*Speaker Key: -Julian Carvajal/Host: JC -Christine Harris/Guest: CH *Note: Interview has been divided into segments based on the questions asked with time stamps marking minutes and seconds. PODCAST BEGINS * [00:00-00:05] Julian Carvajal/Host: Hello everyone today I'm here with Christine Harris. Christine, thank you so much for joining me today! * [00:05-00:06] Christine Harris/Guest: Thank you for having me! * [00:06-00:08] JC: Christine, can you tell us who you are? * [00:09-00:29] CH: That's a big question! Ahm, I am a black woman who's lived in North York for the last, I think 14 years. Originally from Scarborough, Jamaican parents, and a lover of the arts, and passionate about health as well. So that's a little bit about me. * [00:30-00:31] JC: Ah, what is your connection with North York Arts? * [00:32-00:51] CH: Well, I was the Founding Board Chair of North York Arts for the first, I think 5 years? Ahm, but even before I was in the organization, ahm, I was there, so I am a believer, and a supporter, and helped build North York Arts, and, ahm, I'm super proud of that. * [00:52-00:57] JC: Christine, I’m curious about, ah, how you became part of the North York Arts family? * [00:58-01:23] CH: Well, I had previously been on the Board of Directors for Scarborough Arts, and I had heard that another Local Arts Service Organization in North York was going to be built and I immediately said, ‘I need to be a part of this’, and I contacted NYA and I said, ‘How can I be a part of this? I want to volunteer, I want to help’, and that was the beginning. * [01:24-01:39] JC: Wow! That's an interesting story, thank you so much for, you know, that's being proactive, to be honest with you, like, the fact that you were here and there and, shoutouts for our friends from Scarborough Arts as well part of our LASOs sisters. Christine, ah, what did it mean to you to be the NYA’s first Board Chair? * [01:40-02:11] CH: It means that I'm part of a legacy of an important art organization, you know? I have been always so proud to be a part of NYA and part of its growth, and to see where it is now compared to it being an idea [guest laughs], some years, many years ago, ahm, it's so exciting! So, it means that I am active in my community and I have been a part of shaping what I consider an important part of North York. * [02:12-02:39] JC: I totally agree with you Christine. Honestly, it is amazing! I think, like, trying to think about you, you know, like after ten years of seeing all the little baby projects, now big ones like Cultura and some other ones that are happening thanks to people as yourself. So, thank you so much and, myself I have to thank you because without you, we wouldn’t be able to do many of the things that now, ten years after, we are able to do, so thank you so much for that. Christine, can you describe North York Arts back then? * [02:40-03:07] CH: I think North York Arts was less about an organization and more about people and, it was people who were committed to building something to support artists but also to support the North York community and, that's what's really special I think, ahm, about North York Arts, it’s that its really about the community, both members who are artists and members who are not, and I think that’s maintained since, since the beginning. * [03:08-03:15] JC: As a North York resident, what does it mean to you to have a LASO, which is a Local Arts Service Organization, in your neighbourhood? * [03:16-04:16] CH: It means that I can be connected to the Arts. I think many people associate, when they think of Toronto and the arts, they think of downtown and, I know that at one point in time, I used to think downtown. I think some of the suburbs and some of the areas outside of downtown got forgotten. So, with the establishment of Local Art Service Organizations across the city, ahm, it was really able to bring life, and animation, and excitement, and arts, and culture to communities outside of downtown Toronto and demonstrate that Toronto as a whole is a hub for arts and culture. You know, in terms of North York, it’s exciting to see what people are doing here and it's dense, like, I'm in Central North York and it's densely populated, and there are a lot of people! I think it's really important for folks to be engaged, to feel like they are a part of their community and to participate in community. * [04:16-04:22] JC: Ah, if you were on the Board now, how would you envision the future of North York Arts? * [04:23-05:12] CH: I, the same as it is now but growing! Growing and hitting even more communities in North York. North York spans such a large range of the city; growing so that people all over North York are continuing to engage in the arts. I think also I would envision North York Arts figuring out a way to address the new normal. I think with the pandemic we realized how much we depend and need the arts to get through for our well-being, for our mental well-being, our physical well-being, our overall well-being, and how can we continue to create those opportunities for folks in North York and so, yeah! I would envision us doing more of the same thing but at a bigger scale, a broader scale, and touching more people. * [05:13-05:19] JC: Thank you so much for sharing those thoughts. Christine, what are you hoping to see more in the arts scene in the city in general? * [05:20-06:03] CH: Amh, I, I think more informal arts? If that, I don't even know if that is a phrase! But I, I think people have thought of the arts as, you know, traditionally, you know, ‘Oh, I need to go out and dress up and go to a theatre or a space to enjoy the arts’. I would love to see the arts permeating more of our society and our communities in new and unique ways that people can access it even more! It can be a formal experience but it can be an informal experience and an everyday experience; something that you do on a particular night but something that you can do all the time and participate in all the time . That's what I’d love to see more! * [06:04-06:20] JC: Nice! I would love to see that as well! Actually, now we’re talking about the wishes for the next ten years; before, you were talking about how you envision the future of the organization if you were in the position of the Chair of the Board but, what about as a resident? What are your wishes for the next 10 years of North York Arts? * [06:21-06:51] CH: I hope that North York Arts continues to grow and touch more communities in North York, and continues to innovate with respect to arts, and culture, and animation, so that people can experience arts and culture everyday informally and formally at home at public spaces and yeah, continues on the path that it's been going but touches more people and reaches broader communities in North York. * [06:52-06:57] JC: Thank you, Christine and last question, is there anything that you think is unique or special about North York Arts? * [06:58-08:01] CH: I think North York Arts is unique because it touches such a large community and, ahm, have really established some great community connections -with Cultura, for example- that people really look forward to and I definitely missed Cultura during the pandemic and, you know, so I look forward for us to continue to build, and grow, and really animate North York. I think North York Arts is unique because of the community it serves; such a diverse community; such a highly populated community, and North York looks so different! You take a few steps [guest laughs] and travel through North York from east to west and it looks completely different! But North York Arts is able to serve all those communities, and serve artists that are in those communities, and create a unique perspective and a unique way of engaging folks in a community. * [08:02 08:09] JC: Christine Harris, thank you so much for joining us today in this podcast, part of our tenth anniversary in this virtual exhibition. * [08:10-08:15] CH: Thank you for having me! It was such a pleasure and all the best for North York Arts in the future. PODCAST ENDS