Vignette – Workman Arts, Toronto, https://workmanarts.com

“STORIES OF NOW” is part of a project ArtBridges is working on with Judith Marcuse Projects’ ASCN (Arts for Social Change Network) and ICASC. It is about gathering and sharing stories emanating from the field now and about what issues and areas of focus matter. 

In conversation with: Kelly Straughan, Executive Artistic Director, on March 3rd, 2022

If you could tell a story about your community-engaged arts initiative now, this year, what would the story be about? What are the main themes?

KS: I think on the positive side – what it’s allowed us to do is see how going virtual can benefit members – our 500 members. We used to wonder if we could move things more virtually and that maybe people would like to engage more virtually. Fast forward- we’re able to do it!  We, like a lot of arts organizations, were amazed at how innovative it could be to offer virtual art classes, choir improv classes, metal work classes, etc. It’s an interesting puzzle – if it weren’t for (pandemic circumstances) this discovery would not have happened. 

We have a core group of about 150 – 200 participants invested in 20 – 25 art classes a week. This has scaled up our projects.

What are the main issues your community-engaged arts initiative faces? (e.g., social justice, environmental justice, pandemic-related, operational, financial, HR)

KS: So many! Naturally this is about serving a marginalized, vulnerable community – many people are on ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program).  Our core members who we deeply engage with day to day are more vulnerable – they have housing issues, some are in and out of shelters, have food insecurity and added pressures. Members have to have the basics of life to be able to actually engage in art processes. Now that we are dealing with virtual, some members need us even more – many don’t have access to the internet or computers, so we purchased 30 ipads and cell phone programs, so that people could participate.

How has your initiative been addressing these main issues?

KS: Supplying the 30 purchased ipads; redirecting funds from the arts council for immediate covid support, really looking at funds we were using before, and reallocating them, looking at the cost of groceries, creating food bursaries, food vouchers for $100 – supplied by the TD bank. Redirecting funds to help people survive day to day. Moving in that direction more. 

How has the community of participants that your initiative engages with evolved in the past year (if at all)?

KS: Our artists support each other all the time, our members are instructors as well, people have maintained peer level of support, members are also peer supporters. 

We have a virtual ‘front desk’ on Facebook. This evolved from the membership. It’s lovely to see how members can give back and keep making connections through it all. Through this front desk, a member can call if they’d like to chat. Members provide peer support, instructors provide peer support – it can help. In the classes – the virtual ones, members can help other members with any digital support, too. Members supporting members – this makes our program seem less clinical.

How is your organization engaging with your community right now? (Logistics, pandemic public health and safety guidelines & policies, changes in the way we gather)

KS: Our major partner is CAMH (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) and our physical office is in the hospital. They need to be cautious when easing Covid restrictions and move more slowly than the rest of the province. So at this time, our work remains totally virtual. We’ve done mailing, drop-offs and pick-ups of art supplies to members to get them materials they need to paint and make art.

What are one or two new projects your initiative implemented this year?

KS: One would be – the Slate Family Foundation is big on mental health support – Workman Arts was one of the recipients of their support throughout the GTA. This helped us to create a scaling project and decentralize our work – it’s called the Workman Arts Satellite Programs. 

New folks…our class sizes have grown, our core membership people rely on classes, and with virtual access – the classes have grown. We also noticed with the Rendezvous with Madness festival, people were logging on from other places.

What is your initiative doing new–digitally–compared to pre-pandemic?

KS: …We will keep the virtual part; it’s allowed people to participate in ways they haven’t before. How can we maintain this model and not put extra stress on the instructor? and work in a hybrid format? There are members that feel like they can participate in more classes because we offer virtual ones. 

We were not doing ‘virtual’ before, not at all. We had an idea – we noticed that 50 members at most – were not doing anything with computers, so we mailed them some.  This (the pandemic) has coerced people into technology – this has been huge for members. We asked a member with tech savvy to show people how to log onto zoom to be able to engage in the virtual workshops. It’s so lovely to see. Peer support is a major part of our work. We have up to 500 members. We hired Nate for one day a week to help everyone to get in touch – even learn how to turn on a computer.

Is there a recent achievement, wonderful moment, or quote you’d like to share about your initiative or its impact? 

KS: So many – specifically – when we moved to reallocate a lot of our funds to food gift cards for our holiday gathering and give out 100 Walmart cards, there was a real level of appreciation. We stepped outside of our core business of arts and recognized that this was the need. We got heart-felt feedback – that it was making a difference. 

Organizationally, as we don’t rely on box office revenues, we have been able to survive – we’ve done ‘pay what you can’, we’ve been well equipped to survive. 

Reducing social isolation- we already do it!  it’s our mandate – through all of this, we are staying true to our values – our mandate.

In conversation with Seanna Connell, ArtBridges  sconnell[at]artbridges.ca

Find Workman Arts on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube

BEING SCENE 21ST ANNUAL EXHIBITION
In-Person and Online:  March 31 – May 31 2022
workmanarts.com/being-scene-2022

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gcAHlaft-c
Courtesy of Halifax Regional Municipality.

« If only you could have seen it firsthand. The music and dancing in the street, overtop a freshly painted, community designed mandala. Everyone was encompassed by signs of celebration: personalized flags, glowing lanterns, candles, sparklers, colourful paint brushes, decorated chalk boards, smiling faces and new friends. From young artists to young families, residents from the seniors home to city Councillors and community leaders; the event drew neighbours and friends of all kinds. Everyone was a witness. We all knew something powerful had just been accomplished and that this Placemaking project was the beginning of something even bigger.

The journey began with seeds of inspiration in 2010 when Michael Cook from City Repair, in Portland, Oregon, came to the ArtsEngage! Symposium to tell the story of street painting in Portland. Finally, after a car accident in the summer of 2011 at the corner of Black Street and Northwood Terrace in Halifax, the community decided it was time to organize. A Placemaking project would revision the role of the street in the neighbourhood and strengthen social collaboration in this diverse community.

By the fall of 2011 the community approached Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) through our Community Art Program. Painting on the street had never been done in Nova Scotia. It would be a long road to developing a process that would work for both the community and satisfy the reservations from city traffic engineers. The community was determined and the engineers were open minded. Their success would open the doors for other neighbourhoods in HRM to create their own Placemaking projects.

Key players internally in HRM were the Traffic & Right of Way engineers and Risk & Insurance staff who looked at potential risks related to such a project. Their willingness to engage in discussion and consider solutions to their safety concerns made it possible to create parameters that allowed community to come together while keeping pedestrians, cyclists and drivers safe. The HRM Community Arts Facilitator was the link between the community and internal staff, providing evidence of best practice from other cities and negotiating the needs of all parties to establish a final format for the pilot project. Some guidelines included painting only intersections with no bus routes, choosing an intersection with 2,000 cars or less per day, 1.2 metres of unpainted surface around the circumference of the design and using silica sand between layers of paint. These specifications and others were captured so they could be repeated in potential future projects.

A small but mighty team of community members led the Placemaking project. This ‘Core Team,’ as they were called, began hosting community gatherings in March of 2012. Neighbours shared their love of the community and, most importantly, exercised their imagination to dream of what could be done in their neighbourhood if money, or even physics, couldn’t stand in their way. Using these visions and points of appreciation people sketched ideas for what the street painting would look like. Experienced community artists lead the expansion of ideas and eventually the boiling down of key elements into one design. This final design was submitted to HRM for approval. Minor adjustments were made to the design as a result. Volunteers knocked door to door collecting signatures from residence, confirming their support for the one day street closure and community created design. With the generous support of the 4Cs Foundation, a private granting organization for community art projects, the Core Team was able to give honorariums to the artists and volunteers, and provide food during painting day.

Over 400 community members came out on July 14th to help celebrate and test their hand at street painting. Participation was a smooth process. A team of artists chalked out the design on the road in the morning creating a paint-by-numbers template. By noon chalking was completed and a ceremony kicked off the afternoon, including instructions on the process and technique for painting. Volunteers at the paint tent handed out materials and artists hosted the four quadrants of the design to ensure hands on help was available when it was needed. The evening was all celebration with music, dancing and congratulations before the street opened up again to vehicles.

To quote one Core Team member, Eli Gordon, « In most peoples mind painting on an intersection is a crazy idea. But to show that it does happen, and it can happen, and that this crazy idea is a wonderful idea, I hope inspires other people to think that their own crazy ideas could very well be possible. And even in a governmental structure such as the HRM, that some people may feel is completely immobile, there’s room for that. There’s room for crazy ideas that can make a crazy impact. »

We are proud to say that as of spring 2013 Placemaking has become an official program in HRM. Neighbourhoods can apply to the municipality to paint their street. Core Team members are coached through the process of how to organize and host a successful Placemaking project.

The streets are changing here in HRM. To see it happen come visit a project here in Halifax or connect with us to bring Placemaking to your own city. »

– Submitted by Kate MacLennan, maclenk@halifax.ca
Community Arts Facilitator, Halifax Regional Municipality

All photos courtesy of Halifax Regional Municipality

Visit www.halifax.ca or connect with Placemaking Halifax on Facebook.

To read ArtBridges’ profile about the Halifax Regional Municipality Community Art Program, please click here.
See ArtBridges’ Google map for contact info.

For ArtBridges/ToileDesArts sponsorship opportunities: Simon Constam, Sponsorship Director, simon@artbridges.ca, 905-537-7227
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