Artists and organizations

The African Circus

The African Circus the African Circus is a renowned entertainment collective that has been mesmerizing audiences worldwide with their unique blend of traditional African dance, circus arts, and contemporary flair. With a decade of international touring experience, this talented troupe has established itself as a premier cultural ambassador of African performing arts. Founded in 2019, The African Circus began its journey in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where its founding members, a group of passionate circus artists and dancers, shared a vision of showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Africa to global audiences. Global Performances* Over the past 10 years, The African Circus has performed in numerous countries across the globe, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Their shows have been met with critical acclaim and standing ovations, solidifying their reputation as one of the most exciting and innovative circus troupes to emerge from the African continent. Ethiopian Dance and Circus Show Since 2021, The African Circus has been producing a spectacular show that seamlessly blends traditional and contemporary styles of circus and dance.

The Bentway

The Bentway works to ignite the urban imagination, using the city as site, subject, and canvas.

Anchored under Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway and guiding its complex future, The Bentway is a growing public space, and much more. We are a new type of civic organization: a not-for-profit, powered by vital partnerships with the City of Toronto, residents, supporters, artists, city-builders, and dreamers. The Bentway is a creative catalyst rooted in experimentation, leading a creative movement to re-imagine the opportunities of urban spaces.

Braeburn Neighbourhood Place in partnership with Arts Etobicoke

Braeburn Neighbourhood Place Incorporated is a leading community organization committed to providing services that support clients to discover, develop and reach their personal best. The agency is a grassroots organization that was started more than 40 years ago by community residents and partners. We purpose to provide services in a safe, positive and supportive environment. Braeburn believes that each young person in our programs has the potential to positively influence their schools, neighbourhoods, cities and country.

Braeburn operates in the Rexdale community in Toronto serving over three thousand young people each year through Braeburn Boys and Girls Club, Braeburn EarlyON Child and Family Centre and Braeburn Daycare Centre. All programs are staffed by caring, adult professionals skilled in their specific areas of work.

Arts Etobicoke is a community arts organization with over five decades of experience bringing people together in community-led arts and cultural celebration events, arts education classes, and public art projects. We foster artistic communities and empower individuals to enrich and transform their lives through arts and culture

Crossroads Theatre

Crossroads Theatre presents relevant and accessible theatre and arts education in northwest Toronto, and offers growth opportunities for early career artists and technicians. We believe that a crossroad is more than a place; it’s a moment of possibility. It’s an open invitation to collaborate and shape the next generation of storytellers and listeners. We want to build a future where the arts belong to everyone.

Dance Migration

Dance Migration, founded in 2007 by Adrianna Yanuziello, is a dance company and school based in Toronto, Canada. Focusing on Brazilian dance and samba. Dance Migration educates students on the history and spiritual connections of the dances from Brazil. Dm has performed for numerous festivals within Canada as well as presented their own theatre productions across Europe, South America and the USA.

Dance Together Festival

The Dance Together Festival transforms public spaces and celebrates community through diverse and inclusive dance workshops, vibrant visual art and live music. Co-produced by a creative team of local dance and visual artists, the festival offers free workshops and events that centre on positive and accessible dance experiences. Open to all ages, levels and abilities.

Described Toronto

Described Toronto is an arts collective that was formed for the purpose of creating audio experiences of urban and natural environments from a Blind-led perspective. Its members came together out of a shared interest in taking action about climate change through storytelling and creative experimentation.

Dusk Dances

Dusk Dances is an outdoor dance festival that brings dance to public parks. As dusk descends, a theatrical host leads the audience to an array of unique dance pieces that unfold in different areas of the park.

Choreographers are invited to create ten-minute pieces inspired by the park’s natural environment. Audiences are invited on a pay-what-you-can basis to an innovative site-specific festival, which is not only an artistic event but a social and cultural one as well.

Echo Railton & Monica Gutierrez

Echo Railton and Monica Gutierrez are Toronto based artists. Community building is at the core of their work. They’ve worked together to animate toronto ravines and to restore a pedestrian pathway from an area that was mowed to a lively butterflyway. Echo’s work is primarily drawing, watercolour, and performance/installation when working with her teams. Monica’s work is has focused on public art like interactive installations, mural-making and video and documentary filmmaking.

EmotionArt

EmotionArt is an art collective driven by the belief that emotions are at the core of human expression and creativity. We create inclusive art programs that provide a space where all emotions are valued and serve as powerful drivers of personal growth and community connection. The name “EmotionArt” reflects our mission to help individuals tap into their emotional experiences, create meaningful art, and build stronger communities. We are committed to reaching those who face barriers—such as income or social inequities—ensuring everyone has access to the transformative power of artistic expression.

Ensemble Jeng Yi

Ensemble Jeng Yi is a Korean performing arts ensemble, specializing in traditional drumming. Since their formation in 1998, the group has entertained audiences with their exciting repertoire of original compositions and traditional pieces.

Building upon the conventions of Korean performing arts, Ensemble Jeng Yi has created a variety of innovative productions including intimate music recitals, site-specific works, interactive performances for young audiences, and ambitious multi-disciplinary productions.

Having enjoyed much public support in our twenty-five years, Ensemble Jeng Yi wishes to give back to the community by providing opportunities for people to learn Korean drumming and to perform in a large community drum group called the Ironflower Drummers.

Fraser Collins & The Tweetations

Fraser Collins is an award-winning filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist. His art is marked by a sensitivity to identity and culture, embracing fantasy, whimsy, and a shared nostalgia to unite people across boundaries. His debut short film, The Tweetations Revue, has won numerous awards across North America, including Emerging Filmmaker, Best Director, and Best Musical. 

The Tweetations takes audiences on a fantastic voyage that celebrates the connection between Black music, nature, and our most glamorous, unusual, and iconic friends: birds. Through performance, music, dance, workshops, and mentorship—led by a collective of talented artists—The Tweetations aims to inspire a deeper engagement with the natural world, fostering empathy and understanding across species and cultures.

GhanaFest

Ghanafest Toronto is the city’s premier festival celebrating Ghanaian culture, heritage, and community engagement. As a grassroots initiative that has grown into a widely recognized event, GhanaFest brings together people of all backgrounds to experience the vibrancy of Ghana through music, dance, food, fashion, and art. What started as a small cultural gathering has evolved into a large-scale festival that highlights the rich traditions of Ghana while showcasing the contributions of the Ghanaian-Canadian community. With live performances, a bustling marketplace, interactive exhibits, and family-friendly activities, GhanaFest provides an immersive experience that connects generations and cultures. Beyond the festival, GhanaFest serves as a platform for cultural education, entrepreneurship, and community building. It creates opportunities for artists, businesses, and community leaders to engage with the public while preserving and promoting Ghanaian heritage in Canada. For over a decade, GhanaFest Toronto has been a beacon of cultural pride and unity, bringing the spirit of Ghana to the heart of the city. Join us as we continue to grow, celebrate, and inspire through culture, tradition, and community

Goldfarb Gallery of York University

The Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery of York University is a socially minded not-for-profit contemporary art gallery that is a space for the creation and appreciation of art and culture. It is a supported Unit of York University within the President’s Division. We are externally funded as a public art gallery through the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, local and international foundations, embassies, and our membership who support all of our programs.

Guild Festival Theatre

Guild Festival Theatre is Scarborough’s only professional theatre company. Since 2011, tens of thousands of patrons have been enchanted by GFT’s contemporary takes on theatre classics at the iconic Greek Theatre in Guild Park & Gardens. Presenting plays, concerts, and special events throughout July and August, GFT is committed to expanding the conventional definition of theatre classics by highlighting stories and artists that reflect the diverse, multicultural community that we call home. GFT is proud to champion local arts and culture and has been honoured with numerous awards and commendations including “Best Live Theatre” (Scarborough Mirror), 2017 OAC Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (nomination), the Urban Hero Award (Metroland Media), the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award, the King Charles III Coronation Medal, and 2 Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

Harbourfront Centre

Harbourfront Centre is Canada’s community waterfront, home of arts, culture and education, and a registered, charitable not-for-profit cultural organization operating a 10-acre campus on Toronto’s central waterfront.

Harbourfront Centre provides year-round programming 52 weeks a year, seven days a week, supporting a wide range of artists and communities. We inspire audiences and visitors with a breadth of bold, ambitious and engaging experiences. We champion Canadian artists throughout their careers, presenting them alongside international artists and fostering artistic exchanges between disciplines and cultures. 

Hercinia Arts Collective

Hercinia Arts Collective is a performance company specializing in the collective creation of new contemporary circus through a multidisciplinary lens. We use circus arts as a physical language to explore stories and themes through human spectacle, whimsy and play. Our mission to provide financially and locationally accessible circus has led us to creating for street, festivals, parks and public space. Since 2018 we’ve presented our shows Birds of Flight, The Stupendous Silver Sisters, The Flying Machine, HASA: The Aerial Space Show, Construction Guys and The Enchanted Forest through the Arts in the Parks and Animating Toronto Parks program. We are thrilled to be bringing a new version of one of our oldest original creations to Flagstaff Park in 2024.

Heritage Skills Development Centre

Afro-Carib Fest is hosted by Heritage Skills Development Centre (HSDC), a non-profit organization established in 1993 to promote the health, social, cultural and economic self-sufficiency of newcomers, low-income, at-risk individuals and members of other marginalized groups. HSDC started the Afro-Carib Festival (ACF) in 2011 to foster unity, promote cultural diversity, provide a platform for local artists and performers from African and Caribbean backgrounds to showcase their talents, and bring together various people from across Ontario to celebrate the arts, culture, and diversity in Scarborough. Additionally, through our community celebration festivals, we have helped increase awareness of arts, culture, and diversity in Ontario – and fostered the self-sufficiency of local artists to enable them to contribute to the Canadian Economy.

Ismailova Theatre of Dance

Ismailova Theatre of Dance is a pioneering physical theatre company that blends theatre and dance to convey heartfelt emotions, tell the stories of minorities and women, and present compelling characters through movement. Our narrative-driven work is dedicated to infusing dance with meaning, and creating an immersive experience for our audiences. Since its founding in 2010 by Merey Ismailova, an immigrant physical theatre artist, dancer and choreographer from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Ismailova Theatre of Dance has produced numerous sold-out shows that have received rave reviews. Our company has been honored with the RBC Bank Newcomer Artist Award in both 2015 and 2016, and was recognized as a Featured Artist of the Month by Snap’d North Toronto Magazine in 2016. In 2024 our Artistic Director received the Honorable Mention of the Grow North Awards by the North York Arts.

Kaeja d’Dance

The creative forces behind Kaeja d’Dance for over 35 years, Karen and Allen Kaeja’s passion to create projects that break boundaries and the mold of traditional contemporary dance have led the organization to a place of constant discovery and adaptation. Together they are a true tour de force and have collaborated with hundreds of artists and presenters.

Together, Karen and Allen received the Dance Ontario Lifetime Achievement Award and were Finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation 2020 Celebration of Cultural Life Award and Eldred Family Dance Award 2023, and twice nominated for NOW’s Best Dance Company.

Labyrinth Ontario

Labyrinth Ontario was started as a not-for-profit in 2017. Since then we have programmed concerts, organized workshops, and shared video of modal music traditions in the Greater Toronto Area.

Inspired by and in communication with the Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Crete and other Labyrinth groups, we work to connect musicians working in and between distinct traditions with audiences, teachers, and colleagues.

At Labyrinth we:

​-promote the study and enjoyment of the modal music traditions of Central, West, and South Asia, and the Mediterranean.

-provide high-quality training to artists working in these traditions in the GTA and further afield.

-delight, train, and surprise the ears of a growing audience.

-help develop southern Ontario as a global hub for performance and training in these traditions.

Lakeshore Arts

Lakeshore Arts is a not for profit multi-disciplinary community arts organization located in South Etobicoke. Our focus has been to enlighten, engage and educate our community using all forms of art as the catalyst. Our programming consists of workshops and partnerships with performances, and festivals.

Our mandate encourages us to be inclusive and accessible; offering something for any age, skill level and interest. From drop-ins that create leaders and artists of tomorrow, to our storefront Community Project Space which platforms community issues through an arts lens, our initiatives build new skills and connect communities through the arts.

Mammalian Diving Reflex

Based in Toronto, Mammalian Diving Reflex is dedicated to investigating the social sphere, always on the lookout for contradictions to whip into aesthetically scintillating experiences. They create site and social-specific performance events, theatre productions, participatory gallery installations, videos, film, art objects and theoretical texts, collaborating with non-artists to create work that recognizes the social responsibility of art, fosters a dialogue and dismantles barriers between individuals of all ages, cultural, economic and social backgrounds. Mammalian brings people together in new and unusual ways around the world, to create work that is engaging, challenging, and gets people talking, thinking and feeling. They make ideal entertainment for the end of the world.

MillO Dance Projects

MillO Dance Projects (MDP) is a contemporary dance collective based in Toronto, founded by Geanderson Mello and Mio Sakamoto in 2020. MDP’s inspiration for creative works comes from the world we live in; often reflecting upon social matters, our perspective, beliefs, and questions as first generation immigrants in Canada. MDP shares their artistic practice through live performances and dance films. In 2021, MDP launched Nightfall, a screening series dedicated to showcasing innovative films that explore movement.

MDP’s choreography employs Contemporary Partnering and Contact Improvisation; playing with gravity, momentum and impulse. Exploring movement through physical touch and weight sharing is important in our work, because its calculated risk, heightened awareness and spontaneity best allow us to express the complexity of the lived experience.

Over the past 4 years, we have produced 4 dance films and 2 live performances. Their most recent dance film “Lucid Space” was selected as the Finalist at BIPOC film festival in Toronto as well as the Semi-Finalist at Moovy Tanz Film Festival in Germany.

Mikiki

Mikiki is a performance and video artist and queer community health activist of Acadian/Mi’kmaq and Irish descent from Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland, Canada. Mikiki has worked as a high school Sex Educator, a Bathhouse Attendant, Drag Karaoke Hostess, in various capacities in the Gay Men’s Health and HIV response, in Harm Reduction Outreach and HIV testing all over Canada.

Mikiki recently produced a quarter century retrospective festival of their drag performance art by inviting 12 artists to join them in reinterpreting Mikiki’s past performances in August 2023 at The Rooms in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Nagata Shachu Japanese Taiko & Music Group

Taking its name from founder Kiyoshi Nagata and the Japanese word shachu meaning group, Nagata Shachu, has become renowned for its exacting, physically demanding and energetic performances on the taiko. Their playing is the combination of unbounded spirit and passion with the highest levels of musicianship and discipline. Nagata Shachu has the unique distinction of being the only group outside of Japan with the sponsorship of four major Japanese drum manufacturers…a testament to their mastery of the art form. In addition to having recorded six CDs of original music and six DVDs, Nagata Shachu, has produced its own annual concerts focusing on the presentation of new works. For the last five years, Nagata Shachu has produced a three-concert season, featuring collaborations with both local and international artists.

Panoply Theatre Collective

We are Panoply Theatre Collective, a Toronto-based company which adapts and rewrites iconic or “classical” stories to make room for feminist and queer perspectives. For the last six years, we have aimed to challenge what our audiences expect to see when it comes to heightened storytelling in terms of accessibility and inclusion, to invite folks to the table who have traditionally been excluded from enjoying stories deemed “classical.”

Rosalind Zhang & Friends

Toronto-native Rosalind Zhang is a cellist who adapts to her ever-changing surroundings. Raised by a family of musicians, she spent her formative years immersed creatively, having trained in acting, improvisation, movement, visual arts, creativity, and dance. She is a proud graduate of the Claude Watson School for the Arts and Earl Haig Secondary School in North York. She has lived in New York, Germany, and Beijing, and has performed across Canada, US, and China.

Since January 2023 she has been Principal Cellist of the North York Concert Orchestra.

Regent Park Film Festival

Regent Park Film Festival (RPFF) is an award-winning, community-based, non-profit organization, and Toronto’s longest-running, free community film festival. RPFF’s mission is two-fold: to amplify and center marginalized communities and their stories, providing a platform for the work of emerging and established artists, while opening up access to the film and television industry; and to ensure art is free and accessible to everyone, regardless of financial status.

RPFF’s foundational work is in removing barriers: to telling your story and expressing your creativity through a visual medium; to establishing a career in the media industry in front of and behind the scenes; and to experiencing art that can change the way you see yourself and your community.

Founded in 2003 when Regent Park was Canada’s oldest public housing neighbourhood, RPFF has remained true to its mission to make art, creativity, and storytelling accessible to everyone, while bringing attention to the complex of stories of BIPOC communities. While the neighbourhood has evolved and margins are shifting, RPFF works within this dynamism to honour its history and the communities it has collaborated with throughout the years.

Shadowland Theatre

Shadowland creates original theatre that entertains, engages, and inspires people to interact positively with each other and their environments. The company works with communities to animate local stories, create seasonal celebrations, and nurture an appreciation of public and green spaces. Shadowland’s distinctive theatrical vocabulary includes puppetry, mask, stilt-dance, illuminations, spectacle arts, and live music, animating streets, parks and outdoor spaces with vibrant and large-scale images.

Shakespeare in the Ruff

Shakespeare in the Ruff is a collectively run not-for-profit theatre company building a community & a cultural hub in Toronto’s East End. We are in our 14th season presenting reimagined Shakespeare in Withrow Park. Underpinning all of our works the core value of accessibility.

Splash On Earth

Splash on Earth is a diverse collective of eco-artists, storytellers, and community builders committed to making environmental action fun, creative, and inclusive. Led by Ana Cuciureanu, an environmental advocate, the team inspires change through interactive murals made with eco-paint derived from food waste. Their team includes Swathika Anandan, a dynamic visual artist who specializes in engaging young minds; Aerelle Pakingan, a character and still-life illustrator using art to promote environmental awareness; Prisha Bhatia and Lisa Pang, emerging artists passionate about visual storytelling and sustainability. Supported by dedicated event co-leads like Ali Ahmed, and Hetal Jagdish Shah, our team thrives on fostering community connections through public art.

STEPS Public Art

STEPS Public Art is a Canadian charity and social enterprise. We run charitable programs that support artists and foster vibrant and inclusive communities.

Tender Possibilities

Tender Possibilities is a participatory poetry exploration and creative placemaking initiative. We aim to create a meditative environment where individuals can listen and freely express their thoughts and feelings without over-intellectualizing the poems. Each gathering offers a supportive and inclusive cultural experience that creates imaginative space for participants to not only read and be exposed to poetry, but to also locate themselves within the poetry. Through curated theme-inspired poems, participants are encouraged to listen, reflect, and respond, resulting in deeper communal experiences, community building, and exemplifies the enduring resonance of power, people and place.

TOES FOR DANCE

Founded in 2012 by Kristen Carcone and David Norsworthy, TOES FOR DANCE (TFD) is an artist-run non-profit dance organization based in Tkaronto. As of 2024, the organization is now co-led by Chantelle Good and David Norsworthy. Our mission is to share art and connect people through workshops and performances; fostering a community inspired by shared values of curiosity and collaboration. We contribute to the well-being and vibrancy of our society by creating unique and valuable platforms for artistic development, creative process, and public engagement. Our programming spotlights the current, while acknowledging the importance of working within lineage, and with respect to history and context. Our understanding of “current” emerges from the wide range of artists who lead and contribute to our programming; an expansive definition that includes a diversity of practices working in the ever-changing ecology of dance. We prioritize leading with care, vulnerability, and rigour while attending to the needs of our relationships with artists, participants, and audience members.

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) is a local charitable organization dedicated to bringing high quality, diverse, and engaging outdoor film programming to communities across the city. TOPS presents outdoor cinema in many neighbourhoods across Toronto, including Christie Pits Park, Corktown Common and Fort York National Historic Site.

Urbanvessel

Urbanvessel creates new performance works through interdisciplinary collaboration. Rooted in music and sound, the power of the human voice is at the heart of our creative process. Led by Artistic Director Juliet Palmer and drawing upon the diverse talents of our collaborators, Urbanvessel fuses sound, music, text, imagery and movement. Urbanvessel shares knowledge through our educational programmes and community outreach activities.

Wavelength Music

Wavelength Music is a non-profit arts platform that presents concerts, festivals, and conversations about music and city-building in the Toronto area. Established in 2000 by a collective of indie musicians, Wavelength supports emerging and under-recognized artists across diverse genres, curates immersive event experiences, and leads transformative research and development projects.

Willowdale Arts Collective

Willowdale Arts Collective is dedicated to enriching the community by hosting arts and cultural events that bring people together, celebrate diverse creative expressions, and foster meaningful connections. By collaborating with artists, businesses and community organizations, we aim to create a vibrant cultural scene that enhances quality of life while driving local economic growth.