By Jonathan Vallely.
In 2013 I received a Platform A internship grant to formalize my work at Making Room Community Arts, a Jumblies offshoot in residence at PARC. I had already been showing up to Making Room and helping out with workshop support as a guest and volunteer. As I became more involved in the planning and behind-the-scenes work of Making Room, a role seemed to be developing for me.
The financial support absolutely allowed me to commit to the work I was doing with Making Room, particularly as I began to take the lead as a book designer. Indeed, the Platform A internship grant allowed me to collaborate with my mentors at Making Room to develop a set of expectations for the work I was doing, which at once allowed me to focus on the work that I felt excited and confident about while getting to the inner-workings of a community arts group more intimately.
By the end of my term as a Platform A intern, not only had Making Room made a place for me, but I had been able to make space in my life and artistic practice for Making Room. Platform A provided me with the support I needed to launch into a community arts practice in a concerted way, and since receiving the grant, I have taken on responsibilities and projects I never expected to. Less than a year after becoming involved with Platform A, I am a lead artist with Making Room and increasingly involved with other community arts projects around Toronto. I am looking forward to possibly applying for a Platform A micro-grant, having become more practiced in collaborative art-making since beginning my tenure at Making Room. I’m exceedingly grateful to Platform A and the support and preparation this opportunity has provided me.
Platform A 