On Tuesday, September 13, 2016, North York Arts announced its incorporation and inaugural Board of Directors at the Toronto Arts Foundation Annual General Meeting. The organization celebrates its 5th anniversary of bringing art and community together in North York.

North York Arts was founded as an initiative of the Toronto Arts Foundation in 2011, as part of their vision for a Creative City: Block by Block. North York Arts is one of six Local Arts Service Organizations in the City of Toronto, with an aim to celebrate and foster arts programming outside of the downtown core.

“We are so grateful to the Toronto Arts Foundation for their leadership and support during our incubation phase,” said Lila Karim, Executive Director, North York Arts. “Being a part of the Toronto Arts Foundation allowed us to establish our organization from the ground up, foster new relationships with artists and arts organizations in North York and evolve as a champion and leader in the Toronto arts community.”

“NYA’s accomplishments in these five formative years are impressive: strong partnerships, signature events, engagement with a broad spectrum of artists in North York and now a fully committed Board of Directors. Congratulations! We couldn’t be more proud,” said Claire Hopkinson, Director and CEO, Toronto Arts Foundation. “Kudos to Councillor John Filion who inspired us to launch NYA and to the strong team who have flourished under the leadership of Lila Karim.”

Comprising the North York Arts Board of Directors are cultural, business and community leaders from across the city, with expertise in finance, governance, marketing, programming, and fundraising: Joe Borowiec, Fallon Butler, Kristopher Dell, Councillor John Filion, Yonni Fushman, Christine Harris, Jason Ho, Afarin Mansouri, David Oliver, Diana Panagiotopoulos, Francesca Perez, Kathleen Sloan and Nina Zaslavsky.

“North York Arts has great plans and initiatives for the next phase of growth as an organization. Joining us are new board members that share in our vision for the future of North York Arts, as a place where art and community connect outside the downtown core of Toronto,” said Christine Harris, Chair, Board of Directors. “We look forward to developing more partnerships and opportunities with all of our community stakeholders.”

Celebrating five years of bringing art and community together, North York Arts will showcase local talent in music, dance and film at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, as part of the public closing event of the City of Toronto’s Cultural Hotspot North.

North York Arts 5th Anniversary and Cultural Hotspot North Closing Event
Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge Street
October 28th, 2016
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

On August 20th, we continued our Snapd Photo project with youth from Fairview Library!

As part of Cultural Hotspot North York, youth learned the basics of photography in a one day workshop facilitated by a professional photographer Brittany Carmichael. Participants took photos of their community and hub spaces, showcasing their community through their eyes. They received hands-on training and feedback from Brittany throughout the day.

Brittany Carmichael is a Canadian born artist currently living in Toronto. She recently graduated from School of Visual Arts in New York City with an MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media. Her work has taken her from the library to the boxing ring, across borders and into many communities around the world.
Fairview is part of the Don Valley Village, a diverse neighbourhood that includes many new Canadian citizens of Armenian, Chinese, East Indian and Middle Eastern backgrounds. The Don Valley Village features an eastern view of the sprawling hill and dale that forms the nearby Don River Valley to the east.

Snapd Artist Feature: Guggenheim Fellow Jesus Mora brings Mayan Culture to North York

This September, Jesus Mora’s Cosmovision Maya will exhibit at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Supported by North York Arts, a Fellowship from The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and a grant from the Ontario Arts Council, Mora’s series of painting explore the teaches of Mayan cosmology he has learned from Martolo Alvarez, a K’iche’ elder of the community.

Using the ancient texts of the Pop Wuj, a series of paintings were created using Mayan iconography. Mora writes: “The subjects of my work have a life cycle of their own, within which are contained reality, fantasy, the microscopic world and the universe. This represents a constant conversation between ourselves and our surroundings not only in the material world but also in the subconscious one.” You can see paintings from Cosmovision Maya at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in the Lower Gallery from September 8th to the 28th.

Learn more about Jesus Mora at: http://www.jesusmoraart.com

This October, North York Arts and Hotspot Signature Projects will celebrate the inaugural season of the Lee Lifeson Art Park in Willowdale – Toronto’s first park offering performing and visual arts to the public.

Nestled in the heart of North York (Ward 23), the park provides a beautifully landscaped green space providing full accessibility to an open air performance space, with ample room for programming of arts markets, as well as seasonal and temporary installations, with programming including festivals, bi-weekly events and workshops.

The Lee Lifeson Art Park is intended to encourage creative activities and give visitors and residents the opportunity to enjoy arts programming in a beautiful setting. It will be an active oasis that functions as part of a linear park as well as offering a location for site specific arts events and exhibitions.  Programming in the park will be offered at no charge to visitors.

Geddy Lee told the Toronto Star in August, 2014 that:

“I know my mom is very happy! … [Willowdale] is where I met my best friend and bandmate…We were humbly honoured by the suggestion to name the park after us…On tour and during our travels…we get to visit and enjoy so many parks around the world and really appreciate having that communal green space that is so important to a vibrant city.”

On October 1st, 2016, from 1-6pm, join North York Arts and Hotspot Signature Projects in celebration! Programming includes Toronto Recycling Arts Eco-Arts Exhibition, a Mayan Dance Workshop with Jesus Mora, a Youth Arts Showcase featuring Elite Dance Squad with Ephraim’s Place Community Centre, music from Arts Starts, and spoken Word with Patrick Walter.

‪Photos from ‎My Art, My New Land‬ – Networking and Effective Communication Workshop
Facilitator: Victoria Mata
Photos: Aitak Sorahitalab

For the fifth year in a row, we at North York Arts were thrilled to be part of Cultura Festival, an incredible summer event that brings arts and culture to the North York community. Created by Councillor John Filion, Cultura presents music, film, dance, and food, free for all ages at Mel Lastman Square. Our organization was among the many groups that provided activations throughout the festival; each year we have presented a craft activity. This year, however, we decided to do something different – we showcased Pradeep Anurag Reddy, an emerging artist who creates incredibly detailed sculptures out of chalk.

Pradeep, a former intern at North York Arts and a recent graduate from the Centennial College Arts Management program, moved to Toronto from India a year and a half ago to pursue his art. Not only did we provide Pradeep a space for his first public showing, but the space gave him an opportunity to connect with members of the community; both children and adults were excited by his art and demonstration. “The kids inspired me with their interest in learning the skill (how to sculpt chalk),” said Pradeep, “Thank you North York Arts for this wonderful opportunity.”

As an arts service organization, we are always looking to provide services and programs to support local emerging and established artists. We are focused on growing our organization by connecting with artists and arts organizations to develop new programs for the community.

For more information on Pradeep’s artwork:

Website: http://chalkcarvings.com
Instagram: @anurag_art
Email: chalkcarvings@gmail.com

This August, Airsa Art & Thought Association invited newcomer artists to participate in My Art, My New Land, a series of improvisation workshops to help overcome challenges faced when arriving in a new city. Throughout the month, these workshops help to build communication skills in a series of dynamic situations. Newcomers learned skills in adaptiveness, network and effective communication, collaboration, marketing and promotion. Working with leading artists and established newcomer artists, each participant received a collection of handbooks and guides to learn more about art organizations across Toronto, and received personalized feedback and guidance on content, physical behavior and body language.

Located at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, this project is a part of the SPARK Cultural Hotspot program in partnership with the City of Toronto, Neighbourhood Arts Network, North York Arts, and North Toronto Local Immigration Partnership.

Airsa was founded in 2003 in Iran as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) with a community of artists. In 2015, the organization was registered in Ontario as a non-profit organization. Airsa is an old Persian word, meaning Rainbow.

In July we continued our Snapd Photo project with youth from Flemingdon Park! As part of Cultural Hotspot North York, youth learned the basics of photography in a one day workshop facilitated by a professional photographer Maha Munaf. Participants took photos of their community and hub spaces, showcasing their community through their eyes. They received hands-on training and feedback from Maha throughout the day.

Experimenting with her camera, Maha always saw the world differently through her lens. Maha has taken her camera with her as she travelled the globe and captured images from colorful India all the way to the Everest Heights.

Flemingdon Park is a multicultural community bordered by Eglinton Avenue East and the Don River. The community derives its name from its original owner, Robert John Fleming, the mayor of Toronto from 1892–1893 and 1896–1897. The neighbourhood is home to a vibrant community of newcomers. Flemingdon Park is home to some of the city’s best attractions, such as the Ontario Science Centre and the Aga Khan Museum.