From free drumming performances in Etobicoke parks to community-driven theatre in the Distillery District, Toronto’s arts organizations are coming together with a powerful message in this new city-led initiative: creativity is connection.
In collaboration with Mayor Olivia Chow, the Toronto Arts Council and Foundation launched TOgether Through Art, a new city-wide initiative that aims to spotlight how artistic and cultural programming fosters community, supports mental wellness, and celebrates the city’s diverse nature.
“The arts help us see each other. Through artistic and cultural expression, we share in each other’s perspectives and ways of life. And we build common bonds and understanding with people from all backgrounds,” said Chow in a news release.
“The TOgether Through Art campaign is about building this empathy and fighting against divisiveness. Toronto’s arts and culture organizations are stepping up to give a message of unity and I support them wholeheartedly.”
For Dane Bland, director of development and engagement at the Toronto Arts Council and Foundation, the campaign comes at a pivotal time for the city.
“Earlier this year, the city council approved a new 10-year culture plan that shares an ambitious vision for the City of Toronto’s direction and goals for advancing arts, culture and community, and well-being through culture, which I think is crucial,” he told Now Toronto.
“This program feels like an obvious extension of the mayor’s desire to raise awareness of the impact being created through the arts and culture sector, not just in terms of, obviously, economic benefit, but also for the community benefits of arts in terms of wellness and mental health and bringing people together.”
Bland, who oversees external relations, marketing and public events for the foundation, says TOgether Through Art is more than a mere campaign, it’s a call to action.
At the heart of the initiative is an online registry that highlights cultural and artistic events happening across the city, with a focus on those that build social connection and reflect experiences lived by members of Toronto’s vibrant communities.
Since its launch on Monday, more than 40 local organizations — ranging from the well-known local organizations such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Art Gallery of Ontario to grassroots collectives like Small World Music — have already signed on to participate in the initiative.
Bland also says that the initiative is designed to be accessible, as it hopes to bring entertainment to different communities across the city.
“As of right now, 33 per cent of Torontonians do not live within walking distance of arts and cultural programming in this city. Overwhelmingly, those people are people who are black, who are Indigenous, who are people of colour, and newcomers,” Bland explained.
“These are people who are experiencing poverty. These are people who live on the outskirts of the City of Toronto—places like Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough. Those are the people that are disproportionately affected and disproportionately impacted by a lack of being able to access arts and cultural programming. And this initiative is really trying to bring to light all of the ways in which arts and culture organizations are trying to reach those people.”
That commitment is already visible in events like Arts in the Parks, which last year brought programming to 24 parks across the city, including 18 outside the downtown core, employing over 870 local artists.
This year, the program will serve as one of the contributors to TOgether Through Art. And its impact goes beyond just the impressive numbers.
“I just think it is so representative of art at its most magical. It’s introducing people to the arts, who who are young, or introducing people to the arts who are new to Toronto, and watching their faces when they realize that, ‘Hey, this programming is actually representative of me, and where I came from and who I am,’ and not even realizing that the city did stuff like that,” Bland said.
In addition to events, the Toronto Arts Foundation is partnering with Environics and the Toronto Foundation to perform a city-wide survey to better understand how arts programming impacts residents, from boosting mental health to community-building.
Bland also hopes that the initiative can spark awareness around the role that arts and culture organizations play in generating accessible entertainment for Torontonians, as well as informing residents about events and activities they can take part in.
“We can better inform things like funding. We can better inform things like programming and program direction. It can be a useful tool for the government, for the municipality, or even for the province or the federal government to be able to have a better understanding [of] municipalities like the City of Toronto,” Bland said. “We want to bring a platform and awareness to those initiatives.”
To explore upcoming events or learn how to get involved, visit torontoartsfoundation.org/ and keep an eye on the evolving event calendar.
