Artist name/Product title
A few sentences about the artist and or the item for sale.
Be the first to experience the emerging talent Lawrence Heights has to offer! The Spotlight page will highlight young artists that are making moves in the Lawrence Heights community.
You will be able to learn more about these influential creatives and become inspired by their artistic journey.
Camila Salcedo (they/them) is a Venezuelan-born interdisciplinary artist working primarily in textiles, digital art and community arts. Their recent work is centered on sustainable textiles and interview-responsive community projects, such as the Clothing Clinic at the Oakwood Village Library and Arts Centre through which members of the community got their clothes mended in exchange for a conversation. They also have eight years of experience as an art educator to diverse individuals and have taught workshops and courses at Lakeshore Arts, Workman Arts, Xpace Cultural Centre, OCAD University, NSCAD University, and more.
Type of art you create: Textiles, Community Art, Zines, and Digital Art
When you got started: I have been making art since I was a kid. As a teen, I was fortunate to attend Earl Haig Secondary School’s Claude Watson Arts Program as a Visual Arts Major. I graduated in 2018 from NSCAD University with a BFA Interdisciplinary and have made art professionally ever since.
Favourite thing about your community: My favourite thing about fostering and cultivating a community is the growing feeling of mutual support and encouragement.
Favourite local artists: I am loving Creato, a creative community supporting Latin American artists in Toronto.
Kareem Bennett (he/him) is a second-generation Jamaican Canadian multidisciplinary creative, community youth worker, and mental health advocate based out of Toronto, ON.
With a blend of visual and literary arts practices, his work encompasses the experiences of diverse community initiatives through artistic activism.
Type of art you create: Multidisciplinary Projects – Poetry, Music, Photography & Film
What are you working on right now:
Currently working on a audio/visual EP entitled “Where Black Boys Bloom: Volume #1”, it is amixture of lofi hip hop, spoken word poetry and vintage 8 mm film visuals for a seven track compilation addressing gun violence, mental health in the black community and overcoming the social barriers we face as young black boys growing into young black men.
Favourite local artists:
Randell Adjei, Mustafa, Mark Stoddart, Quentin Vercetty, David Delisca, Caelin Holmes, Nathan Baya, Germain Carter
Marianne Botros (she/her) is an M.Ed. graduate in Adult education and Community Development, Leadership Higher and Adult Education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto, and has received a B.A.SC in Applied Arts and Science from Helwan University. She is currently working as a Teacher Assistant in the Department of Visual Studies as well as an Art Leader at TN Gifts of Lights at CAMH.
Marianne is passionate about empowering minority communities and promoting collective consciousness by leading community arts workshops.
Type of art you create: Acrylic Contemporary Art
Favourite thing about your community: My Egyptian coptic orthodox community is strong in their social networking and building a spiritual connection among all generations, the mental support they provide is an essential factor.
What are you working on right now: Mindfulness using Visual Arts followed by journaling and discussion workshops/sessions for students and staff at the university of Toronto, also working to support my coptic culture of Community work Iconography mixed media abstract painting.
A few sentences about the artist and or the item for sale.