“Platform A partner organizations Art Starts, Jumblies Theatre, SKETCH and CUE, and VIBE Arts, are pleased to announce the recipients of new arts grants made possible through City Council’s increase in investment to the Toronto Arts Council. This initiative has for the last three years, put grants of up to $1,000 into the hands of underrepresented, marginalized, and newcomer artists and collectives to develop new projects.
This cycle saw 149 funding submissions to Platform A partner organizations. The successful 77 grant recipients will be working on a diverse range of projects such as creating murals with women’s shelter residents, installing piñatas in public spaces across Scarborough, creating an arts-based writing workshop series to engage black youth who live with various forms of disability/chronic illness, and dozens of individual fine arts projects spanning every artistic discipline. These grants are significant as they represent support for artists who have been historically excluded from conventional arts opportunities, and artists who have not previously been able to access funding for their work. Platform A provides high-access systems for these artists to apply for funding, and the opportunity comes with intensive mentorship throughout the process of developing proposals, producing projects, and connecting with future opportunities after grant period.
“We are happy to be in a position to increase access to arts funding for newcomer and community-based artists through the Platform A initiative,” says Claire Hopkinson, Director and CEO of the Toronto Arts Council. “We extend our warmest congratulations to each of the recipients.”
The following artists received grants through this cycle of the Platform A funding program:
The works of Platform A grant recipients will be featured at a group arts exhibition in the summer of 2016.
Platform A is collaboration between Art Starts, Jumblies Theatre, SKETCH and CUE, and VIBE Arts. These organizations have all emerged from grassroots initiatives to become key community builders in Toronto’s arts sector, engaging thousands of children, young people and adults annually through diverse and accessible programming.
About Partner Organizations:
VIBE Arts
VIBE Arts is an award-winning organization whose mandate is to engage young people living in priority neighbourhoods in high-quality, accessible arts educational programs that are meaningful, relevant and collaboratively developed with community and education partners. VIBE Arts positions arts programs in schools and neighbourhood venues as a means of building community, and empowering marginalized children and youth to reach their full potential as artists and social contributors.
Art Starts
Art Starts is an award-winning charitable, not-for-profit organization that uses the arts as a vehicle to encourage social change in Toronto’s underserved neighbourhoods. Bringing professional artists and communities together to work across all artistic disciplines, Art Starts combines the best practices of hands-on community consultation with a collaborative art- making approach and sound organizational and administrative support.
Jumblies Theatre
In operation for over ten years, Jumblies is an inclusive and community-focused theatre company offering multi-year residencies, studio training, mentorships, and innovative collaborative projects. Jumblies is an award-winning organization increasingly cited as a pioneering and inspirational example of art that embraces and intertwines aesthetics with social engagement.
SKETCH and CUE
SKETCH is a nationally recognized, award-winning community arts enterprise based in Toronto engaging young people living homeless and on the margins, ages 16-29, coming from across Canada. SKETCH creates equitable opportunities for diverse young people to experience the transformative power of the arts, build leadership in the arts and cultivate environmental and social change through the arts.
A collaborative partner of SKETCH, CUE is a radical arts initiative dedicated to supporting new generation artists who live and work on the margins. Since 2008, CUE has disseminated over $250,000 to support the creation of more than 260 art projects.
TORONTO ARTS COUNCIL
Toronto Arts Council, an arm’s length body of the City of Toronto, funds artists and arts organizations across the city through its grants programs. In 2015 Toronto Arts Council reviewed over 2300 grant applications and awarded grants totalling $16 million to 950 individual artists and organizations.
Toronto Arts Council contact: susan@torontoartscouncil.org, 416 392 6802 x 211″
-submitted by Art Starts
See the profiles of Art Starts, VIBE Arts, Jumblies Theatre & SKETCH in ArtBridges’ Community-Engaged Arts Directory and Map
