"In the deep end..."

On May 20th, 2026,  Culture/Shift and AENO hosted a virtual plenary titled, Creating with Communities: Learning, Practice, and Social Impact. Guest speakers included Golshan Abdmoulaie, Isorine Marc, Soka Lazara and Alek Phan.

Golshan Abdmoulaie, Executive Director of Vibe Arts ,and Isorine Marc, Alchemist and Founder of Jamii Esplanade provided overviews of the work that they do, with a particular focus on the ways in which they provide mentorship and training to artists. Participants were inspired by the unique approaches to professional learning offered by Vibe Arts (clear pathways built with intention) and Jamii (highly responsive, individualized).

Soka Lazara, lens-based artist and community arts facilitator and Alek Phan, visual artist and community-engaged art educator, spoke to their direct experience as artists whose practices are enriched and informed by work with diverse communities. The hands-on, lived experiences of Soka and Alek resonated strongly with plenary participants, as evidenced by their follow-up questions and the connections they made to the topic of community-engaged practice.

Following their presentations, we broke into small groups to talk about the kinds of professional development  on offer to artists who are interested in community-engaged/arts education work.

A few key themes emerged from the presentations and follow-up discussion:

·      Professional learning opportunities exist, but the onus is on the artist to source these kinds of offerings.

·      A more systematic, sustainable approach for PD would be welcome.

·      Community-engaged arts-based work is very rewarding. It is all about the relationship-building.  It is also challenging. Soka’s assertion that it can feel like “being thrown in the deep end of the pool and learning to swim as you go” resonated with many of the plenary participants.

·      There is a strong interest in more opportunities to gather to network, share experiences and learn together.

We look forward to future opportunities to continue the dialogue.

Culture Shift and AENO send a huge heart-felt thank you to our presenters: Golshan, Isorine, Soka and Alek. We also appreciate the richness of the discussion with all participants. Thank you for coming out!

Please stay tuned for future events offered by Culture/Shift. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Building Community and Growing Knowledge

Arts Education in School and Communities: Possibilities, Pathways and Partnerships was hosted by Culture Shift, in collaboration with Arts Etobicoke and Scarborough Arts on Nov. 10, 2025. There was a real buzz in the room from beginning to end, sparked by the excitement of gathering in community to connect with one another and to hear from our guest speakers Adom Acheampong, Miranda Blazey. and  Catherine McPherson.

Adom Acheampong, Multi & Inter-Arts and Community Engaged Arts Officer, provided a an overview of grant opportunities and procedures for application, with a particular focus on the Artists in Schools and Communities Projects which support the research, development and realization of community-engaged arts projects in Ontario. For further information, the OAC provides the Framing Community: A Community-Engaged Workbook. Thank you Adom for taking the time to connect with this community of outstanding artists and artist-educators! Participants found the information invaluable.

Following this overview of provincially-funded opportunities, Miranda Blazey- Arts Coordinator and Catherine McPherson - Arts Convenor, from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), provided a local perspective. The TDSB requires artists to navigate a rigorous partnership proposal process to qualify to work in schools. Miranda and Catherine walked us through the details and provided helpful tools to guide artists in the process of application. This slide deck includes some of the key information shared in their presentation. Thank you, Miranda and Catherine. Again, participants appreciated the comprehensive sharing of information.

Overwhelmingly, the assembly of teachers and artists in attendance expressed an eagerness for more opportunities to gather as a community of practice.

Culture Shift will continue to seek out partners and opportunities for cross-sectoral exchange, collaborative learning, and innovation in the field of arts education in schools and communities.

 

Dancing in the Dark: How are community-based artists and artist educators trained?

Christine Jackson, Patty Jarvis and Melanie Fernandez of Culture Shift share their perspectives on why we need professional development for Community Arts n

Having worked within the arts education and community-engaged sectors for over 25 years, we pause to reflect on how immensely rewarding and equally challenging the creative projects and processes have been. Our engagement with young people, seniors, new immigrants, disability communities, and families has involved creatively facilitating projects based on their stories, lived experiences, histories, accomplishments, and dreams. This has been an honour and a privilege, requiring humility as we unlearn, relearn and learn alongside project participants.  

Read the full article here: https://shorturl.at/dHXMO


Thank you Mass Culture for including this article in your Evaluative Thinking Spotlight. 

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A Conversation with Arts Leaders

Culture/Shift brought together a group of arts community and arts education leaders to share experiences and imagine possibilities . This Venn diagram captures some of the thinking about common ground shared across the arts & culture and education sectors. It also documents aspects of the work that participants identified as specific to each context.

Culture/Shift: A Conversation with Arts Leaders, June 23, 2020

Culture/Shift: A Conversation with Arts Leaders, June 23, 2020