Raising Artists is an art program designed for children and parents held in SKETCH at Artscape Youngplace and the Centre for Social Innovation (Regent Park) at Daniels Spectrum. We spoke with CEO and founder, Alessandra Moretti, to learn more about how Raising Artists nurtures creativity, imagination and self-expression.
Ashley McKenzie-Barnes is our new Interim Curator at Daniels Spectrum, and we’d like to offer her a warm welcome!
Ashley comes to us from The Remix Project as the Creative Arts Program Leader, and Manifesto as the Visual Art Director for the annual Manifesto Festival of Community & Culture. She’s also a practiced graphic designer with tons of experience under her belt. But her portfolio doesn’t stop there; she’s also a volunteer director of CARFAC (Canadian Artists Representation).
Ashley will be working part-time at Daniels Spectrum for the next few months, focusing her efforts on the upcoming Black History Month exhibition (save the date: opening night is Feb 4!), the Feminist Art Conference exhibit and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
It was our great pleasure this morning to send out on behalf of an outstanding creative team the press release for Spectrum of Hope, a new video released today that represents a musical collaboration between Mustafa the Poet and Thompson Egbo-Egbo. A gift “by Regent Park, for Regent Park” is how the inspiring team of seven young people who worked on the video with Twice Upon a Time studio described the project, which was supported by the Thompson T. Egbo-Egbo Arts Foundation. We encourage you to watch this powerful and uplifting video immediately, and watch it often. Enjoy!
The Ada Slaight Youth Arts Mentorship Program is holding its 2nd annual collaborative showcase and exhibition at Daniels Spectrum on Wednesday, September 10 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. H.E.A.R.T. (Hungry Eager Artists Rise Together) will showcase a variety of art forms including spoken word, singing, dance, visual art, graphic design, photography and mixed-media art from a lineup of 13 young, emerging artists from Regent Park and area.
The entire community is invited to this free event. Come celebrate the talent in Regent Park and the achievements of our youth participants Jae Legit, Simba Wetu, Rafi Abdur, Sarah Meng, Isaac Mbikay, Mandeq Hassan, I-Selah, Nadia, Ahmed Barud, Raima Chakraborty, Vincentia Amoko, Tristan Reid and Khari Richards. In the last six months, these young artists worked with some of the best artists in the city including D’Bi Young, Mayklee Todd and Rich Kidd, as well as talented mentors from their chosen artistic fields, and now they are presenting their work and artistic growth to the world.
Last year’s showcase and exhibition of the Ada Slaight Youth Arts Mentorship Program was held outdoors as part of the annual Sunday in the Park festival, and drew crowds eager to see the rich young talent of the neighbourhood. This year’s event, hosted inside Daniels Spectrum, includes performances and artworks—plus a special surprise—“by Regent Park, for Regent Park.”