Cultural and Media Arts at FYI is a dynamic program that allows youth 13 – 29 to build their creative skills in a meaningful way. Always focused on creating tangible results, we produce community focused and streetwise material that resonates with youth across the GTA.

The CMA Coordinator also assists youth interested in entering the entertainment industry to assess their strengths and creativity and connect them with key industry individuals.

Youth are empowered through a variety of multi-disciplinary weekly programs that feature monthly workshops in media literacy, graphic design, photography, audio engineering, studio recording, new media, social networking, graffiti, fashion design, visual art, dance and poetry. We believe that self-expression is a key factor in determining success later in life.

Summer programs include:

Victory! – A magazine and new media program focused on developing literacy, graphic design skills community engagement. To download the latest copy of Victory! Magazine, please visit our website at www.victorymagazine.ca . This program runs every Thursday at 4 – 6 p.m.

Graffiti Arts 101 – Individuals will learn the history of Graffiti Arts, from its inception on Egyptian walls to political messaging in South America and Africa, to the streets of the United States. The end product will be a legal mural within the Weston-Mount Dennis Community promoting healthy lifestyles. This program runs every Wednesday from 2 – 6 p.m.

Fresh Fashionz – Creating swag aka confidence and style is the primary focus of this program. Youth will create their own personal “brand” by designing their own logo and adding it to clothing, revamp their current wardrobe, re-vive their old threads, learn how to create their own clothing line, where to get the best deals on clothing and have the opportunity to work alongside current industry players. This program runs every Monday 4 – 5:30 pm.

Fall programs will include:

In Tha Lab 101 – This pilot project aims to create an extensive introduction to the music industry, music recording/ production and how to begin a career as a musical artist. The end result will be a FYI mix tape consisting of songs created by the participants.

Real to Reel – Watching movies and television doesn’t have to be just something to do while you’re bored. At Real To Reel we develop media literacy, critical analysis, historical context and decoding film tricks while expanding participants film repertoire by watching diverse titles such as; Slum Dog Millionaire, Beowulf, I Am Legend and the 4Real series.

Victory! - A magazine and new media program focused on developing writing, editing, time management, and graphic design skills. To see Team Victory! in action, visit our website at www.victorymagazine.ca . This program runs every Thursday at 4 – 6 p.m.