About the Network
Welcome to the Neighbourhood Arts Network – Toronto’s first network dedicated solely to strengthening art-making in neighbourhoods throughout the city.
What is the Neighbourhood Arts Network?
The Neighbourhood Arts Network is an organization which actively works to enhance quality of life through the arts at the neighbourhood level by supporting groups and individuals which provide community-engaged arts programming. The Neighbourhood Arts Network invites artists, arts organizations and community agencies involved in community-engaged art to become members. The website is also an important resource for the general public to find out more about community-engaged art-making in Toronto, across the country and internationally.
What is community-engaged art and why is it important?
The arts are a powerful tool in building and sustaining successful neighbourhoods. Community-engaged art-making is a unique and effective approach to community building that fosters relationships between artists and residents, while producing exciting, unique art, and nurturing mentoring opportunities. The result is a dynamic explosion of creativity that changes how art is made, how communities are built, and how we live together. Creative initiatives are taking place all over Toronto – in parks, apartment buildings, public spaces, libraries, community centres, storefronts and street locations. These locally-rooted projects bring residents and artists together. The result is more vibrant communities – mosaics, murals, theatre, dance, media arts, music recording, storytelling, poetry, painting and photography. The results astound the on-looker while bolstering confidence in participants and pride in place. For more information on community-engaged art, take a look at all the wonderful projects listed on the home page.
How did the Neighbourhood Arts Network come about?
The Network was created from the aspirations of the Toronto Arts Foundation to connect every Toronto neighbourhood with the transformative power of artistic activity, while building capacity for community-engaged artists and organizations. For several years the Foundation and its sister organization, the Toronto Arts Council, have been speaking directly with community-engaged artists and culture workers about their needs and concerns. In 2006 and 2008, Toronto Arts Foundation and the Toronto Arts Council hosted two symposiums to consult with artists about the challenges and rewards of working in communities. (Click here to access the reports on the symposiums). Following the symposium in 2008, a planning team was formed with the mandate to delve deeper into the needs of Toronto’s community-engaged artists, and to find the best way to respond to these concerns. The team conducted 25 in-depth interviews with potential Network members, interviewed leaders of other networks, and met with over 120 individuals at 5 design meetings. These artists sent a clear message: they needed help in raising awareness, accessing information and funds, developing their skills, and connecting with each other. In order to support this vital work, the Toronto Arts Foundation, as part of its Creative City: Block by Block program and in partnership with Art Starts, created the Neighbourhood Arts Network.
Click here to access the reports on the symposiums
What does the Network want to accomplish?
Along with the primary goal of supporting community-engaged artists and organizations through fostering collaboration and communication, providing professional development opportunities and creating resources, the Network will:
- Stimulate and Increase Local Arts Activity by identifying neighbourhoods lacking in arts activity and advocating for increasing arts activities in these neighbourhoods and by advocating for more funding for all community-engaged arts in Toronto,
- Increase Public Awareness by promoting neighbourhood arts projects, locally and throughout the city; advocating for and educating regarding the value of community-engaged art.
To find out more about the Toronto Arts Foundation and the Creative City: Block by Block please visit www.torontoartsfoundation.org
Who are the members of the network?
Members of the Network include individuals and organizations which develop and / or program community-engaged art in Toronto. Anyone interested in revitalizing their neighbourhood through the arts is welcome to use the information available on the website. For more information on the Neighbourhood Arts Network please contact Skye Louis, Network Coordinator, at skye@torontoarts.org.
