Community Arts Guild, 2023 Finalist
The Community Arts Guild (est. 2012) is an arts and community-building organization in the Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park (KGO) neighbourhood of southeast Scarborough. It builds collaborations between professional artists and people with different levels of artistic skill, experience and confidence, using art as a means to build community.
Learn more about 2023 Community Arts Award finalist Community Arts Guild below.
Describe the work of your organization, and why this work is important.
The Community Arts Guild builds collaborations between professional artists and with different levels of artistic skill, experience, and confidence, using art as a means to build community. We make art to realize creative potential and form new connections and understanding. We do this by: Researching, developing, creating and producing arts projects. Designing activities and projects that respond to the goals, strengths, and interests of collaborating community members, artists, and partners. Sharing skills and developing arts practice among artists and community members through workshops, events, performances and celebrations. Working to dismantle barriers and increase inclusion by providing activities free of cost, going to accessible locations, and providing support such as childcare, food, interpretation, transportation and more. Building and contributing to opportunities for people to come together across diversities through artmaking within our neighbourhood and beyond. Contributing to anti-racism and equity initiatives within our community and the arts through our arts practice, and participating in self-reflection, consultation and critical dialogue. Participating in training and mentorship opportunities and offering placements and employment for learners in community arts. Sharing resources and networks to contribute to a stronger arts ecosystem in Scarborough. Our artwork is often performance-based, and we collaborate across disciplines and traditions, particularly exploring intersections of performance and design. We draw on theatre, puppetry, projection and shadow play, installation (indoors and out), music, dance, culinary and textile arts, photography and film. We have learned that creative placemaking is critical to shaping the social, cultural, and political characteristics of communities. Our work is about creativity and community building, and people are drawn to and return to it over time because it has a myriad of benefits, some immediate others intangible - all of which are essential to building communities where we can thrive. Our work in the community decreases isolation and social division and improves mental health and wellness. It offers people a place to express their vision, and supports them to realize it.
Tell us what it means to be recognized as a Toronto Arts Foundation Award finalist.
We are extremely grateful and honoured to be considered for the Toronto Arts Foundation Award. There is so much incredible work being done in Scarborough to celebrate and honour the myriad of voices and perspectives that shape the arts and cultural life of the borough. We are happy to be one of many groups doing this work, uplifting the voices of Scarborough-based professional artists and people with different levels of artistic skill, experience, and confidence, as well as people of different ages, races, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. Bringing different groups together to express themselves through art and build meaningful connections has been central to what we do, so recognizing our efforts also means recognizing the heart and soul of our work, the incredible participants that infuse our work with beauty and purpose, and propel us to strive toward excellence.