*Speaker Key: -Julian Carvajal/Host: JC -Joe Borowiec/Guest: JB *Note: Interview has been divided into segments based on the questions asked with time stamps marking minutes and seconds. PODCAST BEGINS * [00:00-00:10] Julian Carvajal/Host: Joe Borowiec, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you so much for being part of our podcast to celebrate our 10 years of existence at North York Arts. Joe, Can you tell us who you are? * [00:11- 00:39] Joe Borowiec: I am, ahm, I’m a retired civil servant. I used to work for the city of Toronto, ahm, in my last job there I was part of the city manager staff where I had to sort of portfolios: one was to be government’s liaison for a number of the city’s corporations and boards and the other was to be the policy lead and manager for recruitment for the city’s corporate boards and also its committees and agency boards. * [00:39-00:42] JC: Ok, what is your connection with North York Arts? * [00:43-01:23] JB: Well, my connection, I think, is largely because I trained as a City Planner and my first positions in planning were with was then known as the City of North York Planning Department. So I spent many years working in what was then called North York City Hall at Mel Lastman Square and as part of my job, I met a variety of North York residents and different parts of the city, I traveled because of my work to see sites all over the city so I have this, in a way is almost like, you know, it's where I started professionally, so it’s almost like home in some ways. * [01:24-01:30] JC: Ok, ah, and how did you become part of NYA’s family? * [01:31-02:37] JB: Ah [mumbles], to a certain extent, by chance: I happened one day to be walking through the lobby at city hall, and I saw this fellow there who's one of my clients. He was the manager of what was then known as the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts -now it's known as Meridian Arts Centre- and I stopped by to say hello and he happened to be, or happened to have with him this young woman and he introduced me to her and ‘Hi, how are you?’ and it turned out that that woman was Lila Karim who was the initiating founder of North York Arts! And I offered to, or said, that I would be interested in helping and in participating in the creation and development of North York Arts; and after a period of time, I was invited to be on what was then called The Advisory Committee for North York Arts, because North York Arts hadn't been incorporated at that time and since then it has been and I've been on the board for some number of years. So that's how it all started: by a chance meeting. * [02:38-02:56] JC: Wow! That's incredible! Thank you so much, like, you know, the universe put everything together and everything that happens, happens for a reason. So, I'm very glad that you encountered your colleague and he introduced you to Lila. Joe, what are some things that you are proud of that NYA’s achieved in the last 10 years? * [02:57-04:09] JB: One of the things I'm proud of or pleased to have seen is for North York Arts to have grown, to do more, to reach out to different communities across the city and different ages. One of the programs that I was quite pleased to see happen was something called ‘The Legacy Collective’ and that was one where older ladies who had come to Canada from South America and they were all getting together every once in a while and they sewed and they talked. I am, myself, the child of immigrants, and I used to look at that program and think boy! If that had been around for my mom! She probably would have loved it! Just a chance to get together with other ladies, speak her native language, and do stuff! I thought that was great! So the fact that North York Arts is being able to develop programs like that. ‘Drum to DJ’ is another one! Things that speak to people’s character and their qualities and would bring out parts of themselves that they may not otherwise have the chance to bring out. So, that’s what, I am happy to see that growth. * [04:09-04:53] JC: That's great to hear and I totally agree with you, ah, the ‘Legacy Program’ is a great program. Actually, last year I had the opportunity to facilitate a program through WhatsApp, so we were doing “My Own Stories In My Own Voice” and it’s a program that we did using WhatsApp as a response to Covid and of course because the use of data is very low, so many participants were able to assist to this virtual program without having to worry about having a computer, access to a reliable internet. Joe, we’re talking about the future and I know changing is about the future (and I know that this word these days, eh, is hard to know what the future is going to bring us in general) but what are your hopes about the things that North York Arts can achieve in the next ten years? * [04:54-05:28] JB: In one word: More. I'm hoping that North York Arts can expand the geographic footprint of areas where it is involved with programs and hoping that it can expand this sort of grip; the types of programs that are offered, the depths of those programs in terms of reaching different communities, different ages, different sorts of people in different parts of town; that's what I would hope to see. * [05:29-05:33] JC: Thank you Joe. What are you hoping to see more in the art scene in the city in general? * [05:34-07:13] JB: In the city as a whole what I'm hoping for, what I would like to see is two things: the first is more programming and more events and maybe facilities -but at least events and programming out of the core- out in what city planners would call ‘the inner suburbs’: places like Etobicoke and North York and Scarborough because for people in those parts of town going downtown is-can be an arduous journey. There's so many facilities, and organizations, and artists, and galleries, and performing spaces and so on! I'd like to see more activity in more facilities in places like North York and Scarborough and Etobicoke and along with that is Programming. A few years ago, Nuit Blanche, did focus on Scarborough Town Centre and has I think for a couple of years; they have done some work with North York Arts and North York Community in and around Mel Lastman Square bringing programs even if there's not facilities but bringing programs and events to the inner suburbs. I think it's something that I'd like to see more of. It's great for people to say that the downtown institutions serve the entire community -and they do- they can be tough to get to. If you live in Melbourne and you don't have a car, it's a big deal to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario for you. It's a long trip, it's a day, it's a whole day. You get by, you know, it's going to take you a couple hours each way in public transit. It's great to say that they serve -but making views- making that happen it can be really difficult. * [07:14-07:19] JC: Thank you Joe. The last question: What do you think is so unique about North York Arts? * [07:20-07:53] JB: I'm not certain that we are truly unique. One of the things that we've been able to do well, I think, is to connect with the communities within North York and there are other organizations that claim the same thing: their ability to connect and their ability to bring forward the character and the nature of their communities, but I think that’s something that North York Arts has worked hard to do and it's something that I'm proud of to be associated with. * [07:54-08:08] JC: Well, thank you so much Joe for this opportunity. It has been a pleasure talking to you; learning from you about the coincidence, you know, out of a chance how you met Leila and how now you're still part of the organization as the Chair of the Board of Directors. Thank you so much * [08:09-08:10] JB: Thank you for having me. PODCAST ENDS