Creative City: Block by Block

Click here to download the Block by Block Brochure

From street safety by reclaiming parks and street corners for community use, from engagement of disaffected teens to building social cohesiveness, artists bring fresh, creative energy into the most beleaguered areas of the city.

Artists are providing an incredible array of community-engaged professional arts programming across the city of Toronto; in our parks, apartment buildings, public spaces, libraries, theatres, storefronts and more.

Community-engaged arts enliven and enrich neighbourhoods, promote interaction between neighbours and create a powerful sense of inclusion amongst participants. These innovative programs are designed specifically in response to community needs.

Artists and arts organizations, dedicated to working in and for the community, are doing so with little attention and fewer resources.

In order to support this vital work, the Toronto Arts Foundation created the Neighbourhood Arts Network, as part of the on-going Block by Block Program.

The Neighbourhood Arts Network, in addition to creating an array of services and support for artists, facilitates networking between individuals, libraries, community and health centres, business improvement associations and many others with the transformative power of art.

The Network, in combination with the Block by Block Fund, fosters creativity at the local level and enhance the quality of life in Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods, making Toronto a truly creative city.

You have the opportunity to contribute to revitalizing Toronto’s neighbourhoods through the arts by donating to the Block by Block Fund, which provides vital resources for community-engaged arts initiatives.

To donate to the Block by Block Fund click here or contact Leslie Francombe, Community Investment Manager, by email at leslie@torontoarts.org or by phone at 416-392-6802 ext. 204.

Activities under the Block by Block program have included consultations, mapping, symposiums, reports, as well as partnerships with the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and now the Ontario Ministry of Culture. To access all of the Foundation's reports click here.

Block by Block Accomplishments to date:

• TAF Symposium 2006: Creators and Communities: An artist-led symposium on imagining neighbourhood change;
• Moving Forward: A Report on Creators and Communities Symposium;
• Presentations and discussions with community-engaged artists – Liz Lerman, Marvin Jarman, Paula Jardin;
• TAF Symposium 2008: Arts at the Hub: A symposium on making art locally (presented by partners Toronto Arts Council Foundation and Art Starts Neighbourhood Centre
• Community Arts: A Snapshot of the Moment; a descriptive report on a selection community artists and arts organizations in Toronto and their programming partners
• Community Arts in Toronto: An Exhibition; created for display at the Symposium, available for future use
• Focus Group discussion around the future plans of program and needs of community artists (which indicated a need for infrastructure & space)
• Relationships, Relevance and Responsiveness: A Report on the Art at the Hub Symposium March 2008
• Creative City to it’s Bones: A Discussion Paper

Working in collaboration with Toronto Arts Council’s Community Arts Granting Programs, the Block by Block Program will raise the profile of neighbourhood arts projects, support community arts animators, enhance the quality of life in Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods and foster creativity at the local level while contributing to the larger, on-going Creative City strategies.

For information on the Neighbourhood Arts Network click here.