GIVING TUESDAY
Create artportunities by supporting us on Giving Tuesday! The global day of giving falls on November 30th, 2021 this year, but you can make your contribution early. Donate directly to our Giving Tuesday fund by using the form below.
CREATING ARTPORTUNITIES
Creativity and Community Connect People to Opportunity.
Art is an accessible connection point. It gives individuals, neighbourhoods and cultures a chance to express themselves.
As part of our Arowana Training Program, The Treasure Book workshop series empowered immigrants to share their journey. Hosted by artist Paula Solano, participants were taught illustration techniques and methods in storytelling to weave their stories together in a handmade book.
Heart-warming stories of hardships and triumph connected the group in shared lived experiences and continued the important conversation of of what it means to be a newcomer.
Art is a process.
Art is the journey, not the destination. It’s about imagining, making, trying and the individual experience.
The young artists of our 2018 Up & Rooted program were asked to imagine their community in the future. During a period of revitalization, this gave the youth a chance to process feelings of displacement and look forward to a bright future.
This 4-year project emphasized the strengthening of community relationships as participants were moved from their neighbourhood of Villaways to Chester Le. Chester Le programming was created to maintain relationships through the extended revitalization.
The process included brainstorming, planning and building their model -- made entirely out of Lego pieces. The final artwork is a collective expression of what community pride truly looks like.
Art gives back.
Connections between community members and artists aim to develop specific skills and open up possibilities. Mentoring leads to leadership.
This is exactly what Fashion Designer, Diseiye Thompson, experienced during their time at Art Starts. Diseiye started as a participant in our 2014 Sew What program where they were introduced to fashion design.
After completing a Fashion Design Program, Diseiye went on to develop a luxury evening wear collection that was exhibited at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week. They became the lead designer for Art Starts’ Colour Wheel Project, passing down their sewing and design expertise to the youth participants.
This type of arts-based programming is a catalyst for self-development, leading to fulfilling opportunities. It gives back to the community holistically and individually.
Art is an investment.
It transcends traditional barriers to self-efficacy and provides opportunity for growth.
Our legacy program, OWN IT, invests in the future of female-identifying youth. It teaches self-love, self-expression and the foundations of entrepreneurship.
The participants of this program have seen their visions come to life. They have experienced the satisfaction of creating something and sharing it with the world.
Art Starts healing.
In times of crisis, art based interventions can help a community vent, grieve, make sense, convalesce, focus, frame, discuss or act.
This is exactly what our program, United Through Art, aimed to do. As a response to gun violence in the community, a safe space was offered in the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood for youth to express themselves.
Participants came together to create a song about their experiences, as a means of healing.
Art exposes.
We’ve reimagined how art is experienced and who is seen. Giving those who don’t fit the mold a chance to shine.
The Virtuosity of Blackness Showcase is a platform for our city’s most talented, Black performing artists so that they get the exposure they deserve. It creates a powerful network of new and emerging artists to learn from and grow with each other.
It exposes creativity and culture, rooted in self-knowledge and self-expression, and provides an inclusive space to do so.
Art is an accessible connection point. It gives individuals, neighbourhoods and cultures a chance to express themselves.
As part of our Arowana Training Program, The Treasure Book workshop series empowered immigrants to share their journey. Hosted by artist Paula Solano, participants were taught illustration techniques and methods in storytelling to weave their stories together in a handmade book.
Heart-warming stories of hardships and triumph connected the group in shared lived experiences and continued the important conversation of of what it means to be a newcomer.
Art is a process.
Art is the journey, not the destination. It’s about imagining, making, trying and the individual experience.
The young artists of our 2018 Up & Rooted program were asked to imagine their community in the future. During a period of revitalization, this gave the youth a chance to process feelings of displacement and look forward to a bright future.
This 4-year project emphasized the strengthening of community relationships as participants were moved from their neighbourhood of Villaways to Chester Le. Chester Le programming was created to maintain relationships through the extended revitalization.
The process included brainstorming, planning and building their model -- made entirely out of Lego pieces. The final artwork is a collective expression of what community pride truly looks like.
Art gives back.
Connections between community members and artists aim to develop specific skills and open up possibilities. Mentoring leads to leadership.
This is exactly what Fashion Designer, Diseiye Thompson, experienced during their time at Art Starts. Diseiye started as a participant in our 2014 Sew What program where they were introduced to fashion design.
After completing a Fashion Design Program, Diseiye went on to develop a luxury evening wear collection that was exhibited at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week. They became the lead designer for Art Starts’ Colour Wheel Project, passing down their sewing and design expertise to the youth participants.
This type of arts-based programming is a catalyst for self-development, leading to fulfilling opportunities. It gives back to the community holistically and individually.
Art is an investment.
It transcends traditional barriers to self-efficacy and provides opportunity for growth.
Our legacy program, OWN IT, invests in the future of female-identifying youth. It teaches self-love, self-expression and the foundations of entrepreneurship.
The participants of this program have seen their visions come to life. They have experienced the satisfaction of creating something and sharing it with the world.
Art Starts healing.
In times of crisis, art based interventions can help a community vent, grieve, make sense, convalesce, focus, frame, discuss or act.
This is exactly what our program, United Through Art, aimed to do. As a response to gun violence in the community, a safe space was offered in the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood for youth to express themselves.
Participants came together to create a song about their experiences, as a means of healing.
Art exposes.
We’ve reimagined how art is experienced and who is seen. Giving those who don’t fit the mold a chance to shine.
The Virtuosity of Blackness Showcase is a platform for our city’s most talented, Black performing artists so that they get the exposure they deserve. It creates a powerful network of new and emerging artists to learn from and grow with each other.
It exposes creativity and culture, rooted in self-knowledge and self-expression, and provides an inclusive space to do so.
