…All of the arts opportunities that are being provided across our diverse and vast country may truly be the inspiration and paving the way for children…
“My daughter gave her teenage friend, a new immigrant from Belarus, a sketchpad, sharpie and pencils for a holiday gift as she loves drawing. On Saturday, we invited her along with us to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Gallery in Kleinburg, ON.
We spent a couple of hours in the majestic log house that is like a shrine for classic Canadian art. Towering totem poles faded and worn with time; huge Norval Morrisseaus with blazing colours and dancing animal spirits; Inuit marker-drawn pictures of whales with contemporary community life; wind-swept driftwood-banked beaches on the salty shores of the Pacific by Emily Carr; Tom Thomson’s red-painted pines; and iconic works by the Group of Seven. The art still resonates decades later!
Speaking of art in Canada, ArtBridges/ToileDesArts just celebrated its fourth birthday on Tuesday and all of the work that we highlight here is about arts in communities across the Canada. ArtBridges/ToileDesArts is truly “made in Canada,” by the sum of its parts.
Children and youth, like my daughter’s friend, who are participating in all of these amazing and accessible community-engaged arts activities that we hear about may very well be renowned Canadian artists in years to come. All of the arts opportunities that are being provided across our diverse and vast country may truly be the inspiration and paving the way for children.
While back in ArtBridges/ToileDesArts’ small bright office with a big map of Canada plastered on the wall, I love that we are hearing about art being made in communities and arts for social change in Canada every day. I love the diversity that our land and people bring. I love that ArtBridges/ToileDesArts is made in Canada and celebrates the arts happening in Canadian communities. Thanks for viewing, contributing, supporting or participating. Cheers!
Do you have a story about community-engaged arts with a Canadian feel or in the context of being Canadian—whatever that means to you ? Please write to us or give us a call at 1-877-278-3002(toll-free) or 691-7777.”
-Seanna Connell, ArtBridges/ToileDesArts
