ARTS IMPACT STUDY
A project of Creative City: Block By Block funded by SSHRC
Toronto Arts Foundation, in partnership with Art Starts, OCADU and York University, launches an Arts Impact Study to better understand how Toronto residents interact and engage with the arts at a local level.
TAF was awarded a $160,559 grant from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to conduct a study on how arts are created and enjoyed in neighbourhood settings.
The Arts Impact Study is part of TAF’s Creative City: Block by Block Program designed to advocate for the arts and to support and foster collaboration between artists, community organizations and local residents. The community meetings are the beginning of a five year community-based research study.
The objective of the research is to:
- democratize the arts by tapping the creativity and cultural expressions of diverse community members;
- defend the arts by supporting advocacy efforts, contributing to alliances to expand city funding;
- create tools and gather data that can assist community-engaged arts organization strengthen and promote their work.
The Arts Impact Study began with community meetings in Malvern, St. Jamestown, and Weston/Mount Dennis neighbourhoods on December 8th, 9th and 12th. People living and working in these areas participated in a public meeting to address the question: “Where are the creative heartbeats in your community and do the arts matter to you?”
Follow the progress report here
Arts Impact Study Research Team (photo Dewi Minden)