FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Cultural Journeys in Mosaic
TORONTO, ON (August 15, 2011) – Five Scarborough youth artists in an Arts for Children and Youth (AFCY) program will unveil a large-scale mural at Wakunda/Parma Court in the Victoria Village Community.
Arts for Children and Youth (AFCY) is holding a public reception at Parma Court to celebrate the completion and unveiling of a large-scale outdoor mosaic mural at Wakunda/Parma Court. The reception, open to the public, will take place on August 18, between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. Celebrations will take place at the end of the colourful roundabout at the end of the street on Wakunda Place (South of Eglinton Avenue). (In the case of rain, the celebration will be held in the Recreation Room located in 5 Wakunda Place)
The project, which was made possible by a grant from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and a partnership with Toronto Community Housing was about sharing participant’s unique experiences with each other and engaging them in new ways with their community. The initiative created leadership and mentorship opportunities for Wakunda/Parma Court residents.
The mosaic transformed a previously unkempt concrete roundabout at the end of a street adjacent to a communal square where local youth congregate. It is now a more animated space where both young and old residents can interact.
“There are so many layers to the work we do. In this particular project, the planned educational activities engage culturally diverse immigrant/newcomer youth with residents living in or near the Parma Court community,” said Julie Frost, AFCY’s Executive and Artistic Director.
Residents from this community have been asking for this area to be activated for a long time. This project has finally become a reality as new funding became available for the project.
AFCY’s guiding principles of cultivating creativity and engaging community were highlighted in this initiative. “Because of this project, we were able to ally with COSTI immigrant services and Toronto Community Housing to help recruit youth and provide essential project resources. Through their engagement, youth gain life skills such as punctuality, teamwork, respect, cooperation, empathy, self-confidence and artistic skills that can be applied in other areas: problem solving, critical thinking, innovative thinking, technical skills in tiling and mosaic work,” adds Frost.
Formal partnerships with Toronto Community Housing and Costi Immigrant Services have resulted in a collaborative mosaic mural project. Youth participants and some community residents under the direction of professional artist Cristina Delago created the artwork at Parma Court. They contributed as designers, mosaic artists and also donated personal objects such as shells, metal objects, broken china and the like to serve as communal markers.
This entire project ran over the course of 3 weeks with 15 full-day workshops offered to both the participants and the community volunteers. It is also grounded on the notions of “unity”, “love”, “peace” and “respect”, all of which are words found within the mural’s design.
This program was generously funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration’s “Strategic Partnership Initiatives: Youth Opportunities Pilot Program”. Toronto Community Housing also partnered with AFCY to realize this community project.
About AFCY:
Arts for Children and Youth (AFCY) is a registered charitable grassroots organization. We ally with Toronto’s high priority communities and engage marginalized children and youth in hands-on, community and school-based arts education programs that respect existing cultural and community activity, resulting in participatory action and social awareness. To learn more about us, please visit www.afcy.ca. You can email us at info@afcy.ca or call us at 416-929-9314.
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Shehreen Ladha
Marketing and PR Coordinator
401 Richmond St. West, Suite 230
Toronto, ON M5V 3A8
416 929 9314 x 114
shehreen@afcy.ca
