supported to lead 5 workshops for local children (in puppetry, tie-dye and pottery) and a fun fair, taking place at the East Scarborough Storefront in Kingston Galloway.
www.jumbliestheatre.org
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Sketch
Daniel Pessole: Series of 5 mixed-media works exploring the chaotic structure of the human ego
Erum Khan: A short documentary about the artist's family's immigration to Canada, intended to explore realities of cultural identity and assimilation
Parker Dirks: A series of screen prints on ceramic surfaces examining male to female gender transition
Yael De Gale: Visual arts series exploring the perception of black female bodies through the lens of vintage pin-up comics
Pierre Bimwala: 9-song hip-hop EP produced with medieval instruments and old-world soundscapes
Eli Howey: Large scale etching, accompanied by comics and illustrations printed in risograph illustrating a narrative of 2 non-binary trans characters set in an urban environment
Elric Hicks: A handcrafted jewelry collection utilizing lab-created rubies, sapphires, and emeralds
Maanii Oaks: Series of 9 oil paintings illustrating the life cycles of animals with the intention to preserve traditional land-based teaching and knowledge of the Cree Community of James Bay
David Jasmin: A 7-song hip-hop EP exploring themes of self and community, and ideas of right and wrong
Beck Gilmer-Osborne: A photo-sculptural installation that explores the science, and contemporary cultural manifestations, of the sex-determining gene within a transgender aesthetic
Chris Castello: 3-song R&B EP
Nigel Edwards: Short collaborative dance film shining light on outcasts of the Toronto dance scene in neighbourhoods across the city
Daniele Dennis: Public art installation in Scarborough utilizing handmade piñatas placed in 5 locations, intended to challenge misconceptions about Scarborough communities
Joyce Bermudez: 9-song EP discussing self-actualization and identity as they relate to themes of poverty, mental health, and homophobia
Sampreeth Rao: Short experimental documentary film using the transience of nature as a metaphor for the impact of aging and increased responsibility on young peoples’ lives.
sketch.ca
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VIBE Arts
Samay Arcentales: A second generation Ecuadorian-Canadian will work with 5 individuals aged anywhere from 18 to 29 to create a video about the Latin American migrant experiences in relation to different public spaces of their choice in Toronto.
Matthew Cuff: A dancer and choreographer with 10 years of experience specializing in Vogueing organizes a ball as part of the vibrant ballroom scene in Toronto.
Nicole D'Souza: Four youth art facilitators aged 15 to 19, from Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park communities lead self-expression art workshops for middle school students in their community.
Nina Escalante: A multidisciplinary artist from the Philippines shares her talents in photography, embroidery, and fashion design in an inter-generational space in Scarborough, leading workshops in the creation of multimedia artwork
Moises Frank: A muralist leads a team of artists to repurpose the tagged garage doors facing King Edward Junior school into "canvases" that will expose the new generation to positivity and colour through aerosol art.
Nadia Hakime: An Afghani Toronto-based artist paints a mural in the Danforth Village area.
Janez Jones: A dancer and choreographer of Guyanese decent provides a dance program for youth in Rexdale leading to a showcase at Stomp T.O Competition and at the North Kipling C.C annual community culture show run.
Amreen Kadwa: Two sisters of Indian heritage seek to grow awareness and interest in henna art by teaching henna workshops, exploring unique styles as a form of expression, to young girls in an inter-generational space in Thorncliffe.
Dorica Manuel: Y+ Contemporary from Scarborough, a collective of emerging visual artists mentoring local youth to create and exhibit their own artworks while developing their own exhibit for CONTACT festival at a newly established artist-run space in Malvern.
Swadhi Ranganee: A mother and daughter team facilitate a dance program for high school students teaching Sinhalese traditional dancing, fuse with elements of jazz, hip hop, Latin dancing and more.
Quentin VerCetty: An artist uses new media digital stories to celebrate first generation at-risk youth from Rexdale and a downtown priority neighborhood.
Jasmine Wemigwans: A visual artist leads fellow students in their final year in the design and creation of an aboriginal themed mural at her high school Wexford C.S.A
www.vibearts.ca
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