As Toronto continues to heal after the terrible Yonge St. incident, we are seeing many initiatives and acts of support that are helping inspire and unite the community.

Recently, quilter Berene Campbell led an installation piece called the “Toronto Love Project.” Located in the North York Centre, The Toronto Love Project is comprised of 4″ by 22ft colourful banners with messages of love, made by quilters around the world.

In an interview with Berene, she talks about her decision to start the Toronto Love Project and reminds us of the incredible power of community collaboration.

Tell me a bit about yourself and your artwork.

I am South African, and have lived in Dubai, England, and in Canada for 25 years. I am a graphic designer and a quilter. I teach quilting, make quilts, design patterns and co-ordinate collaborative projects within the quilting community.

Your community projects have been so Impactful around the world. Can you tell me a bit about this and your decision to start the Toronto Love Project?

My first community project was small. I organized a quilt for a friend who had brain cancer. I invited his friends – big hockey guys – to embroider a message on fabric, which was made into a quilt. They’d never threaded a needle, but embraced the process. It was very moving.

In 2013 the Boston bombing occurred, and I felt upset. I decided to make peace and love flags. My local Vancouver quilt guild joined in my project called “To Boston with Love”. We posted it on social media, and within 6 weeks we had almost 2,000 flags from around the world. They were hung in the Museum of Fine Arts – it was amazing! I learned that doing something positive not only makes you feel better, but it makes those participating feel better too. Everyone seeing that energy feels better.

When the Toronto van attack happened, it was so shocking. I felt that this is my town, and I wanted to help the city heal. Again, I wanted to enable people to participate in doing something that would make them feel better. And for the community that receives the gift of the installation, when they walk into that space – they will be uplifted. It’ll be beautiful.

What is the significance behind the hearts in Toronto Love?

I didn’t know North York area, so my husband, Cosmo, and I came up here to look at spaces for the project. As we were walking, Cosmo noticed that just south of Mel Lastman Square there are little bronze hearts embedded into the sidewalk. The fact that they were scattered around where the tragedy occurred seemed so poignant that I just couldn’t ignore them. I designed some heart cards for messages from the community, which hang from the banners.

What role do you think art can play in the healing?

As a person who struggles with anxiety, I find that being creative is helpful, and collaborating with other people prevents you feeling isolated, and makes us part of a bigger picture. I could make all those banners myself and it wouldn’t be as powerful as it if they were made by a community. If you give people a plan to be a part of something good, they jump on board. Collaborative energy is a very powerful thing.

North York Arts would like to thank all who have contributed to this project in support of our community.

North York Arts is excited to have two new summer staff members! They came to us through our internship program which we offer to students looking to enhance their career and gain school credit with practical experience.

Akshata is studying arts administration at Humber College, she will be working as the Event and Sponsorship Assistant. She looks forward to growing her insights through impactful arts and cultural works at North York Arts and gaining a complete understanding of various cultural sectoral needs in present day and in the future.

Tell me a bit about yourself and who you are as an artist

My name is Akashta and I am a newcomer to Canada; I came from India. I did my studies in visual arts and I did my major in painting.  Since my graduation, I have been working on art projects that engage communities through large art installations. I had my first solo exhibition in the UK in 2016 where I put around 1500 paper boats on display as a part of an art installation for newcomers, immigrants and refugees affected by crisis across the globe. I recently had a show as part of a project at the Coldstream Fine Arts gallery in Toronto. It was very similar to what I did in the UK two years back, with 700 paper red boats put across the gallery. That’s my artistic process and journey.

Where does your passion for the arts come from?

I remember as a child I was always drawn to creative activities. I loved painting and enjoyed drawing. Since then, I’ve been drawn towards the arts and this helped me decide to make it my career path. I think with respect to visual arts, my art practice is something where I like to involve the audience into the art and not just let the audience be a viewer from a distance. That is what drives me towards art.

Why did you decide to work in the Arts and Culture Sector

I think the arts and culture sector is one of the most sensitive sectors and, with today’s new technology and complications around the globe, the sector is needed and necessary! I think art is one thing that brings people together, that brings humanity together. The larger reason for being in art is to bring peace through art.

What excites you about interning at North York Arts?

I think it’s the space, the people, the projects, and the activities that they have lined up. I am interested in working with them and growing with them as a Local Arts Service Organization. I think there is a lot to learn about how an organization works at an administrative level and understanding their strategic plans.

North York Arts and the Toronto Centre for the Arts have been working together for the last four years to bring art and community together in North York.

In 2015, Toronto’s City Council approved the consolidation of the governance and operations of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, and Toronto Centre for the Arts into one new organization under the direction of a City appointed board called Civic Theatres Toronto (CTT). CTT completed their amalgamation at the end of 2017.

2018 represents the launch year for the company including a new brand and a new program that covers all venues; North York Arts is looking forward to the changes this will bring for the North York community! That being said, I was excited to talk to Clyde Wagner, President/CEO of CTT.

Tell me a bit about yourself and your passion for Toronto’s arts and culture sector.

I have been fortunate to work internationally for many years but also to have the great joy of often returning home to Toronto. Having been the GM and Executive Producer for the Luminato Festival, I was able to partner with many arts institutions across the city and across all disciplines. This wide range of engagement reasserted my solid faith in the quality and vision of the artists of this city. As a cultural business leader it’s my role to not only support this sector locally but also to loudly promote Canadian and Toronto talent to the world.

What has been the most exciting part about the amalgamation of Toronto’s three civic theatres?

CTT can achieve much more as an amalgamated company through economies of scale including the opportunity to better leverage the talented staff that make up our team. By eliminating the inherent competition that existed between the buildings and activating a unified marketing, programming and operations strategy across all three venues and seven performance spaces, we are able to increase usage and revenue to balance the budget and engage the community in a more meaningful way. Together we can create two cultural hubs for the City of Toronto (Uptown and Downtown); both hold the potential to create a lasting positive impact on their neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

How do you envision CTT and NYA working together to support the local creative community?

The challenge to any company like CTT is how to both connect to a professional community of artists drawing audiences for world class talent but also to provide inspiration and opportunity for emerging artists. Having NYA as a partner to assist in making this connection is vital to our success. They are an essential part of the ecosystem as the catalyst for this dialogue and also as a check for CTT to make sure we always keep rooted in our local communities, not just for our audiences. It’s especially helpful that they have their offices in our building and we happen to be good friends and share the same beliefs!

What can North York expect from CTT in the next year?

The aim is to spotlight artistic activity from the north GTA, including areas such as Woodbridge, Brampton, Downsview, Jane and Finch, Willowdale, Thornhill, Agincourt, etc. to the TCA through continuing partnerships with arts groups. It’s wrong to assume that creativity only happens downtown. We know people are inspired by the communities in which they live, and we need to be a space for those forces and a promoter for that talent.

Last Month at North York Arts, we celebrated our first anniversary of becoming a charity. The year was significant to say the least; it was full of growth in our programs, partnerships, and within the organization. We’re proud and eager to share these milestones with the North York community!

In light of this anniversary and our first annual general meeting taking place this month, I sat down with our board Chair, Kristopher Dell. Kris talked about his career in the arts, his love for North York, and the exciting plans ahead for North York Arts.

Tell me a bit about yourself and what led you to a career in arts and culture.
I am presently the Director of Production for Civic Theatres Toronto in addition to my volunteer role as the chair of the board for North York Arts. I have been working professionally for 25 years and doing shows is literally all I’ve ever wanted to do.  I guess I got the bug while I was in high school; acting in the drama club and things like that. When I got to University (I went to York University for Theatre), they encouraged us to learn a little bit of everything. This meant that I got to do production, and I never looked back.  I studied set design, I studied lighting design, I studied sound design, and I was working before I even finished school.

What drew you to get involved with North York Arts?
I spent a lot of my career working with community groups and not-for-profit arts organizations. I grew to feel very strongly that it was important that people have access to professional arts services – which is exactly what North York Arts is.

What inspires you most about the North York arts and culture community?
It’s diversity; it’s almost infinitely diverse. That gets me really excited because it means that there’s so many possibilities and so many different kinds of shows. I personally like being exposed to new and different kinds of things, and I like the idea that those things could actually cross-pollinate. So, you might see someone singing in farsi, to a hip hop beat, while there is someone doing a painting on stage inspired by that. That’s fascinating for me.

What kind of growth do you see for North York Arts in the next year?
I think North York Arts has a real opportunity in the next year to expand its development programming which is really providing the mentorship and professional level services specifically to youth and also to newcomers. I think that’s really exciting. One of the ideas we’ve talked about is establishing a more permanent presence outside its home office. We want to establish satellite locations through building relationships with local libraries and things like that, and that is also really exciting.

Every year, North York Arts partners with emerging and established artists to put on art exhibitions for the North York community. The first exhibition of 2018 is titled “They are Around” by multidisciplinary artist, Azadeh Pirazimian.

Azadeh, who has a B.A. in Painting and an M.A. in Visual Communication, was born in Iran and has been in Canada for almost three years. Her collection “They are Around” explores how she began to develop her artistic voice in Canada. I had the chance to talk with Azadeh and learn a little more about her exhibition and her inspiring story.

Tell me a bit about yourself and where your love for art comes from.

I’m Azadeh Pirazimian and two and half years ago I immigrated to Canada. I remember that as a child I was really interested in art. It was mostly visual art – I was really interested in painting and my teachers were always interested in my artwork. When I finished high school, I went to university and I studied painting. Little by little, I got more interested in visual art. I also did drama; I was working as an actress in a theatre.  So I did both visual art and theatre at the same time. I don’t know where [my love for art] comes from. Maybe it comes from the nature of where I was living at the time; I’m from north of Iran so I was surrounded by beautiful nature. Maybe it comes from that, I don’t know.  All I know is that if I wasn’t an artist, I would be absolutely confused and I don’t know what I would do!

To date, what has your experience as in artist in Toronto been like?

I guess in Toronto I was “born again” as an artist. When I was in Iran, I was mostly teaching art and doing theatre on the side. I wasn’t very experienced in presenting my work. But when I came here, I could see that there was space for me to show my art, even in North York. I started my first workshops here in North York with newcomers. With places like North York Arts, Toronto Arts Foundation, and other organizations in Toronto, I found that I could present my work and even sell my work. Within two years, I sold several of my artworks. That wasn’t really something I could do in Iran. So here in Toronto, I have had new experiences that have really helped me establish myself as an artist and introduce myself as an artist. For me, that was amazing and I’m really happy.

Can you describe your upcoming exhibition and where you found inspiration?

As I said before, it’s only been a short time since I’ve been in Canada. When I arrived here, I was alone. I didn’t really have any friends or family so I was at home for a whole six months. I was confused. I couldn’t really speak English, just some daily phrases. At first, I was afraid to communicate because I didn’t know the culture.

One day, I was at home and I was looking outside the window during the summer and the nature was so beautiful; I remember the wind between the leaves. I was inside and I was feeling a little depressed because I am usually a sociable person and so I thought, “Ok – You can’t communicate with people but you have your art. You are an artist. You studied this…” I didn’t have many art supplies but I said, “I have my notebook, I have my pen, so just get out of here and even if you can’t communicate with people, you can communicate with nature.”

So I went outside to the nearest park from my building and I started to sketch and connect with the nature, trees, and animals all around me. And then the project just happened. Now I have a collection of black and white drawings that are all about my first days in Canada where I didn’t have people to communicate with, so nature helped me.

Then, people came and they talked. The first window helped me to open another window to talk to people – that was the motivation for this series of drawings that I did for over a year. It was healing for me at that time. It took shape and now it’s a collection that I can present.

What do you hope people take away from this exhibition?

I hope that people who are like me, even if they are not newcomers (I know that there are some people who have lived in this country for a long time but still feel alone), know that they can do the same. They don’t have to wait for something really big to happen. They can start with something small to get out of their loneliness. Even if it’s with a butterfly, or the leaves- if they just get out and communicate, they will see that big things will happen. I believe that big things always start from small steps. If they find inspiration inside, they should work on it and see that something really amazing can happen.

You can see Azadeh’s exhibition “They are Around” from March 15-23, 2018 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge St.) in the Lower Gallery. Opening Reception will be held on March 15 from 6-8 pm. For daily gallery hours, please visit www.northyorkarts.org. For more information on Azadeh and her work and career, visit http://www.azadehpirazimian.com.

North York Arts has been working with Ephraim’s Place, a community centre located at Jane and Sheppard, for the past three years to create and establish arts programming for the youth in the area. One program in particular that has seen much success is the dance program where professional dancers are hired to teach the participants. Since the start of the program, the youth involved have created a dance squad called “JNS Finest” and have competed twice at STOMP urban dance competition in Toronto.  

This year, Nina Blanc, who is a professional music and dance artist, is teaching JNS Finest. I had the chance to chat with Nina last month to learn a little bit more about her and her love for the arts.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your passion for music and dance.

My name is Nina and I was born in Nigeria and I came to Canada with my family when I was eight. Of course, I grew up with Nigerian culture – you know, the music, the food, the fashion – but I also experienced Canadian culture. It was a beautiful childhood having Canadian culture and West African culture blending.

Being born in a different place and growing up in Canada influences my art. I started dancing around high school (nothing formal) and then went to university. It was in university where, although we had limited resources, people who otherwise had nothing in common shared a passion for dance and came together. We were all so determined and motivated.

After university, I went to Calgary and that’s where I really fell in love with music. I played piano all my life but I never really considered myself a musician. I didn’t find as many dance opportunities in Calgary as I did in Toronto, and the isolation from my home and everyone I was used to being around pushed me to explore another outlet for my emotions and expression. So, I really think that going through these different phases in my life pushed me to art and music.

How would you describe the dance community in Toronto?

Funny enough people I meet nowadays assume I grew up in the studio training in formal styles like ballet, jazz, etc.  They don’t necessarily realize that Toronto is such a beautifully rich city for dance and, if you have the passion, you can come out with the same skills. The Toronto dance community is so diverse and has so much uniqueness. There are so many choreographers with their own styles – I stick to that and I appreciate that. There are also so many drop-in studios for adults where you can meet amazing people.

How do you think youth can benefit from dance and creative expression?

I think tremendously. It’s an outlet – especially for youth, which is such a vulnerable time. Dance and art can be something that keeps you grounded and motivated, or maybe it’s just a place to find connection. Life is so confusing and you have so much emotion, and when you are a part of something you can create a passion. I work as a registered nurse and now that I understand things better, I wish I was pushed to do more dance and music when I was a young.

What excites you the most about working with the JNS Finest?

It’s so funny – just hearing about the group I got so excited because I was told they are very spunky. You know, I can teach a bunch of steps but they have to bring that energy. I’m here to teach the skeleton, backbone, and structure, but I’m really excited for the attitude, the spunk, and the personality!

Nina has been working with JNS Finest since January and will continue until their STOMP performance in May. She is a dance and music artist specializing in Urban Alternative, AfroFunk, Soul, RnB, and Hip Hop. For more information on Nina and her work visit: www.ninablancmusic.com, @whoisninablanc, and soundcloud.com/whoisninablanc.

It goes without saying that North York has an amazing arts and culture scene. As the Development and Communications Coordinator at North York Arts, I am lucky to work with this creative community and, with the start of the new year, I am excited and curious about the possibility of growth in the sector.

With this in mind, I decided to sit down with my boss and Executive Director of North York Arts, Lila Karim, to understand her drive to progress the arts sector in North York, and to hear her personal and professional aspirations for the community in 2018.

Where does your passion for the arts come from?

It’s been inherent since childhood. Creativity has always been a part of my world in terms of studying photography in high school, being in drama groups, and getting involved with multidisciplinary arts programing. Over the years, I’ve built connections with the arts community, and I’ve realized that art is really about story telling. Whether it’s through dance, film, visual art, or any discipline, I’ve developed a passion for giving artists the platform to share their stories.

What is your connection to North York?

I grew up in Thornhill and I spent a lot of time in North York attending events at Mel Lastman Square and at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Now working in the region, I’ve developed a greater understanding of the vibrancy of the arts outside the downtown core.

How would you describe North York’s arts and culture landscape?

North York has an incredibly diverse arts and culture community. With close to 1 million residents, there are countless artists, arts groups, and initiatives produced by people of all different ages, cultural backgrounds and, life experiences (not to mention, the amazing artistic diversity in the region). I get excited about the possibility of showcasing these perspectives and art forms.

What are your aspirations for North York’s arts and culture sector in 2018?

Within the last six years, I have seen so much artistic growth in North York and I would like to see even greater engagement. This year at North York Arts, we want to ensure that we continue building artistic connections in every ward in the region, and that we are providing accessible and inclusive programing for the entire community to engage with and enjoy. I think it’s going to be a great year!

Lila is the founding Executive Director of North York Arts. She has over an 18-year career in the cultural sector and has worked for several non-profit arts organizations including the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, ReelWorld Film Festival and The Harold Greenberg Fund.