Press Release, September 2007

Arts for Children Unveils Scarborough Mural Project

On Friday, September 7th, Ward 35 Councillor Adrian Heapes will help celebrate the unveiling of the Scarborough Mural Project, a program spearheaded by Arts for Children of Toronto (AFC). Intent on giving youth from high-priority neighbourhoods the opportunity to work on artistic projects, which will have a lasting impact on their community, AFC hired six young people, aged 15 to 18, from the Kennedy Park area to design and paint a public 12′ x 24′ mural, in collaboration with arts mentor Jim Bravo.

“Combining themes of diversity…and the environment was extremely important to the team,” explains 16-year-old Visual Arts Assistant, Sara Siddiqi. “The mural’s physical environment and its ultimate location were the reasons for this, as it is located in one of the busiest and most vibrant cultural meeting points in the city.” Siddiqi, along with five other local youth: Sidontae Wilson, Alex Turner, Inthuja Karunanithy, Mandi Chu, and Wendi Everick, became a dedicated team who worked out of a donated room at the 85 Gilder Drive, Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) complex in the McCowan-Eglinton area. “We worked tirelessly with the ultimate aim of expressing the wonders of harmony and unity within the community,” points out Siddiqi, “and each of the youth contributed their own motifs for the project, which they expressed through their unique approaches to art.”

Wendi Everick, Mandi Chu, and Sara Siddiqi

A spectacular, large-scale public artwork, the Scarborough Mural Project gave these teens the chance to see themselves as contributing members of their community, while developing leadership skills that they will eventually bring into the workplace. “Arts for Children sees this project as an opportunity for young people to create a dialogue between themselves and the general public,” explains AFC Artistic Director, Julie Frost. “The mural also serves as a landmark and as a way to potentially stimulate economic activity in the community.”

The Scarborough Mural Project was generously supported by:

Afghan Women’s Organization
Benjamin Moore Canada
Canadian Architect
Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre
The City of Toronto
Coffee Time
The Design Exchange
Parliament Building Supplies
Second Base Youth Shelter
Tropicana Community Services

Sara Siddiqi, Alex Turner, and Wendi Everick

The Scarborough Mural Project:

About the Artists

Sidontae Wilson, 18: Arts Participant

Sidontae is an artist who enjoys painting and drawing. She likes to work with different forms of paint on various illustration-friendly surfaces. She hopes to become a fashion designer or a photographer. One of the most important things that Sidontae has learned while on this job was how to work with people within a group framework.

Alex Turner, 18: Arts Participant

Alex Turner has a passion for industrial design and is constantly drawing up designs for cars. His preferred disciplines are illustration and both graphic and industrial design. Apart from his love for art, he enjoys video games, soccer, and socializing. Alex’s main motivation behind his application for this job was networking, meeting, and working with like-minded individuals. He was also interested in learning different approaches to painting techniques. Alex dreams of designing cars for Ferrari.

Alex Turner

Inthuja Karunanithy, 17: Arts Participant

Inthuja is originally from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. She immigrated to Canada when she was 10 years old. Since childhood she has loved painting and illustration. By doing this job, Inthuja hoped to gain experience working on large-scale mural surfaces; she feels that she has achieved that and more. On this project she learned to work alongside people and learned different art techniques that she will be able to apply to any medium she chooses. Inthuja hopes to be a graphic designer or a doctor in the future.

Mandi Chu, 18: Arts Participant

Mandi Chu graduated from high school this year. This talented native of Hong Kong adores photography and painting. Mandi took the job as Arts Participant on this project because she wanted to spend her time effectively and creatively throughout the summer. More importantly, she wanted to help the community attain more vibrancy. Two very important skills she has learned from taking part in this project are communication and teamwork. Mandi will be attending university in September in order to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.

Wendi Everick, 15: Arts Participant

Wendi is a multi-talented youth from Scarborough. She initially applied as an Arts Participant to gain job experience, but has since gained much more. Wendi’s favourite disciplines are Anime-style illustration, computer art and cartooning. She feels that she has been able to enhance her skills in these areas through this work experience. She has also made new friendships and learned the importance of being punctual. After her studies are complete, she hopes to one day become a voice-over actor for film, television and radio. She also dreams of one day designing for the Sega corporation. In her spare time Wendi volunteers at a local home for the elderly.

Sara Siddiqi, 16: Visual Arts Assistant

Sara, 16, is a youth who loves to work and socialize with people from different communities. She loves photography and fashion design. Sara applied for the project because she was interested in learning how to create artwork on a large scale and wanted to progress further as an artist. The most important skills she gained were teamwork, self-motivation, patience and organization. Sara hopes to become either a lawyer or a doctor in the future and also wishes to continue working with people in at-risk communities.

Jim Bravo: Mural Mentor

Jim is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. His study major was Fine Art – more specifically, the drawing and painting disciplines. Born in Ecuador, South America in the mid-1970s, Jim was raised for the most part in Toronto and proudly calls it his home. Jim was first interested in this job opportunity because he wanted to work with youth. As a result of this job, Jim has learned that he likes working in a multicultural environment. Jim also learned that not everybody works at the same pace and that patience is a good virtue to have. It is good to find common ground with students before starting a project such as this.