At the heart of any community arts project “is
a faith in the power of creativity and the role of artists
in building, shaping and changing communities,”
says Margo Charlton, Theatre Grants Officer at Toronto
Arts Council.
On October 17th the Toronto Arts Council Foundation
hosted The Creative City: Block by Block–Creators
& Communities, an artist-led symposium for imagining
neighbourhood change. Close to 200 community arts practitioners,
community agencies, funders, academics and researchers
gathered at Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre.
There was a buzz of energy as presenters filled the room
with their vibrancy and optimism, participants spoke passionately
about what fuels them to work in community settings, and
displays of artwork from community projects brought home
the ways in which community arts is not only good for
community development but is also aesthetically pleasing.
Community arts is the name given to an arts practice that
partners professional artists with community members to
create projects in community spaces. Community arts projects
are varied in their source of inspiration–sometimes
they are a tool for social change, or a therapeutic vehicle
for individuals, or a way for people to have an opportunity
to engage in art-making, or all of the above. As different
as each of these are, what runs through them all is a
faith in the power of creativity and the role of artists
in building, shaping and changing communities.
At the Symposium people spoke about art that dares to
imagine and transform:
-
A grim, concrete underpass is transformed
into a colourful passageway of vivid murals
-
A garbage strewn park, a hangout for
drug dealers, is changed into a playground with mosaic
benches for parents and children to enjoy
-
A group of adults dogged by various
challenges come together, joining their voices as a
community choir
-
Women from different worlds talk about
tea: Somali newcomers living in high rises, on the border
of middleclass homes inhabited mainly by people of British
background, get together for tea ceremonies and make
papier-mâché tea pots for an art show
-
Young people make videos and photographic
portraits about how the wrecking balls are radically
changing their Regent Park neighbourhood
To imagine all of this is to imagine Toronto transformed
by artists. It is happening one community arts project
at a time. The symposium focused on sharing stories, and
addressing challenges and dreams–two things community
artists know well. At the end of the day there was a call
to hold more events like this in the future. A full report
on the Symposium will be released in February and a summary
will be posted on the TACF website.
-Margo Charlton
Margo Charlton is a community arts researcher, consultant
and practitioner with over 20 years of experience in the
field. She is currently the Theatre Officer at the Toronto
Arts Council.
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