In addition to sector specific consultations taking place at City Hall, two types of grassroots creative community consultations are underway as part of the Creative Capital Initiative (CCI) – sessions aimed at information gathering and public forums focused on direction setting. The information gathering sessions were held in early February in North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough and will be complemented by larger public consultations planned for March 28 and April 7 at City Hall.
North York
In North York, CCI piggy-backed on consultations previously organized by Toronto Arts Services to assess the need for a local arts service organization (LASO). Over 60 members of North York’s creative community attended two consultations on February 3 to contribute their thoughts on the future of Toronto’s cultural development.
Toronto Arts Services Manager Nadira Pattison leads a North York session
Above all, participants expressed a desire for the City to recognize the unique character and creative vitality that exists in their neighbourhoods – a spirit that’s distinct from what’s going on downtown. Yes, give us our own LASO, they said, and also let the Creative Capital Initiative stress the need to foster and cultivate creative expression right across the city.
A North York LASO would aid in organizing and marketing local arts events and exhibitions, as well as help to align the interests of mostly volunteer-led cultural organizations with the programs and services offered by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Arts Council.
Many arts organizations and individual artists expressed frustration at the lack of a City cultural staff liaison based in North York, someone on the ground and more closely tied into the community. Attendees expressed a feeling that their identity as a North York community had been compromised by the 1998 amalgamation of the former boroughs into a single civic body.
Several speakers noted that North York’s Toronto Centre for the Arts, a municipally owned and operated facility, was priced out of reach for local community arts organizations. Representatives from the venue were on hand to explain that City-mandated cost-recovery requirements prevented them from providing subsidized space.
The need for affordable space — for rehearsals, for classes, performances, and administration – was a constant refrain. The lack of community space means that organizations are spending too much of their limited resources on rental fees rather than on programming and promoting their works. Futhermore, even professional arts organizations that are prepared to do residencies in underserved neighbourhoods can’t access what meagre cultural infrastructure there is.
Public transportation to provide access to cultural programming is another priority, said participants. Cultural organizations serving youth and seniors stressed the need for public transit; several suggested including TTC passes/tickets in order to ensure accessibility in “at-risk” neighbourhoods.
Some participants suggested that there’s an untapped opportunity in coordinating the services of Parks and Recreation and the Toronto Public Library, which both have tremendous reach into the community. The Museum Access Pass program distributed through the TPL system was mentioned as a highly successful model for increasing access and participation.
Etobicoke
More than 70 people came out to Etobicoke’s Assembly Hall February 9 to share their opinions on where Toronto’s culture compass should be pointing during the next four years. Councillor Michael Thompson opened the session by stressing the need to take advantage of this opportunity to re-focus Toronto’s cultural development. Participants then broke into smaller discussions surrounding CCI’s five major consultation themes.
Discussions on metrics stressed the importance of measuring all aspects of the creative process from creation to consumption, as well as the need to agree on a common definition of culture. Reliable measurement of participation and community engagement in culture was a common recommendation.
Conversations about Access, Inclusion and Education focused on sustainability and highlighted the unintended negative consequences of funding individual projects rather than longer-term, stable arts programs. Reliable funding is paramount in building trust and commitment with at-risk populations, stressed attendees.
If Toronto wants to bill itself as a creative capital, participants suggested that the city needs to promote local, neighbourhood-based festivals and cultural programming that celebrates Toronto’s myriad cultural identities. A resounding, urgent message was to uphold Council’s commitment to invest $25 per capita in culture. Once funding is secured, direct it towards grassroots cultural development, said many.
Paying attention to the grassroots level was a common theme across all five discussion groups. “Small and medium-sized organizations are the R&D of the cultural sector” one participant noted, “and even the smallest municipal investment at this stage often has a significant impact.” Many agreed, noting that “it’s amazing, with such a small proportion of the City budget going to culture, just what the sector is able to achieve”.
Scarborough
About 40 arts and heritage representatives turned out to the Council Chambers of the Scarborough Civic Centre February 10 to offer their input into the Creative Capital Initiative. Scarborough participants echoed the concerns raised in North York and Etobicoke. Participants emphasized the need to meet the established goal of $25 per capita investment in the arts, which would in turn increase access to affordable facilities and infrastructure. There were repeated calls for greater collaboration across the City in terms of marketing and communications.
Specific suggestions included bringing Nuit Blanche to Scarborough; including TTC passes and tokens with the Museums Assistance Pass so those in Scarborough can travel downtown to access major cultural institutions; and engaging underserved populations with cultural programming in the schools, community centres, and apartment blocks where they live.
Successful public art projects such as Mural Routes were highlighted as potential models to build community through artistic engagement and expression.
As noted in previous sessions, attendees emphasized that the City has a major role to play in communicating the inherent value of culture and heritage to the residents and taxpayers of Scarborough. It was suggested that the community would be receptive to these messages if there were more grassroots activities and initiatives supported by the City.
Special thanks to Che Kothari for Assembly Hall photos and to Cee Robinson for North York photos
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