AFCY: Basement Apartment Films

Basement Apartment is a collective of 5 emerging filmmakers from priority areas of Toronto. In weekly meetings, the members of the Basement Apartment shared resources and developed skills through workshops, targeted mentorship, and group work. Their goal is to apply these skills towards the promotion, production and distribution of a short film, which will be created with additional crew members and mentors from the community.

 

 

Through their combined network of contacts, they were able to reach out to many marginalized independent filmmakers that were happy to work on their film for the learning experience.

 

 

 

 

 

The participants outside the Basement Apartments collective are:

4 Actors

3 Camera Department

2 Sound Department

2 Production Assistants

1 Art Department

1 Set Photographer

for a complete production of 18 people.

After a workshop where they learned how to write character breakdowns and put up listings for actors, Basement Apartment Films was thrilled to receive an astonishing 297 applications for their film. This posed to be quite the challenge considering they only had spots for four actors, but they were able to pull it off!

 

 

 

 

“The biggest lesson we’ve learned is how to adapt to changing circumstances and limited resources – to be able to change as circumstances change, let go of preconceptions and see potential instead of disappointment. That will help us in any and every aspect of film-making in the future.” – Anthony Swan

We can’t wait to see the end result!

Art Starts Bridging Initiative Profile

A SHOOTING, A PLAY, AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND THE ART STARTS WAY

The Bridging component of Platform A specifically aims to galvanize connections between under-resourced neighborhoods and well-established arts companies and institutions. At Art Starts we are committed to bridging the gap between communities and professional artists, blurring the lines between “high” art and community-engaged art practices – always building two-way roads. We aim to facilitate artistic collaborations and artist/community pairings in the neighbourhoods we have been working with for years. The Bridge initiatives will take various forms such as partnering with professional companies to perform and facilitate creative workshops in a local basketball court, a TCH communal room or maybe even the local laundromats, to field trips to galleries, theatres, or the symphony – anything is possible! These events will always include a spaces for direct, hands-on interaction between the artists and the audience/community. The intention is to engage diverse and under-represented communities in creating new opportunities and increasing access to arts experiences in innovative and collaborative ways that will both increase audience and membership as well as benefit communities directly. One of the Art Starts bridging initiatives is showcased in Living Toronto Journals’ special issue exploring the theme of BRIDGES.

Read more about our Art Starts Lawrence Heights community’s visit to the Tarragon Theatre in the Fall of 2013

http://livingtorontojournal.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/a-shooting-a-play-an-effort-to-understand/

Art Starts Microgrant Recipient Profile

A PARKDALE SPACE FOR YOUNG WRITERS, ARTISTS AND DREAMERS

The Toronto WordSmiths received a Platform A – Art Starts microgrant and were able to create a free weekly meeting space for youth ages 16 to 29 to come together as a writing community. Working out of the Parkdale Library, the Toronto WordSmiths are committed to creative expression and collective learning. The main focus for this youth-led initiative is to create artistic opportunities within and outside of their community. The group’s commitment to fostering growth and authentic representation is inspiring for all of us who work in the community-engaged arts field.

Based in Paolo Freire’s important work, the Toronto Wordsmiths wanted to create a space where all youth are active agents of their own growth. They recognize the individuality of each person’s experience and moreover the value of each of those stories. The collective aims to create their own opportunities within and through their own community.

What does that look like? In one Wordsmtihs, Jess’ own words: “ On a weekly basis, as a collective, we choose different literary techniques to explore and apply them to a chosen theme – always as a collective. As of late we have been focusing on the creation of the first Toronto WordSmiths zine. We have been taking the work that we have produced since November and putting these pieces through a group editing process. We were also very lucky to have the dub/spoken word poet, Lillian Allen come in with her class from OCAD and do a workshop with us. The workshop was focused on spoken word. It was a very intense session, we wrote tons and learned so much! Recently we also had Lori May come in, who is accomplished on many fronts (novelist/poet/creative non-fiction/mentor). She shared with us some much appreciated wisdom about the literary world, how to network/make connections, etiquette, which publications we should seek out to be published in as youth, what to look for in a mentor”

Growing out of the group called the Toronto Street Writers, the Wordsmiths needed some seed funding and basic resources to make their huge ambition translate to weekly meet ups, where youth would feel comfortable to start connecting and sharing their stories. Each week the collective made up of approximately eight to ten youth approach their work in a holistic way (from stretching to healthy snacks) based in a strong anti-oppression framework. From there each session is built around writing prompts and weekly themes. Jess says: “The Art Starts grant has helped us greatly in our ability to have guests come in to Toronto WordSmiths, without the grant this would not be possible. The grant is also vital to us in producing our zine, otherwise we would have been extremely limited in our ability to fund it. Although it is simple, the grant has helped us to provide food for our members and writing supplies – these two things are also necessary to Toronto Wordsmiths.”

Ultimately, as any collective knows, there is strength in numbers – and the more Toronto Wordsmiths are able to meet and connect, with the space and resources to share their stories, the richer we all are.

JUMBLIES: The Accordion Book Project

By Tamar Swartz

To receive a Platform A Micro Grant from Jumblies via the Toronto Arts Council opened the doors of possibility for expanding the Intuitive Art workshops that I facilitate.

First things first, what is Intuitive Art?  Intuitive Art is an approach to creating visual art. While many traditional art classes focus on acquiring specific skills and techniques, Intuitive Art focuses on the actual process of creating art, while being present in the moment.

Guided by intuition, these workshops are a space for participants to unleash their inner artist, experiment with different materials and most importantly, to have fun! My guiding philosophy is that regardless of background or experience, everyone is an artist.

Each Intuitive Art workshop begins with a short guided visualization, to encourage participants to find their own starting point. One might be inspired by a word or quote, a colour or feeling. From there, we work spontaneously to explore colours, textures and designs with all the art materials provided. At the end we reflect on the process of creating our pieces, sharing with the group.

So, with the Platform A Micro Grant, the intention to share Intuitive Art with a group of seniors, and a whole lot of optimism and excitement, I set off to clarify my project. With the guidance of my mentor Michael Burtt, my idea was to run a series of three Intuitive Art workshops, hosted at two different senior homes.  In the past have really enjoyed working with seniors, as I find their gentle presence and perspective to be full and inspiring.

The Accordion Book Project, that would unfold over the course of three workshops, was to create a mixed media accordion book.  I love book making and the format of the accordion book lends itself wonderfully to the exploration of visual narrative landscapes.

Providing all the art materials needed – from oil pastels, to magazines, texture mats, fine papers, markers, glitter and coffee, I facilitated a lovely group of 6 residents from Kensington Gardens. Beginning with a meaningful theme, over the course of three weeks we created together and allowed our intuitive books to emerge.  There was a lot of creative focus and inspiration, sharing and excitement! On the final day, once the books were assembled and completed, we shared our creations with one another.

Facilitating Intuitive Art workshops at Kensington Gardens was truly a fantastic experience, as I continue to learn about creative facilitation, gentle encouragement and finding flexibility within the project to make it accessible for all participants.  The highlight of the whole experience was learning each participant’s name and developing relationships over the course of three weeks. To be able to support participants in trusting themselves and following their own creative intuition was hugely fulfilling for me.  Overall, the Accordion Book Project at Kensington Gardens was a great success.

I’m deeply grateful for all of the participants who attended the Intuitive Art workshops, for Kensington Gardens for hosting the project, for Michael’s mentorship and for Jumblies and the Platform A Micro Grant for making it all possible.

I’m excited to continue facilitating Intuitive Art workshops in the future and am always looking for new ways to reach out and bring colour, creativity and inspiration to others.

About Tamar: www.tamarswartz.com
Intuitive Art workshops for adults:  http://www.meetup.com/Intuitive-Art-Toronto/

Sneak Peek at CUE’s Micro-Grant Recipients

AFCY’s Camelle Davidson: Visual Expression

Camelle has so far conducted 8 workshops with 14 participants, which has exceeded her expectations. Community members have been actively involved and eager to participate.

When asked about anything positive or unexpected happening, Camelle answered:

“There were many positive things. This project allowed the parents of the participants to see firsthand how their children viewed their surrounding through art…The older youth have become more out spoken and have learned to express themselves through their art.”

“A few of my senior participants told me that this program has done a lot for them personally and mentally. They find it to be relaxing and very therapeutic. It has allowed them to be more socially active with the younger generation.”

“Platform A has allowed me to accomplish one of my many goals by giving me the funding to run an art-based workshop which I am very passionate about.”

Keep up the amazing work Camelle!!

 

Art Starts Microgrant Recipient Profile: Ananna Rafa

Eco-Activism Art Project Upcycles Pop Bottles Into Planters

Ananna Rafa is just in grade 11 but she isn’t – and will never be “just” anything. A wonderfully bright, creative and motivated young person living in the vibrant and diverse Thorncliffe neighbourhood, she is one of the nine talented Art Starts microgrant recipients. Ananna is a visual artist of Bengali descent, who works in a variety of media. She came to Canada three years ago and has since been using her artistic abilities to explore and express her views about the world while continuing to engage with her community through public art projects.

Ananna noticed that in Thorncliffe and Flemingdon there exists a serious litter problem and this is a huge factor in reducing the sense of community pride according to other youth Ananna spoke with. Ananna was compelled to take the lead and be a force of change in her community. With the support of a few friends: Gloria Zhou, Maria Kashif, Idris Ali and Khadija Aziz,  Ananna started rallying support from other students, the staff and faculty in preparation for this awesome project.

The project will see the construction of a green wall, a living sculpture, made up of  up-cycled pop bottles transformed into planters, with plants that will grow year-round. “In doing the project we hope to share a message about how what may appear to be trash can actually be repurposed into something beautiful” Ananna says. The Pop Bottle Planter project hits all the marks with its collaborative, artistic, environmentally minded and conscious approach.

In Ananna’s words: “I think this project would have a tremendous impact on the people who live around Thorncliffe and Flemingdon . It will not only send the message of ending littering and promote recycling, but it will also teach the younger generation about upcycling and DIY culture. It will also introduce the concept of urban farming and the benefits of having plants in an urban environment. When asked about the benefits of the program this was the response from the youth that are running this project, it will allow us to learn about hydroponics, how to maintain and look after plants but also managing grants, money, advertising and ultimately how to successfully lead a large scale art project. This project is just a beginning to all the plans we have to improve and beautify our community. We are very thankful for this micro-grant, which allows the youth of Thorncliffe and Flemingdon to come together to improve our environment and advocate for the problems facing our community.”

And we are very thankful for you, Ananna!