Last year, North York Arts began their pilot program called “Evolve! Performing Arts Program.” The program provides new generation and diverse theatre and dance artists with the opportunity to develop their work using high-quality, professional theatre space, with minimal costs.

In anticipation of Evolve’s! first workshop performance happening this month, I interviewed Melissa Foster, North York Arts’ Program and Outreach Director, who led the team in developing the program.

Tell me a bit about yourself and you career in community arts.
I have always had a love for the arts – especially theatre. This led me to pursue an undergraduate degree in Theatre Studies. After receiving my B.A., I switched gears and started working in the social service sector. Throughout my 10 year career I continued to run and facilitate arts programs for community members both abroad and within Toronto. Eventually, I decided to formally combine my passions; I completed a certificate in Community Arts Practice from York University, as well as a post-grad diploma in Arts Management from Western University.

I have been at North York Arts since 2014 and during my time here I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with so many talented and dedicated local artists, community builders and service providers to grow the arts sector and engage all North York residents in the arts.  

Why did North York Arts develop Evolve?
After working with so many artists and arts organizations over the years, it’s become apparent that there is a need for affordable and professional artistic space in the city. Thanks to our long-standing partnership with Toronto Centre for the Arts (TCA), one of Toronto’s three civic theatres, we were able to create Evolve! to help address these gaps in resources.

Specifically Evolve! is for performing artists in Toronto who are still in the developmental stages of their work. Artists receive access to the TCA’s “black box” Studio Theatre. Ultimately, the goal of the program is to help support the capacity of the theatre and dance community.

Why do you think it’s important that artists have access to high-quality space?
We live in a society that is results driven and we don’t pay a lot of attention to the process – but art is a process.  A compelling story takes time to develop, and the collaborative nature of the performing arts requires a home – one that meets the unique needs of the performing arts. It’s these unique needs of theatre and dance that make access to space so difficult. The ability to access space at no-cost, that is equipped with all the things you need to develop your story is rare, especially for new-generation artists.

What can we expect from Evolve’s first workshop performance?
Evolve’s first workshop performance is called EARTH; the show is presented in partnership with two Toronto dance organizations, Dance Immersion and Artists in Motion (AIM) Dace Company.

Dance Immersion is a not-for-profit organization that produces, promotes and supports dancers and dances of the African Diaspora. Last year, Dance Immersion did an open call for artists and collectives who were interested in participating in Evolve!. AIM Dance Company, run by artistic director and choreographer Shameka Blake, was selected. As Shameka puts it “EARTH is a creation story. Exploring Earth, a ‘Mother Goddess’ who rules all people and gives birth to new generations of all beings.”

You can catch EARTH, a work-in-progress presentation, Feb 27th – 28th at 8pm at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5400 Yonge Street, North York. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the Box Office.

Another wonderful year at North York Arts has come and gone! Throughout this year we have grown immensely while providing both new and existing programs to the arts community of North York. As we say goodbye to 2018, we are reflecting on the impactful year we had and we are looking forward to the exciting endeavors that next year will bring!

New and Notable Program Developments:

Creative Leaders:
2018 was a great year for the growth of North York Arts’ Creative Leaders program. We continued to work with Legacy Collective, a senior engagement initiative to support access to the arts. The group has been growing in members, two of which have assumed leadership roles. They had several art and leadership programs throughout the year and they are finishing with an exhibition at Bernard Betel Community Centre on December 4th. Our Youth Dance Program that has run for four years finished the year with a presentation at STOMP Urban Dance Competition and Urban Arts’ Throwdown Dance Convention.

Finally, our DJ Program, lead by Benjamin de Graaf from Love Music Initiative, successfully ran for its second year in a row with many new participating youth! The group had the opportunity to perform during Myseum’s Intersection Festival at the Drum to DJ workshop in March.

Sunday Serenades:
In 2018, North York Arts became the sole producers of Sunday Serenades. The event, which was delivered by the City of Toronto for over 20 years, is a staple for North York, Toronto, and GTA residents alike. As a newly established charity, we want to thank our wonderful sponsors, donors, and partners; with their support, we delivered four wonderful weeks of jazz for hundreds of attendees.

Organizational Growth and Changes

This year, NYA was fortunate to have three summer interns and one fall intern who assisted with a range of tasks including event support, program development, and marketing; we can’t thank them enough for their contribution! Our team also grew by two full-time staff and by four new board members. The new leadership will complement the existing board members and staff to further achieve NYA’s strategic goals both now and in the future.

Of course, we also want to thank our office, photography, and event volunteers who dedicate their time this year to supporting the North York arts community!

What can the North York Community Look Forward to next year?

Northbound Gallery Program:
We are excited to launch Northbound Gallery Program! Artists were selected by a jury to exhibit their work throughout 2019 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts’ Lower Gallery. The program was created to support the professional development of artists. Keep an eye out next year for the announcement of the artists and exhibition dates!

Evolve! Performing Arts Program:
North York Arts is piloting a new initiative called Evolve! The program provides new generation and diverse theatre and dance artists with the opportunity to develop their work using high-quality, professional theatre space. Although the program focuses on rehearsal and development, there will be opportunity in 2019 for the public to attend performances and get a preview of the amazing work of the artists in our community.

Stay tuned on our website, social media and newsletter for updates and information on all the excitement. For now, happy holiday season and we can’t wait to see you at North York Arts’ events in the new year!

Visit: www.northyorkarts.org or follow us at @northyorkarts
Photo Credit: Legacy Collective Member

North York Arts is pleased to be participating in Emergence Symposium! This large-scale event will convene over 150 community engaged arts practitioners, policy makers and community members to discuss the theme of Arts and Equity.

Emergence Symposium was created by Neighbourhood Arts Network (NAN), an initiative of Toronto Arts Foundation dedicated to celebrating and supporting community engaged artists and arts organizations around Toronto. We had the chance to chat with Angie Aranda and Inés Aguileta, both core leaders at Neighbourhood Arts Network who are busy organizing Emergence Symposium 2018.

Please introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about Neighbourhood Arts Network.

A: My name is Angie Aranda and I am the manager at NAN, which was formed in 2010. Prior to that, Toronto Arts Foundation and Toronto Arts Council hosted forums around community art to better serve, help, and connect artists. NAN was created to develop additional opportunities for the arts community to connect. It has since established workshops and awards to support artists with limited access to resources.

I: My name is Inés Aguileta and I am the senior program coordinator. It’s been really interesting to observe NAN’s growth – from its initial mission to support community-engaged artists, to what it is today: a citywide network that fosters and encourages the exchange of ideas and expertise amongst artists working in all disciplines in Toronto’s communities.

Tell us about Emergence Symposium. Why did NAN start this initiative?

A: The first Emergence Symposium was created in 2011 and focused on celebrating community-engaged arts. Discussions centered around what inclusivity, positive social change, and equity look like in creative practice and organizations. Emergence evolved by looking at how our intersections as people affect the creation of art and community building.

I: With the last two symposiums, we shifted our focus to address pressing issues facing our communities, which is beautiful and interesting because NAN, at its core, is responsive to the needs of our artists and community.

What can participants expect from the Emergence Symposium this year?

A: An open call for submissions highlighted the urgency for self-care activations. Emergence 2018 will focus on self-care through different lenses and mediums, organizational equity and creative entrepreneurship, intersections of immigration and who we are as people in the context of colonization.

Why was it important for NAN to partner with Toronto’s 6 Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs) for the Emergence Symposium?

I: We really wanted to bring the arts outside of the downtown core and for that to happen, we turned to the LASO’s. The LASOs are able to present strategic programming that would best help and serve their community, while being part of a bigger platform.

A: We wanted to reach out to the LASOs who helped propel NAN forward as an organization. They are leaders in their community and we wanted to work with them to create urgency for discussions on equity.

What does Arts and Equity mean to you?

A: Equity transpires through art making, and transforms individuals. My mother is a member of North York Art’s Legacy Collective (a seniors arts access group) and I see the transformative power that art has to help her express her personal story and deal with her struggles.

I: I am still trying to figure out what equity means to me – it is an everyday learning process. I have learned to understand and identify my own privileges and work towards giving a voice and access to those who may not have it all times.

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For this year’s symposium, NYA is hosting Art as Medicine (part of our Beyond Access Beyond the Creative series). The workshop will explore the relationship between wellness and art from an Indigenous perspective. Join us at North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge St on Thursday November 22, 2018 from 12:30 to 4:30 PM.

For more information about Emergence Symposium visit: https://neighbourhoodartsnetwork.org/emergence

To Sign up for Arts as Medicine visit:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/art-as-medicine-tickets-50910676203

For the second year in a row, North York Arts is partnering with local organizations and facilitators to run Second Act – an ESL theatre program for youth. Second Act provides a series of free theatre-focused workshops for youth to feel more comfortable and confident speaking English.

Juan Poveda, a newcomer from Colombia and a student in the Social Service Worker program at Seneca, is excited to bring his passion for service into his role as coordinator for the program.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Juan Poveda, I was born in Colombia and I came to Canada two years ago. I am studying social service work at Seneca College and I am very passionate about service.

In regards to Second Act, what are you looking forward too?

I am looking forward to helping people, to giving newcomers like me the opportunity to improve their English and their skills through arts. I find the arts to be a very powerful and safe space for people to explore the city and to explore themselves.  

How do you define service and why do you see service as an art?

To me, service is a combination of a lot of skills, but mainly it is to put all of your accumulated experience in front of another person for them to take what is helpful for them. That’s what service is to me.

I see service as an art in every single way because it involves a lot of arts, like the art of listening, the art of conversation, of being willing to be vulnerable. There are a lot of opportunities to use other kinds of arts like more traditional understanding of arts such as dance, theatre, writing, painting, etc. All of those arts are tools for people to explore themselves and to get to know themselves better.

Why is it important to for the newcomer community to have access to arts and culture programming?

I feel like arts are an important transformation tool to improve society and reduce inequality. When you’re a newcomer, you experience a lot of shocks; the culture shock first but then you have to overcome any other obstacles that are there in society. Through arts programs, you can get to know other people which will help you to overcome these barriers because you’re going learn that you are not alone. Also, arts programs provide a safe space to talk about things and improve your English.

North York Arts (NYA) is pleased to announce that four new members have been appointed to the Board of Directors. NYA has already seen tremendous growth in their programs, operations, and organizational presence since 2011. The new leadership will complement the existing members expertise and will support NYA to further achieve its strategic goals both now and in the future.

“We are thrilled to welcome these new members to NYA,” says Kristopher Dell, Chair, Board of Directors. “Their expertise and passion for the arts will be a meaningful addition to our team as we plan for new arts programming opportunities and more community engagement.”

The new members will accompany the current Board of Directors who are cultural, business and community leaders from across the city, with expertise in finance, governance, marketing, programming and fundraising: Joe Borowiec, Kristopher Dell, Yonni Fushman, Jason Ho, Millean Kung, Afarin Mansouri, David Oliver, Diana Panagiotopoulos, Kathleen Sloan and Nina Zaslavsky.

Joining the NYA Board are the following new members:

•   Umair Jaffar, who has over 17 years experience in the arts sector. Umair is the founder of the Institute for Preservation of Arts & Culture (IPAC) in Pakistan and, since migrating to Canada in 2014, he has worked in senior roles at major cultural organizations such as the Aga Khan Museum and Harbourfront Centre.
•   Kirsten Kamper is a dedicated fundraising and operations professional, passionate about the social and financial impact of arts and culture. She has worked for over 18 years in the non-profit sector, currently as Vice President, Operations and Campaign with the Royal Ontario Museum Governors.
•   Susan Karnay is an entertainment lawyer with over 20 years of experience in the Canadian cultural industries. A long-time North York resident and arts enthusiast, she currently sits on the Board of Directors of Women in Film & Television and is the co-founder of Bob Lake Productions.
•   Bill Stephenson is a senior finance professional who assists clients who are undergoing transition to solve problems, improve processes and systems, implement internal controls, and execute and transfer knowledge. Bill believes that a finance professional should serve as a business partner who helps create value and drive strategy.

The Board will continue to provide leadership and strategic oversight to carry out NYA’s purpose as one of Toronto’s six Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs), with the mission to collaborate with artists, arts organizations, and partners to develop, strengthen, and promote cultural programming and initiatives for North York communities.

Photo Credit: Kayla Wondergem

North York Arts is piloting a new initiative called “Evolve! Performing Arts Program.” The program provides new generation and diverse theatre and dance artists with the opportunity to develop their work during the creative incubation phase using high-quality, professional theatre space, with minimal costs.

“Evolve! is a response to gaps in resources for performing artists in Toronto who are still in the developmental stages of their work,” said Lila Karim, Executive Director of North York Arts. “The goal of the program is to help support the capacity of the theatre and dance community.”

The program will take place at the Toronto Centre for the Arts (TCA), a major theatre facility located in North York that is part of Civic Theatres Toronto. Specifically, Evolve! will be held in the Studio Theatre, a “black box” style 180-seat theatre equipped with professional lighting and sound systems. This is made possible thanks to the long-standing partnership between North York Arts and the TCA, as well as their shared vision to work collaboratively to bring art and community together in North York.

North York Arts has four groups who are participating during their pilot year, and the plan for the future is to have a juried selection process.

The first group to participate is Cinematoscape – a local multi-disciplinary arts company that focuses on projects for the screen and stage. Simeon Taole, one of Cinematoscape’s founders, says his participation in Evolve! is “like a concert pianist having an opportunity to practice on a piano that’s actually in tune.” He says, “as a theatre artist, being able to workshop the play where you would actually perform is fantastic.”

The other participating artists and arts groups include Victoria Mata, dancer and choreographer;  Dance Immersion, a not-for-profit organization that produces, promotes and supports dancers and dances of the African Diaspora; and Possibilities of Dialogue, an exchange of energy and awareness by dance artists Marielis Garcia and David Norsworthy.

North York Arts is thrilled to be partnering with another visual artist this fall to showcase their work to the North York community. The show is titled Rhythms of the Mind – Aesthetic Self Reflection by Chinese Calligraphy artist, Katherina Kwan.

Katherina Kwan, an accountant originating from Hong Kong, is a passionate calligraphy artist that wants to make the art form more accessible. Her exhibition pushes viewers to look past language and cultural barriers.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Katherina Kwan. I immigrated from Hong Kong in December 1990. Chinese Calligraphy is like “living” art for me. I have learned over so many years and I have truly discovered the joys of calligraphy. I found that it is a freedom to express myself. I started to have exhibitions to share my joys with people and to show that the art is so lovely. That drives me to keep working on the calligraphy almost every week.

How and why did you get involved with Chinese Calligraphy?

When I was a teenager, I went on a trip with my family. We were with a touring company and two of the members were a retired couple. The old man and woman taught in primary schools, but they loved the arts. They taught me about the culture, the arts and a lot of philosophy about Confucius (a Chinese teacher and philosopher). When I got home, we kept writing letters to each other. Close to my graduation, they mailed me a handmade bookmark. The front side was a painting and the backside was calligraphy writing. I loved the writing, I said “wow writing can be so beautiful”. At that time, I started finding teachers to teach me how to write proper calligraphy and then I learned calligraphy in Hong Kong.

Why is it important to engage communities outside the Chinese community with calligraphy?

People who don’t know Chinese always have questions like, “I don’t have the cultural background, I cannot understand what [Chinese Calligraphy] is.” This is something that people struggle with. But my thinking is different – Chinese Calligraphy is like music. I don’t know Italian, I don’t know French, but when an Italian or French singer sings a song, I can feel their mood and emotions. I can enjoy the sound. I don’t know the background and I don’t understand a lot, but I still love it. Chinese Calligraphy is the same. You don’t need to understand Chinese. You can still understand something very pure about the art. That’s what I want to show people.

What does the title Rhythms of the Mind symbolize?

It’s an Asian philosophy about life. The Chinese title means “No Shape, Big Picture.” There is a bigger scenario beyond the shapes you see. Don’t rely just on the shapes to make meaning. That is the “rhythm” I refer to in the English title. The rhythm is not some planned construct, but an instinctual expression. Each stroke of the brush represents my most raw feelings, and from these feelings I illustrate meaning.

As Katherina’s nephew puts it: “You know how to see a picture as a physical thing whereas [Katherina] is trying to paint a concept, and a concept is intangible.”

Rhythm of the Mind will be showcased in the Toronto Centre for the Arts from September 18, 2018 to October 2, 2018. To find more information click here

Simeon Taole and Danielle Ungara are the founders of Cinematoscape, a multi-disciplinary arts company based in Toronto. The organization excels in visual storytelling with a focus on projects for the screen and stage.

Danielle and Simeon are excited to be participating in North York Arts’ pilot program called “The Incubator”. The Incubator is a residency program that aims to respond to gaps in resources for Toronto-based artists. The program gives theatre and dance artists accessible professional theatre space and services to develop their work.

Tell me about yourselves and Cinematoscape.

S: I’m a writer, actor and director working and based here in North York. I have worked in theatre, film and television and I co-founded Cinematoscape.

D: I’m a producer with Cinematoscape. The easiest way to remember our name is cinema-to-escape. When we thought about developing our company we wanted to look for opportunities to develop our own projects, and we are proud to be North York based. Currently, we have an award-winning production company where we do film and stage.

Can you elaborate on the Cinematoscape creative process?

S: We believe in the power of story; it’s key to everything that we do. We look for things that interest us and see how we can explore them. I tend to write about personal experiences and reflect on the past while also trying to imagine the future. We try to find things in the world and within ourselves that spark interest and then take that idea from there.

D: Once we have an idea of what we want to develop, Simeon will start writing; honing characters, plot and research. Then we see what we can do with it on the screen or the stage. With our most recent script, we are excited to continue to develop it and see how it grows.

What are you looking forward to in regards to the Incubator?

S: So looking forward to that! I’ve spent quite some time working on this script for the stage. When you spend so much time in front of a computer, just typing away, it’s all in your head. I’m looking forward to workshopping the play, bringing other actors in, getting the text on its feet, and exploring the story to see what new ideas come from collaborating with other artists.

D: It gives us an opportunity to explore what really works in the atmosphere that it would be produced in. So from a production lense we can start to imagine what the score looks like and what the set design looks like. It will give us that unique opportunity that we haven’t done prior.

Why is it important that artists have accessible high quality space?

S: I think it’s important because as an artist you get to explore the work in a space that you would hope your final product would be in. I’ll use this analogy – It’s like a concert pianist having an opportunity to practice on a piano that’s actually in tune! If you’re a theatre artist, being able to workshop the play where you would actually perform is fantastic!

D: I think it gives us an opportunity to keep work that we’re developing in North York. This is a growing community and more accessible space for artists means more accessible spaces for audiences. The more opportunities we have to support creating arts, means that people will have more options to attend the arts. It’s sort of a win for everyone.  

The Incubator will be held at the Toronto Centre for the Arts Studio Theatre. For more information visit: www.northyorkarts.org/programs. Learn more about Cinematoscape at http://cinematoscape.com/