“ArtBridging Ontario” Report: September 2011 – April 2012
By Ania Stypulkowski, ArtBridging Ontario Coordinator
“A total of 97 profiles have been posted about Ontario-based community arts initiatives on the ArtBridges/ToileDesArts network since the network started in May 2009. Since starting my p/t position as ArtBridging Ontario Coordinator in September 2011, we have made 45 new community partners based in Ontario. These include community-engaged arts initiatives in inner-city, rural, francophone, northern and indigenous communities.
We collaborated with community arts initiatives and created profiles about organizations, programs, projects and resources that included a range of models and mandates. Some interesting examples were:
- Dixon Hall which offers a range of arts programs from subsidized music classes to a seniors health and wellness program that integrates arts
- North York Community House Digital Storytelling Program works with newcomers and community members from North York and uses storytelling as a way to empower participants and raise awareness about social issues
- ArtsCan circle, based in Newmarket, uses the arts to improve the self-esteem of Indigenous youth
- Sioux Lookout Creative Arts Circle serves artists in Northwestern Ontario, and provides promotion and exhibition opportunities
- Ottawa Inner City Ministries uses art to engage and empower at-risk homeless youth
- SuiteLife Arts for Youth provides the cost of transportation and serves lunch to youth participants so that they can take part in the performing arts workshops
We found community arts initiatives by word of mouth, online searches, and previous research. One contact sometimes led us to the next. The ArtBridges/ToileDesArts network allows information to be spread about the great things that these community- engaged arts programs, projects, organizations, services, and resources do for Ontario communities.
In addition to creating the profiles, we created 37 new posts that served to update the ArtBridges network about goings-on in the field across Ontario and Canada. This was done by asking our community partners to contribute information about their symposiums, toolkits, events, workshops, stories, videos, program updates, announcements and contests. Our community partners also routinely sent us information to share on our Canada-wide network in order to reach out to others. We call this “ArtBridging: Creating networks and collaborations between community arts projects / programs / organizations / resources with the outcome being positive benefits to communities.” When others see value in our network, they too contribute.
I introduced ArtBridges to the Toronto art and music scene and got an article written about ArtBridges/ToileDesArts in Spontaneous Combustion Magazine, which is created and run by recently graduated Ontario Art College of Design University (OCADU) Art and Music students. This was meant to show how ArtBridges can serve emerging artists and those who would like to work or volunteer in community arts in their area.
When contacting new initiatives, I made a serious effort to increase the amount of profiles that we had outside of Toronto. In 2012, we collected more information about Ottawa, and because I spoke to the Arts Council of Windsor I was connected with arts in rural Ontario and in Windsor. I had the pleasure of having a presentation by a Canadian Artists’ Representation/ le Front des artistes Canadians (CARFAC) representative to my thesis class at OCADU and I used the knowledge I learned at the presentation to write a post about CARFAC from my perspective as an art student and an emerging artist.
The instances of “ArtBridging” demonstrate our consistent involvement with the initiatives that we connect with. For example, after having a few phone conversations with the founder of Six Ah Wi and posting a profile about their initiative, the founder asked if we could help him find Board Members. This is the sort of thing we often do.”
– Ania Stypulkowski, ArtBridging Ontario Coordinator
