· On January 29th, 2009 ArtBridges was accepted as an official project of Tides Canada Initiatives.
· We visited the founders and directors, Steven Durland and Linda Frye Burnham, of the Community Arts Network (USA) in North Carolina to research and learn about the resources they provide with their similar service.
· We audited a second-year course at York University: Community Arts for Social Change to learn the academic influences and perspectives of the field. We also formed a community partnership between ArtBridges and York’s Community Arts Program.
· We developed a multi-phase strategic plan for the creation of the ArtBridges website.
· We formed an Advisory Board.
· 7 part-time contract positions were created and filled to carry out the first phase of activities of our strategic plan.
· We have begun conducting needs assessments and surveys through site visits to community art centres in Toronto.
· We spent five months mapping (telephoning and researching) community arts centres/programs/projects/resources across each province and territory of Canada. We identified over 300 community arts centres/programs/projects/resources across the country in under-resourced communities.
· We have written short reports on each province and territory outlining community arts activities in under-resourced communities. The majority are outlined in our blog.
· With connections being made, there is already resource and information sharing between art centres, art councils, and arts education institutions. People have expressed interest to be part of the ArtBridges network as they acknowledge that there is a gap in service.
· We set up: a website home page for ArtBridges with a donation link to Tides Canada Initiatives, a blog and facebook group.
· We have had conversations with Municipal and Provincial Arts Councils across Canada. All expressed interest for ongoing communication on our progress.
· Through the process of mapping out what is going on across Canada, we have learned that no one is doing anything like this.
· We have begun “ArtBridging”.
· We recently hired a Quebecois community arts student to map out and engage community arts projects/programs/organizations/resources across Francophone Canada.
· We recently hired an arts student with expertise in social networking to assist with establishing community partnerships with projects/programs/organizations/resources and posting profiles on ArtBridges’ social networks.
· ArtBridges recently moved into a shared office (with the Arts Network for Children and Youth) in downtown Toronto.
