Nagata Shachu performs and teaches a taiko workshop in Flemingdon Park, by Tania Fitzpatrick (2018)
According to Coleman Canada’s 2017 Outdoor Report, nearly two-thirds of Canadians (64%) enjoy the open-air less than two hours per week, despite nearly all respondents acknowledging that being outdoors has many health benefits including enhancing overall well-being (98%) and reducing stress (95%). In addition to missing out on these benefits, those who don’t spend time in parks miss out on numerous community activities offered outside.
Artists who have participated in the program have embraced the challenges of finding new ways to draw audiences in. Some approach the work as a form of conversation, seeing attendees not as passive spectators but active creators. For example, some projects invite attendees to learn drumming techniques or help assemble a mural or participate in a processional theatre production.
Attracting residents to the park can be greatly improved by the support and on-the-ground knowledge of community organizers. These groups help spread the word in the community which helps bring out the audience. In return, the program helps local organizers to begin to see new possibilities for their local parks and envision more arts activities in their area.
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ARTS IN THE PARKS NUMBERS
Community Organizers
In 2018, 19 community organizers contributed their time and resources to support Arts in the Parks and help the Foundation better engage with local communities; those who responded to our survey told us:
- 75% of community organizers feel inspired to do more in their parks after being part of an Arts in the Parks event
- 67% of community organizers agree Arts in the Parks changed their perspective on possibilities for their parks
- 67% of community organizers agree Arts in the Parks provides them with skills and knowledge to continue animating their parks with arts
- Arts in the Parks Evaluation Report 2018
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An example of a group that has helped promote Arts in the Parks is Flemingdon Community Support Services, located in a highly diverse neighbourhood in Toronto’s North York populated by a number of tower communities. As part of the interwoven web of neighbourhood connections that address the needs of the many newcomer communities that call Flemingdon Park home, FCSS has interesting thoughts to offer on community engagement. FCSS Chair, Nawal Ateeq, proposes re-thinking the idea of outreach because it presumes an “insider” group that’s trying to reach people who are “outsiders”. Instead, it’s important “to consider everyone in your community (and beyond) to be ‘insiders’ -- they just may not know it yet.”1
“I hope there will be more arts events in this park. This brought the community together.”
- Attendee in Bob Hunter Park, 2018
1Park People, Effective outreach means turning outreach ‘inside out’, 2018