March Break – Teen Art Hub

March Break – Teen Art Hub

Teen Art Hub with Declan David

The Teen Art Hub is a dynamic, week-long drop-in March Break program designed to support young artists (ages 14-18) in exploring their creative potential and gaining insights into art-related careers. This intensive program combines daily workshops, career development sessions, and interactive artist talks led by professional artists, all aimed at fostering artistic skill, encouraging self-expression, and building confidence in young creatives.

Capacity: 15-20 participants 

The program will run daily during March Break, allowing participants to immerse themselves in focused artistic learning. Each day includes:

  • Hands-On Art Workshops: Covering painting, sketching, digital art, and mixed media techniques.
  • Career Development Sessions: Practical guidance on portfolios, artist bios, art school applications, and resume building.
  • Guest Artist Talks: Insights into various artistic fields, with Q&A sessions to help students explore professional art paths.

Program Goals:

  • Provide a comprehensive, supportive environment where teens can practice and learn a variety of artistic techniques.
  • Offer essential career guidance to help young artists prepare for their creative futures.
  • Connect participants with experienced artists, building an early professional network and fostering mentorship opportunities.
  • This program includes:
    • Free TTC Tickets
    • Snacks and light meals daily
Stiching the Sacred

Dates: Monday, March 10th – Friday, March 14th

Time: 12pm – 5pm

Where: Lower Gallery – Meridian Arts Centre (5040 Yonge Street, M2N 6R8)

LOCATION UPDATED!

Price: Free

Program Lead: Declan David

Declan David is an emerging visual artist and animator based in Toronto, celebrated for his vibrant use of colors and innovative styles. Influenced by his Trinidadian and American heritage, the Neo-expressionist movement of the 1980s, and the graffiti culture of the 1990s, Declan’s works delve into the contemporary Black male experience. His diverse portfolio includes experiential paintings on glass and canvas, illustrations, and animations, steering away from sensationalized depictions of Black bodies. declan-david.format.com

Meet the Guest Facilitators!

Jules Fantinato - Neurographica

Monday March 10th

Meet Jules

Jules Fantinato is a Creative Arts Therapies Practitioner and Neurographica Specialist dedicated to promoting wellbeing through art. With over 27 years teaching experience and training in visual arts, she leads workshops and initiatives that harness art’s therapeutic power to foster focus, calm, and emotional healing. 

Instagram: @cat_creativeartstherapies.

Azania Curling-Wright Charcoal and Watercolour

Wednesday March 12th

Meet Azania

Azania Curling-Wright is a Toronto-based artist and a graduate of OCAD University, holding a BFA in Drawing and Painting. Her work focuses on the human face and body, using mixed media, bold shapes, and dynamic lines to explore themes of identity, mental health, and memory. Inspired by old family photographs, the colours of everyday life, and her unique perspective on the world, Azania brings a deeply personal approach to everything she creates. As a workshop leader, she’s passionate about empowering young artists to discover their own voices and styles, while refining their technical skills.

 

Nima Arabi - Shading, Symbolism, and Composition

Friday March 14th

Meet Nima

Nima Arabi is a multidisciplinary artist and educator specializing in drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. His work explores identity and Persian mystical poetry. With a Master’s in Fine Arts from York University, he teaches across all ages and exhibits internationally, merging art, education, and storytelling in innovative and community-driven projects.

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About Us

North York Arts (NYA)  collaborates with artists, arts organizations, and partners to develop, strengthen, and promote cultural programming and initiatives for North York communities

Contact us 

North York Arts
5040 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON, M2N 6R8

info@northyorkarts.org

647-477-6059

Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm

Join Our Network

What is a Poem Now?

What is a Poem Now?

What is a poem now? by Rania El Mugammar

This seven (7) week hybrid program offers a supportive and structured writing space, alongside a bookbinding workshop with Guest Facilitator Michael Fliess.

Participants can expect to explore the question “what is a poem now?” from a creative and political perspective. The role of artists and writers in our current world is an entry point for writing and reflection. Anchored in the poetic forms of haiku, oral poetry/spoken word, rap and micropoetry, writers will explore narrative, structure, orality, and rhythm in their work. 

Drawing from a variety of literary and poetic traditions, learners will share, give feedback and workshop existing or new poems. The bookbinding elements will allow participants to create a tangible and physical copy of their works.

Stiching the Sacred

Date:  Tuesday, February 4th – Tuesday, March 18th

Time: 6-8pm for writing (Online), 6-8:30pm for bookbinding (In-person)

Where: Zoom (Online), Gibson House Museum – 5172 Yonge St (In-person)

Price: Free

Due to overwhelming demand, registrations are now closed.  Thank you to all who have registered. Sign up to our newsletter to be first to know about upcoming programming!

Program Lead: Rania El Mugammar

Rania El Mugammar is a Sudanese Artist, Liberation Educator, Abolitionist, Anti-oppression Consultant , multidisciplinary performer, speaker and published writer. Her work explores reproductive justice, transformative justice & abolition, art as liberation and digital justice.

As a writer, Rania’s work explores themes of identity, womanhood, Blackness, flight, exile, migration, belonging, gender, sexuality and beyond. Rania’s primary mediums are poetry, spoken word and oral storytelling. She is a published poet, storyteller and playwright. Rania is deeply interested in poetic form and the auditory texture of words as well as the visual/aesthetic impact of language and form.

Rania is an experienced anti-oppression, abolition and liberation educator and consultant who is unflinchingly committed to decolonization and freedom as the ultimate goals of her work. She has worked extensively with contemporary arts institutions, STEM based enterprises, media organizations, educational institutions and community/grassroots spaces.

www.raniawrites.com 
www.facebook.com/raniaelmugammar 
www.patreon.com/raniawrites 
Twitter: @raniawrites
Instagram: @rania.writes

About Us

North York Arts (NYA)  collaborates with artists, arts organizations, and partners to develop, strengthen, and promote cultural programming and initiatives for North York communities

Contact us 

North York Arts
5040 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON, M2N 6R8

info@northyorkarts.org

647-477-6059

Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm

Join Our Network

Stitching the Sacred

Stitching the Sacred

Stitching the Sacred: Islamic Geometry Embroidery Workshop by Leila Fatemi

This workshop will introduce participants to the practical art and philosophy of sacred and Islamic geometry. Drawing inspiration from the geometric patterns that shape our natural world, we’ll reflect on the interconnectedness of all things and our place within the whole. Using thread, paper, and embroidery techniques, participants are invited to create their own geometric artwork. This meditative process encourages mindfulness, grounding, and community connection. Ideal for those seeking a reflective, creative practice, this session offers a unique opportunity for hands-on engagement with art that mirrors the harmony of nature and our shared human experience.

Stiching the Sacred

Date: Saturday, February 8th (Meridian Arts Centre)

Date: Saturday, March 8th (The Neighborhood Organization)

Time: 1-4pm

Where: East York Town Centre
45 Overlea Blvd, East York, ON M4H 1C3

(Exact details for confirmed participants)

Price: Free

Program Lead: Leila Fatemi

Leila Fatemi  is a contemporary visual artist currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Through a combination of material and textual research, her practice unfolds across a variety of mediums including photography, collage, archival materials, textile, pattern and printmaking. Bridging themes of postcolonialism, gender, and spirituality, Fatemi’s work challenges viewers to consider their role in relation to the representational accuracy and cultural consequences of Orientalized subjects. Her work offers alternative perspectives surrounding the colonial gaze, ethnic representation, and collective numinous experiences by employing methods of subversion and reclamation as tools to resist imperialist legacies.

Fatemi received a BFA in Image Arts: Photography Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University. Her work has been exhibited in Canada and internationally and has been featured in online and print media. She was the first-place recipient of the Clyde & Co. Art Award for excellence in visual art, a finalist for the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award in 2020 and is the 2022-2023 Black, Indigenous, People(s) of Colour Residency recipient at Open Studio.

About Us

North York Arts (NYA)  collaborates with artists, arts organizations, and partners to develop, strengthen, and promote cultural programming and initiatives for North York communities

Contact us 

North York Arts
5040 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON, M2N 6R8

info@northyorkarts.org

647-477-6059

Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm

Join Our Network