Jumblies/Platform A recipient ensures group is Well Fed

all photos by Katherine Fleitas

 

On Sunday, April 6, twenty two people found their way down a narrow alley in order to respond to an invitation by Jumblies/Platform A recipient Ben Lee to attend to an afternoon of storytelling bringing together the worlds of food and performance. In his invitation, Ben wrote: “Food is very rarely just about sustenance; rather, it is intertwined with rituals, traditions, ceremonies and stories. It is a vehicle for culture that is presently threatened by the convenience of fast food and faster lifestyles.” 

 

Here is the menu of the day with a list of the performers.

 

JUMBLIES: Before and After

Over January and March 2014, Alvis Parsley, a Platform A micro-grant recipient, led a pilot project titled “Before and After: Occupational Change of Migrant Workers in Chinatown” in addition to Platform A and Jumblies Theatre, support came from the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter.

Art Starts Microgrant Recipient Profile

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MAP BRINGS A COMMUNITY TOGETHER

Nicole Little is an emerging artist, and a teacher. When she received the Art Starts microgrant award she was determined to see her interactive map-making project through in a classroom, the kind of community she knows all about.

 

 

The Dynamic Map project is a multi-disciplinary participatory project made with a grade 6 classroom from Lawrence Heights Middle School. Students, community members and professional artists are both makers and subjects in this multi-layered piece. No small endeavor, the Dynamic Map will be created through several group workshops and individual art making sessions. The project will culminate in the completion of a large-scale 3D installation of drawings, paintings and small ceramic pieces.

The intent of the project is to represent the community, in its complexities and many dimensions, from the kids’ perspective. This is a map where the streets and underpasses of Lawrence Heights are not shown to scale from a developer’s lense but rather where the laneways and shortcuts that lead home or to school are highlighted. This map will showcase the wild fauna and flora that exists often overlooked right in the schoolyard and the park. This map will be covered with portraits of community members that are important and have an impact – in the kids lives – that is the people they choose to represent their neighbourhood: their parents, teachers, friends.

This project will impact the artist as much as the community she is working with. In Nicole’s own words: “The microgrant has given me an opportunity to change the scale of my work. I tended to produce small, detailed work which relies on colour and heavy layers of time consuming detail. The map will be large so it is very lucky that some of the detail work is being “outsourced” to an amazing grade 6 class!!” And as any community artist knows, the impact of art projects is always a two-way street. Nicole says: “ The project immediately engages Lawrence Heights Middle School students, and I hope my experience as an artist and as a teacher will enrich the student’s year. A portion of the project involves creating portraits of community members. This has the potential to honour community contributors and to showcase the faces of Lawrence Heights. I am looking forward to meeting new people and hearing their stories”.

The many layers of the dynamic map reflect the complexity and inherent interconnected-ness of every single relationship fostered by living in community, making art in community.

JUMBLIES: Platform A interns at work at Jumblies and its Offshoots

Throughout the winter, nine emerging community artists were supported by Platform A to work with Jumblies Theatre and offshoots in a number of a wide number of projects.

Adrienne Marcus Raja with Adam Vaughan, Ruth Howard and Rosario Marchese  upon receiving the Al Levitt Award during the Jumblies Ground floor opening.

Arber Makri speaks with residents minutes before the Mabelle Parade in February 2014.

Jonathan Valelly and Kristi White serving  fish soup at the Pathway of Life Celebration with Making Room Community Arts.

Faeghan Williams takes part in the PARC cake walk with Making Room.

Jonathan Valelly and Shelly Lahay make accordion books at Making Room Community Arts.

Lisa Bozikovic plays with Anne Lederman during the December 2013 Artfare Essentials.

Miranda Sharp helps make a shopping cart float at a drop-in workshop at MABELLEarts.

Amy Siegal with Ruth Howard and Michael Burtt after receiving her Certificate of Participation in the Jumblies Artfare Essentials Workshop.

 

Adrienne Marcus Raja, Liz Rucker, Miranda Sharp, Pam Snell, Ruth Howard and Faeghan Williams raise a toast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all photos by Katherine Fleitas, Peace Photo and others.