The Creative City Block by Block

Every person in Toronto has the right to enjoy the rich cultural life that is the hallmark and pride of Toronto. Through partnerships and initiatives, TACF’s Block by Block program seeks to connect even the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods with the transformational value of artistic activity.

In order to achieve the goals of this program, TACF is developing partnerships with a range of Toronto’s institutions, agencies and private companies; these unique relationships bring necessary resources and much needed momentum to the project.

• The Creative City, Block by Block: Creators and Communities – In October 2006, TACF hosted an artist-led symposium on imagining neighbourhood change in partnership with Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Ontario Trillium Foundation. Artists, animators, community leaders, participants in community arts programs, storefront arts organizations, youth organizations, community health centres, settlement/neighbourhood houses, municipal cultural workers, and local, provincial and national funders, gathered to imagine and share strategies for neighbourhood transformation through the arts, pose key questions and discuss best practices in community-based art and forge new partnerships.

For more information on this symposium please read the executive summary and report.

• The United Way of Greater Toronto – 2006 marked the beginning of our partnership with The United Way of Greater Toronto. Their generous support, which has been renewed for 2007, has enabled us to increase the amount of funding for arts programming targeted at youth growing up in high-needs areas of the city. Toronto Arts Council (through its Community Arts Grants Program) and the TAC Foundation, together with The United Way, are committed to supporting Toronto’s at-risk youth by providing them with hope and an opportunity to build productive lives. “The arts are a key component of United Way’s strategy to offer opportunities for youth,” said Frances Lankin, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Toronto. “Research shows that the arts have positive impact for youth, especially those at risk, and helps engage them while developing skills.”