AFCY Event: 4th Annual BIG BAM BOOM

BIG BAM BOOM! Is here again!

AFCY’s Youth BIG BAM BOOM Volunteer Committee is taking charge in producing and organizing our 4th Annual BIG BAM BOOM! Youth Arts Festival. The festival will take place on June 9 and 10, 2012 at the Harbourfront Centre.
What is new and very exciting this year is that part of the festival will extend for another five days!  Many artworks from the festival will be showcased at the Wychwood Barns Community Gallery from June 11-15, 2012.

BIG BAM BOOM! Youth Arts Festival, AFCY’s signature annual event, presents an inspiring array of youth performances that span from Aboriginal hoop dancing to beatboxing, with a healthy dose of hip hop in between. It also offers a stunning display of visual artwork that was made by our youth participants throughout the year at AFCY’s award-winning Outreach Program. The exhibition will feature a collection of videos, large-scale murals, hand-made African drums and masks – just to name a few.

The full art exhibit will be featured on June 9 & 10 at Harbourfront’s Marilyn Brewer Community Space and then from June 11 – 15, selected works will be showcased at the Wychwood Barns Community Gallery. The stage performances will take place on the Harbourfront’s Brigatine Stage. The stage show will take place on Saturday only – on June 9th. Doors open at 3 pm. This is a ticketed event. Free tickets are available by calling the BBB hotline (see below).

Both the performance and the art exhibit are curated, casted and organized by our BIG BAM BOOM Volunteer Committee members, who visit AFCY programs throughout the year to scout out talented youth who are participating in AFCY programs. With the generous support of The Department of Canadian Heritage and our partners such as the Harbourfront Centre, BIG BAM BOOM! continues to be a tremendous success. The real thrill is to see the enthusiasm of the youth artists who are able to share their talents at a world-class venue in the heart of Toronto.

Look out for the new BIG BAM BOOM logo. This year, the youth designed a fresh logo for their festival! The new logo is slick and clean and lends a very polished look to the event’s Brand Identity.

Event Details:
EVERYONE IS INVITED TO AFCY’s
BIG BAM BOOM! YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL
June 9 &10, 2012 at Harbourfront Centre
Stage Performance Saturday June 9 at 3 p.m

Reserve Your FREE Tickets for the BIG BAM BOOM Stage Performance by:  calling our BIG BAM BOOM Ticket Info Line at (416) 929-9314 ext 106. Please indicate your first and last name, your phone number and the number of tickets you would like to reserve.

You can pick up your free reserved tickets on Saturday June 9th between 1pm and 3pm in the York Quay Centre at Harbourfront Centre, at the entrance to the Marilyn Brewer Community Space.

Exhibition continues at

Artscape Wychwood Barns, Community Gallery, 601 Christie Street from June 11-15, 2012 between 11 – 5 pm.

Tickets are first come, first served. To avoid disappointment, please call soon to reserve yours!

Recent News: AFCY’s Bright new team member!!

AFCY’s staff is so excited to welcome a new addition to our team. Bright Osei-Agyeman is joining AFCY as our Outreach Coordinator and Youth-led Program Coordinator. In this dual role, Bright will be developing AFCY’s new Youth-Led Outreach Program Division, which will be launched this fall, AND support our existing award winning Outreach Arts Programs. Our Youth-Led Program Division is brand new to AFCY. With support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we will be implementing programs that are organized, managed and implemented by youth for youth. These custom designed arts programs will also feature youth artist instructors who will be mentoring emerging youth artists.  The program’s impetus is to provide more opportunities for youth to position themselves as cultural leaders and to gain more entrepreneurial and professional skills within the cultural sector.

A little bit about Bright:
Bright was born in Toronto in 1989 and raised in Toronto and Ghana, West Africa.  Growing up in Africa and Canada has informed Bright’s work as an aspiring filmmaker. Bright has worked with various production crews such as Sonar Media Think, Garden Gate Film and volunteered with Charles Street Video in the Summer of 2011.  He is also in the midst of starting his own production crew. Bright has a rich AFCY history.  He has served as a volunteer on our youth council and on our Big Bam Boom Planning Committee, and has been hired for many years as an AFCY youth artist assistant.  We all look forward to having him become part of our dynamic team.

Image Gallery: Projects Gallery

Program Pictures

BIG BAM BOOM 2011 Gallery

BIG BAM BOOM 2010 Gallery