After 15 years stellar years at Art Starts and 7 years expertly leading our artistic programming, Katherine Earl is stepping down from her role as Program Director. Katherine leaves big shoes to fill. She began working at Art Starts in 2000 as a summer intern and continued on in the roles of Program Assistant, Program Coordinator, Program Manager and eventually, Program Director.

Two of the first projects Katherine worked on with Art Starts are the Community Totem, a millennium project in Cy Townsend park at Vaughan and Winona, and the Syme-Woolner Mosaic near Jane and St.Clair. Both of those community-engaged public art projects remain standing today, a testament to the timelessness and longstanding impact of Katherine’s work .

One of Katherine’s fondest Art Starts memories is the collaborative work she did with a group of inspired Glendower youth to create the One World Glendower music program. “This was the first time we created an initiative in project development, rather than arts programming” she recalled. It was a huge success from start to finish. “After spending weeks of doing research, project design and grant writing, having the opportunity to tell youth that they got $40,000 in funding was a pretty fun experience.”

Katherine’s legacy at Art Starts is huge. She has created countless art projects and programs in collaboration with residents of all ages in neighbourhoods across Toronto. Her initiatives have inspired thousands of people to get involved in their communities by coming together to paint, sing, dance, sculpt; to put forth their best creative energy in the name of building inclusive, stronger and more vibrant neighbourhoods. Katherine’s energy, commitment and vision will be greatly missed! We wish her the very best as she moves on to the next chapter in her life!

Stay tuned for an introduction to our incoming Program Director in our November e-newsletter.

William Lazos captures everyday life with his photorealistic style of painting, using acrylic paints on canvas and other media. With over 300 murals under his brush, he has travelled Canada extensively to paint his murals. William Lazos is represented by galleries in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, & London, England.

Carlos Delgado is a multi-faceted artist who works in diverse styles and mediums. A highly sought after live painter, Carlos has painted live at various private and corporate events including, Pan Am and a CIBC Opening Party Reception. As a muralist and public artist Carlos has been commissioned to design and create murals for various communities and businesses in Toronto, Hamilton and Colombia as well public art for Pan Am Path in Toronto. Carlos is also the founder of the In Our Shoes Youth and Sneaker Entrepreneurship Program.

Poonam Sharma is a contemporary folk artist . Through her art, she blends different folk & tribal arts on a single canvas unifying them through the medium of vivid colors. Poonam received a grant from Art Starts and the Toronto Arts Council earlier this year for a community arts project called Mirror Me that took place in St.Jamestown. She was recipient of BMO Seeds Fund Award from the Neighbourhood Art Network, and was the lead artist on the 'Neighbourhood of Nations" Mural Project, funded by the Toronto Arts Council in 2015. Her MirrorMe project was recently featured on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. 

Photos by Amiga Taylor
 

Since its kick-off October 7th, the Sneaker’s Corner program has brought creativity, awesomeness and tons of fun to young residents of Glendower. Each participant received a pair of high top sneakers to paint under the guidance of Carlos Delgado. Hey! Wait a second? Are we talking about the baseball player? No, we are talking about the Colombian artist, muralist and live painter who was recently a finalist for the TELUS Newcomer Artist award and who has delivered similar programs in the past in other communities in Toronto and Colombia. Art Starts participants will portray their own visions of their neighborhood and our vibrant city on their shoes. We can’t wait for the sneakers to be exhibited at the Art Starts Annual Final Event on December 11th! If you would like to meet Carlos Delgado, join us in our annual fundraiser event next week. Delgado will be one of the artist in our live art challenge!

 

The 2015 Emergence Symposium “Arts & Equity: Leading Social Change” will convene 200 artists, cultural workers, community leaders, academics, youth and policy makers to answer some of these important questions surrounding equity, diversity and inclusiveness in a facilitated three day conference experience that will create space for critical dialogue, leadership development, creative self-reflection, mentorship and cross sector collaborations.

 

Hosted by Neighbourhood Arts Network & SKETCH

In partnership with AVNU, Arts Starts and North York Arts

 

Arts and creativity play an important role in neighbourhoods; we need cultural spaces not just downtown but all across the GTA. The Creative Spaces Outside the Core inter-agency Partnership presents year two of the Creative Spaces Partnership Exchange, a FREE one-day event dedicated to networking and discussion on expanding the city's creative map.

DISCOVER

Meet 60+ exciting and new spaces, programs and resources for city-building innovators

EXCHANGE

Share knowledge and ideas, learn from expert speakers, participate in workshops and lightning talks

BUILD

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