Dear Art Starts
Art Starts has just wrapped up yet another summer inspired by the imaginations of hundreds of kids and youth who participated in our programs and projects across the city. We wanted to share some of that inspiration with you before a new wave of participants wow us throughout the fall season!
Art in XS campers staged a zombie attack play
This past July, campers in our Art-in-XS summer program at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in the Eglinton & Oakwood neighbourhood worked with playwright Kwame Stevens and visual artists Virginia Tran and Kim Dayman to bring to life a story of their own creation. Three weeks of daily artist-led workshops resulted in a fantastical play about a group of zombies who attack a local high school. Parents and friends who came out to the final production reveled in the creativity and playfulness of the children while SNAP North Toronto captured the event in photos
(see them here!) Art Starts has run the annual United Way funded camp for the last 6 years and we look forward to another edition of the camp next July.
Sew What?! created a fashion show that
travels through fashion history
Friends, family and supporters gathered at Art Starts
this past Sunday to witness the debut collection of
Sew What’s?! 12 talented youth grads. The collection, named “As Time Goes By”, each participant had to select two different fashion eras as inspiration for the creation of a day wear garment and an evening wear garment. The results were both an education in the history of fashion and an inspiring glimpse at how young people interpret styles from decades past. The audience was in awe of the talent demonstrated by the
Sew What?! grads, cheering them on as they modeled their garments on the catwalk.
The fashion show wrapped up an intensive 6-week summer program that saw participants taking part in a hands-on exploration of all things fashion from field trips, interactive lectures and discussions to hands-on design and sewing workshops led by industry professionals. By the end of the immersive six weeks, the youth had developed sewing skills and learned how to turn their ideas into wearable garments all the while making important connections in the industry and developing a sense of where their skills might be best utilized in the fashion world.
Stay tuned for news about
Sew What’s new fall initiative which will culminate in our very own one-of-a-kind style craft show, “Rag Bags”, just in time for the holiday season.
Sew What?! is multi-year program for youth funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
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~ our newly designed Art Starter t-shirt
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