*Speaker Key: 
-Julian Carvajal/Host: JC
-Melissa Foster/Guest: MF
*Note: Interview has been divided into segments based on the questions asked with time stamps marking minutes and seconds. 


PODCAST BEGINS
* [00:00-00:20] Julian Carvajal: So, Melissa Foster! Thank you so much for accepting this invite to be part of our podcast for the celebration of our tenth anniversary with North York Arts. We are very excited and of course you needed to be part of this podcast because we have so much to ask you and we are very curious about a couple of things about you as well!


So, Melissa, what can you tell us about yourself? Who you are, who is Melissa Foster?


* [00:21-01:42] Melissa Foster: Oh my gosh! I am still trying to figure that one out! [Guest and host laugh]. Does anyone have an answer for that? My gosh!


Ahm, I’ve had an interesting career trajectory so, I suppose that’s one thing where I have gone in different directions and I think that's part of who I am. 


I sort of have this thing where I've hit this point in my life where I actually feel, like, kind of coming into a place of knowing a little bit, like, who I am and who I am going to be. 


I’ve noticed, I’m more the person I was as a child; getting much more into nature again. I was so into nature, I was so into gardening, sewing, and needle work, painting, and drawing and like, writing and all of these things! I feel like I'm sort of coming back into that a little bit more? Now? Whereas, when I was in my 20s, I was trying on all sorts of different hats. So, career wise, I worked in social services, I was working in theater, I was backpacking, I was teaching. I did a ton of different things during that time and I was also like, you know, I wanted to go out dancing until four in the morning [host laughs in the background], and I wanted to go see music concerts and do all this! 


And, ahm, sort of as I went through my 30s, I found I was still doing some of that but, it sort of started to get replaced a little bit more with like, wanting to go to bed earlier and like, doing things more at home and kind of finding my own little projects and getting back into that kind of stuff and it’s been this interesting thing where I’ve sort of seen myself kind of coming back to who I was as a child but, I spent many years kind of just figuring that out and I think that’s kind of a little bit of who I am. 


* [01:43-01:50] JC: Nice, nice! So, that’s, eh, like a good segue because I would like to ask you about your connection with North York Arts. How was it? When did you hear about us?


* [01:51: 02:49] MF: So, I actually in one of my transitions, ahm, when I decided that my time working in social services had come to an end, I was, you know, feeling pretty burnt out, I needed a bit of a switch, and I wanted to, I knew I wanted to get into programming. 


Ahm, that was something I’ve done, I had worked in shelters and supportive housing and, ahm, and that’s something that I’ve just done, ah, on my own there because I’ve felt like, it was something that it was kind of missing, or that the youth were really wanting and, it was something that I really wanted to be engaged in. 


So, I went back to school and I did my postgraduate at Western University for Arts Management and I got my internship through that program at North York Arts and so the rest as they say is history. 


It was really lucky to come to the organization at a time where they were in a little bit of growth; I started part time and then I moved to full time and then I moved into a different role and now, I guess it’s eight years, eight years later I believe? [guest stutters] Eight years, yeah! It’s approaching eight years, you know, I’m still here and I’m now Program and Outreach Director. 


It’s been, it’s been a fun ride. 


* [02:49-02:54] JC: [Laughs] And Melissa, what makes NYA special?


* [02:54- 04:21] MF: For me, I have to say, eh, the staff. 


I think we’ve always had a very special staff team and, like, as individuals, I think we all bring something to the table. I think as individuals we are good folks, but it's the way that we’ve also been able to become together as a team and support one another and, I have to give all sorts of credit to the previous Executive Director who was the founding Executive Director of North York Arts, Lila Karim, who really nurtured an environment that was supportive and one that, ah, wanted to ensure that the staff was growing all the time and being supported both personally and professionally, and I really think that, because she modeled that so well from the top, that was ingrained in all of us individually and we continue to do that with one another. 


And, the amount of professional development opportunities I've been given, and the support and encouragement to be able to do that for a few years, as well as in my own life, when my father passed away and other personal things that’ve come up over the years, to know that, like, your workplace is supporting you through all of that too and that if, you know, for me if I had to run to the hospital to see my Dad or something like that like there wasn't a question! It was just like, ‘you go do what you need to do’, and not all workplaces have that. I've been part of those workplaces, I've seen others be part of those workplaces and it really was special, to be able to, eh, to feel that supported and it makes you want to give back to the organization, I mean, I think that's really good management too because you really do, you don't want to let the team down because they never let you down. 


* [04:22-04:27] JC: Thank you, thank you for that! Very inspiring. What is your vision for the organization?


* [04:27-06:07] MF: Well, ahm, it's interesting! Ah, right now it's really just to kind of keep things going, and to get us all through the transition. So the transition when Lila left as well has been a transition to the new Executive Director. 


Ensure that, that the staff still feel supported and that, ahm, we’re working within the capacity that we have at the moment. So, those are really my priorities right now, it’s just sort of look at that interim time and ensure that, ah, we’ll keep it afloat in all the different ways and that no one is, ah, feeling too overwhelmed. 


In terms of my vision for the organization, that goes within my previous role and my permanent role. I think what I am excited to kind of see is, in the next 10 years, and it is, ahm, you know, part of our strategic plan, to find a new home and to be able to have a space and hopefully a programming space of our own. 


I think what's wonderful that we’ve been able to do in these last 10 years is build all sorts of partnerships with all sorts of other communities, and being able to access space throughout all of North York. 


Ahm, I do think that we’re at a time in which we’ve sort of grown into a place where it’d be very nice to kind of have a little bit of that space of our own, that we can have internal programming, where can maybe exhibit some work and, just a little bit more autonomy in terms of being able to curate that space and what we can do with it, both in terms of an office as well as a programming space. 


Ahm, so I think that would really be a big next step for North York Arts and something that is on the horizon; not tomorrow or the next day, and definitely something that I hope to be a part of, but I do think that will, that will switch and have opportunities and of course we’re always going to program through all of North York and still keep all those community partners. Ahm, but it would be nice to have that as well as something that we haven't had before. 


* [06:08-06:32] JC: Actually that was one of the questions at the end, which you just answered, which is related to the wishes for the next ten years of the organization, ah, that’s a great wish and especially having a space and be able to share with the community, ah, it's amazing!


And, Melissa, what is the role that North York Arts has played in the city? When we are talking about advocacy, initiatives, ah, related to the other side of, ah, the coin. Not like the political side of, ah, the sector. 


* [06:33-08:11] MF: Yeah, I think, ahm, you know, advocacy is something that I’ve actually seen kind of increase over the years in our role and I think it's because of this conversation around programming and having arts and culture outside the downtown core. 


It's interesting because in North York Arts and any other LASOs -not just North York Arts but all of the LASOs- ahm, the city has changed a lot in the last 10 years! And it's really expanded, and it's really developing, and growing, and there’s lots of pros and cons to that, and because of the expansion -like the physical expansion- the ‘outside-of-the-downtown-core-conversation’, has just become one that's very popular, I would say. 


Lots of communities are moving into the more sort-of-suburban areas of Toronto and there's certain infrastructure things that haven't  quite been able to keep up; which has sort of prompted this conversation around the local and being able to access things locally and that has put a real hot spot, I think, on what some of the LASOs are doing, and being able to provide some of that community programming, arts programming, cultural programming in people's backyards. 


And, I think in terms of advocacy as this city grows like we all know, that things are becoming more expensive in Toronto. It's becoming a little bit harder to live and that's very true for artists. 


So, part of that work is also looking at, like, we don't want that creative drain from the city, which we are seeing! And, so, how can we ensure that we are providing opportunities for artists who live in all areas of Toronto? As well as talking about pay equity and these kinds of things, which is a conversation that I think is happening across the board in all, almost all sectors - at least the non-for-profit sector- because of this increased cost of living and, and the difficulty of living in Toronto now. We are playing our role in that as well. 


* [08:11-08:14] JC: Melissa, how have you watched the organization grow?


* [08:15-09:48] MF: Yeah, well, I guess I came when the organization was about two or three years old? And you know there was two full-time staff at the time. Ahm, I know though the organization started with just one staff and one managing director and kind of went to a part-time, and then full-time and then I came on part time.


And, so really, I watched it kind of grow from, more or less its infancy -or maybe when it was a toddler; I suppose I came in when it was a toddler- and now it’s like, really finding its feet and I think that that’s one thing with; it’s an interesting time right now, sort of the ten year mark with North York Arts is, I think we’re kind of figuring out like, who we are, what’s some of the roles that we play, ahm, a little bit more of where we want to go. 


I think the first number of years, as it has to be, it’s like, you’re just building! Like you’re building something and you’re trying to find all the pieces and solve the pieces together, ahm; whereas now it's like we have the pieces, we don't quite have the whole puzzle, like we have all the pieces and we’re kind of figuring it out but we have that foundation where we can kind of start to really be looking ahead and envisioning, like, who we are and all these years before have informed that and so I think these next ten years, I suppose, it’s, we’ve tried on all the different hats and now we’re just coming into who we are a little bit more [guest laughs] at least for now!


And the thing is, I think what’s really important is, ahm, for organizations like North York Arts, that we are always gonna be evolving as well; so you have to evolve with the communities, with the times. There’s always lots of changes and so, evolution is always going to be part of a process but finding, you know, we've really been able to find our feet I think in the last few years and we’ll really be able to run with that now for the next ten.  


* [09:49-09:54] JC: Thank you, Melissa and, what are you hoping to see more of in the arts scene in the city? 


* [09:55-11:29] MF: Hum! Ahm, that’s an interesting question now too, especially, because, I guess I’d just like to see the arts kind of be able to get back up and running!  
What I think though, some of the things that have come up with this past year with Covid is opportunities for artists to be able to develop their work. 


We are very focused on performance presentation and I think one of the things that could really benefit the art sector is a little bit more emphasis on how the production is happening and what supports are being given to production and the facilitation of being able to cultivate the arts. 


We tend to have this sort of like: ‘we want product, now!’ but the arts need time to live, and grow, and breathe, it doesn’t matter what art form it is. I come from a theatre background so for me, that makes a lot of sense, in that, ahm, rehearsing scenes, and running scenes, and characters, it’s like, you find them, you build them and it does it a real disservice if you’re just jumping in and running. You want the story to unfold and these things just take time but they're very expensive; that time is expensive and artists and arts organizations just don’t have that time and it's hard to get that funded.


There are grants through arts councils that fund that but like; sponsors and such, like, they, they wanna see product but, if we could chip that narrative a little bit and, both in terms of how we’re working within the city and using city spaces or spaces that are in the city (not necessarily city owned spaces, but) ahm, to be able to help nurture the development, I think it would do a real service for what the end product would look like- looks like. 


* [11:20-11:46] JC: Melissa, let’s play a scenario: I am an artist, I live in North York, I’m new to the city, I have no idea about how to navigate the arts sector; how can artists, those artists who are listening to this conversation, who might not have heard before of North York Arts, what is the first thing that they can do?  


* [11:46-13:14] MF: Oh, ahm, well, I would say, to just get connected with resources and that’s just not North York Arts, like, others as well.


So, there’s North York Arts, there’s other LASOs, there’s Neighbourhood Arts Network, there’s the Toronto Arts Council, ahm, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Arts Council. 


Just really familiarize yourself with some of those staples and, those are just a very small example of some of the organizations out there that are doing work in the city and providing professional development opportunities for artists and so, once you get connected with one, you’re gonna start to see -even just following their social media- sign up for their newsletters. 


Ahm, feel free to reach out! I think individual organizations on a one-on-one basis, we can share information that’s not necessarily a lot that one can do specifically on a one-on-one but, there’s always resources being shared and being put out there via social media, via newsletters; there’s lots of workshops that are more than often free, Working Culture is another one. There’s a ton of professional development workshops; to be able to familiarize yourself, and I’ve seen lots of workshops out there that are geared towards newcomer artists to be able to familiarize newcomer artists with the city and the different resources that might be available. 


Ahm so, just, you know, arts organizations Toronto, initial Google search; start to get connected to those ones that are in the initial Google search and then just keep going and do the workshops, do the events that are geared towards the things that you are interested in and then from there you’ll sort of start to figure out where you can go. 


* [13:15-13:22] JC: Thank you, thank you so much, and  Melissa, last question -the question that you answered before as well-: What are your wishes for the next ten years of North York Arts?


* [13:23-14:54] MF: Yeah, well, actually, it’s funny because when you said that we sort of touched on that already I was like ‘oh, I have another’, things that have always been in sort of the back pocket which I think is going take a lot longer to achieve. 


We have always sort of had this dream of not just one space but having sort of hotspot spaces throughout North York. 


I think North York is very large and the communities are unique and one of the things that, you know, we’ve struggled with in terms of, it’s just impossible with the capacity that we have to be able to reach all the communities in North York or even sort of invest that time so that we’re part of a community and working in a way that we would really like to work in so, one of the things that we’ve often thought is like, dedicated staff who might be working in, you know, one particular area of North York. 


Right now all the staff is spread out throughout all of North York but, if we have one staff even a part time staff who is, ah, doing the outreach and coordinating programs for one or like a few wards of North York versus having to spread out through all of North York. Have the opportunity to really build those deeper relationships and those deeper engagements with that particular community because it is not being spread so thin. I think that’s something that would be really nice but maybe in the next ten years we can work towards. 


There’s a lot of things that prevent us from being able to do that right at particular moment but it’s definitely something that we’ve always kind of talked about and as the organization grows and as were able to grow staff, that's definitely roles that we would be interested in being able to have in the future so that we really feel like we’re building a deeper connection with the communities 


* [14:55-15:06] JC: I love that wish! It’s amazing, I hope it comes true. Ah, well, Melissa Foster, Director of Programming and Outreach, thank you so much for joining us today.  


* [15:07] MF: Thank you! You too!. 
PODCAST ENDS