IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ART STARTS NEIGHBOURHOOD CULTURAL CENTRE

Present

Art at the Hub:

A Symposium on Making Art Locally

Examining the role the arts play in the revitalization of neighbourhoods.

March 20 2008: Harbourfront Centre

• A full day of discussion, learning, and discovery created to examine the role of community-engaged arts in animating, revitalizing and enlivening neighbourhoods.
• An opportunity to become inspired, exchange ideas, and build new partnerships with artists, arts and youth organizations, social services agencies, community developers, academics and city builders.

To download a pdf version of the Symposium brochure, please click here

This symposium has been made possible through the support of the following:

For a fillable application form click here:

• Schedule at a glance
• Special Guests
• Break Out Groups
• Pre-Symposium Event
• For more information

Schedule at a glance

Special Guests:

Lily Yeh is founder of Philadelphia’s Village of Arts and Humanities, which has transformed a 260 square block area of North Philadelphia, one block at a time through a neighborhood revitalization program that has evolved into a major provider of arts-inspired programs including education, land transformation, construction, and economic development.

Key note Speaker, Enlivening Neighbourhoods through Arts Programs / 9 am

Joe Berridge, a partner in Urban Strategies Inc., has played a key role in some of the world’s largest urban regeneration projects. He has helped reshape waterfronts in Toronto, New York and London and revitalize the downtowns of Manchester, St. Louis and Detroit. Joe helped prepare Ontario’s growth management plan and is a regular conference and media commentator.

Key note Speaker, A look at the larger cultural context / 1:40 pm

Mervin Jarman, is a community art activist, interactive multimedia designer, human computer interface expert and core member of the Mongrel Collective. He is a particular kind of mongrel – a new breed of street art-activist emerging in new media and technology. Mervin's most recent project is The Container Project, a 40-foot shipping container that has been customized with donated and salvaged computers and converted into a mobile media arts lab.

Panelist: Animating Art in Unlikely Places / 10:10 am

Break-out Group Presenter: New Media in the Village / 11:25 am

Pre-Symposium Session / March 19th 7 pm – 9:30 pm

Paula Jardine, one of Canada's foremost community artists, has been creating and animating community events, spectacles and celebrations for over 20 years. The founding artistic director of the Public Dreams Society, Paula's most visible achievement is the introduction of Lantern Processions as a community art form in Canada. Paula is currently artist in residence at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.

Panelist: Animating Art in Unlikely Places / 10:10 am

Break-out Group Presenter: Ceremony and Celebration for Community / 11:25 am

Pre-Symposium Session / March 19th, 7 pm – 9:30 pm

Public Interest has been developing community engagement and social marketing strategies since 2002, helping public sector and non-profit organizations develop policies and programs that are rooted in effective outreach, solid connections with communities and strong relationships with stakeholders. Public Interest has helped projects like the Regent Park Redevelopment, the United Way of Greater Toronto’s community development process and several community health centres reach into communities and develop approaches and cross-sector partnerships that led to success. They continue to innovate new strategies to reaching new immigrants, tenants and people who are homeless to ensure that marginalized communities are engaged in civic life.

Animators: Bridging Gaps and Blurring Boundaries / 3:45 pm

Other Panelists, Facilitators, Moderators and Presenters:

(subject to change)

Break-out Group Selection

Working together: How do we do it?

Symposium participants are placed in groups for conversations around the challenges of making place-based art. Each group will begin with presentations by Community Artists/Animators and their community partners around specific programs, which will act as a catalyst for discussions amongst the whole group. Symposium registrants are asked to pick their top 3 choices, and we’ll do our best to place you in your top choice.

Group 1 Building Community Tile by Tile

• Community Engaged Mosaic Projects in Public Places

  Gabriella Caruso and Andy Moro of Red Pepper Spectacle Arts along with Eileen Shannon from St. Stephen’s Community House discuss their mosaic project.

Group 2 Art in the Parks

• Artists connecting to the community in Toronto’s parks

  Kristen Fahrig and Christie Pearson present their work as community artists in public parks with Toronto Parks Recreation Manager Tino Decastro.

Group 3 Art Makes a New Commons

• Creating art with social service agencies

  Ruth Howard, with TCH Tenant Representative Sayruq Farah, speaks about the Jumblies Theatre residency at Toronto Community Housing’s Mabelle complex. Loren Brown presents Four in the Hand’s storytelling residency with Rexdale Women’s Services.

Group 4 Ceremony and Celebration for Community

• Engaging the community with Festival Arts

  Paula Jardine speaks about her community building work in a Vancouver cemetery; and Janet Fitzsimmons presents West Hill Community Service’s Project Random in Kingston-Galloway priority neighbourhood.

Group 5 New Media in the Village

• Connecting with the Community through new media Art

  Mervin Jarman presents his work with the Container Project; Camille Turner and Jennifer Lafontaine present the digital storytelling at Central Neighbourhood House.

Group 6 Art with an Open Door

• Storefronts and Libraries – Open doors to the Community

  Katherine Earl, presents Art Starts Neighbourhood Cultural Centre’s programs at Glendower, Lotherton Mews, and Villawayz; of The Gathering Place talks about the café as community partner; Dawna Rowlson talks about the outreach work at Oakwood Library.

Group 7 Art that Reaches Out

• Art Organizations with Facilities Engage their Local Community

  Tom Vernon from Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, Catherine Campbell from the Art Gallery of Ontario and Laura Reisborough from the Art Gallery of York University talk about how they have created programs to reach out into the communities where their facilities are located.

Pre-Symposium event: In Conversation with Paula Jardine and Mervin Jarman.

Presented in partnership with Red Pepper Spectacle Arts

Date: March 19 2008

Time: 7 pm to 9:30 pm

Location: Red Pepper Spectacle Arts, Storefront Community Studio

160 Baldwin St., Unit 10, Kensington Market

This event has very limited enrollment – registration must be made in advance and is on a first come first served basis.

The pre-symposium session presents a rare opportunity for artists and animators of all ages to interact with the Symposium’s special guests Mervin Jarman (Jamaica and England) and Paula Jardine (Victoria, B.C.) in a more intimate setting. Mervin and Paula will discuss their own extensive careers as community artists, and open the floor for questions and answers. There will be no fee for this event, but registration is required and seating limited.

A very special opportunity for artists, animators and students to have an in-depth look at Mervin and Paula’s extensive work in community-engaged art, and to discuss the field with these well-respected and highly accomplished artists/animators.

For more information contact:

Leslie Francombe
Community Investment Manager
Toronto Arts Council Foundation
141 Bathurst Street,
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2R2

416.392.6802 ext. 204

leslie@torontoartscouncil.org