mural

why we do it

Art can change lives

This is the vision that imbues our goal of promoting creative opportunities for artists, community groups and local residents.

We are not just consumers or students or taxpayers or single parents or small-business owners or new immigrants. We are all part of the community that makes the city of Toronto. With imagination and creativity, we can have an impact.

what if

Here are two real-life examples drawn from URBANARTS programs:

An 18-year-old aspiring actor with no prior training signs up for a free summer theatre camp. After two weeks Y-Arts experience encourages him to pursue a career in theatre.
A group of kids ages 7-14 gather at Y-Arts to make music after school. What if? is a CD written and performed by participants from Weston and produced by musician Randy LeGendre that aired nationally on CBC Radio in 2002.

what if singers

Before 2002, the Weston neighbourhood had no recreational, artistic or community facility. URBANARTS launched Y-Arts storefront community arts centre to initiate artistic programs, art exhibits, technical arts training and education for community members of all ages.

Visual artist Denis Calnan shares this story about an artistic happening initiated at the Y-Arts storefront arts centre in December 2003.

Art Presents a Street Presence

Under the inspiration of community artist Denis Calnan, youth artists Colanthony Humphrey and Khadija Abdullah volunteered to create intricate, evocative painted canvasses that would later be tied to street posts at the corner of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue. These three artists worked out of Y-Arts Storefront community arts centre for two days. Their art pieces were hung onto street poles along the street, tied with Christmas ribbons and a card encouraging passerby's to take one home for Christmas, free of charge. The goal of Street Presence each year is to bring art out of the gallery and onto the street, engaging the public directly. Pedestrians are invited to look at the art and take them if they wished. Thus, the project gave the art a presence on the street, while giving viewers a present to keep! Street Presence is in its second year, and if you'd like to be involved with a Street Presence in the future, please contact Denis Calnan at dencorner@yahoo.ca.