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:
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?”
/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
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.