Past Program

SELF Youth Visual Arts Workshops offers youth in Grade 9-12 a safe and creative environment to explore visual art and mental health. SELF is a series of 6 free weekly workshops and group exhibition + discussion at Access Point on Danforth. Please register by April 13. 

Net(work) is a free hybrid professional development and networking event designed for artists, creative space owners, and arts professionals. Learn about and practice the art of networking with host and facilitator Jason Maghanoy on March 22, 6-8:30pm at Riverdale Hub.

Weekend of Words is a free, three-day celebration of language and literary arts in east Toronto from September 15-17 at the East York Civic Centre. Explore an exhibition, enjoy readings and a panel discussion, participate in workshops, and more!

The My City My Six Exhibition transforms the East York Civic Centre into a unique, public gallery space featuring over 200 six-word stories submitted by east Toronto residents, showcasing the diverse stories of east Toronto, six words at a time. The exhibition will be on display until September 30. My City My Six is a Cultural Hotspot project, in celebration of Canada 150, in partnership with the City of Toronto.

Balancing Words and Movement is a free workshop led by charles c. smith on September 16, 12-2pm at the East York Civic Centre. The workshop will engage participants and focus on creative writing and movement, allowing participants to create their own written and performance-based works. Part of the Weekend of Words.

Getting Your Ideas Into Print with Tatum Dooley is a free interactive workshop for writers on September 16, 12-2pm that will explore how to brainstorm ideas, pitch editors, and prepare for publication. Part of the Weekend of Words.

Join Toronto's Poet Laureate Anne Michaels for an intimate afternoon of stories, songs, and poetry recalling Canada's rich literary legacy from East Toronto and beyond on Saturday, September 16 from 2-4pm at East York Civic Centre. Part of the Weekend of Words.

The D.I.Y. Self-Publishing Panel Discussion on Saturday, September 16 from 4-5:30pm at the East York Civic Centre presents local authors who will share and discuss their self-publishing experiences. Part of the Weekend of Words.

Join East End Arts and Firefly Creative Writing at Writers’ Mix & Mingle for an evening of performance, food, and conversation. Meet other east end writers at one of the east end's newest writing studio spaces on Saturday, September 16 from 7-9pm at 1898 Danforth Avenue. Part of the Weekend of Words.

Meet the dynamic father-son duo behind #JacksLibraryTour! After having visited all 100 of the Toronto Public Library branches, six-year old Jackson Bennett and his father Lanrick Bennett Jr. will be discussing the importance of Toronto Public Libraries, and their evolution into community and cultural institutions. Audience members will also have the opportunity to ask Jackson and Lanrick questions following the talk. Part of the Weekend of Words.

Join east Toronto playwrights Briana Brown and Emil Sher for an afternoon of fun and engaging readings, followed by a brief Q & A period. Part of the Weekend of Words.

What's Your Story, East Toronto? features readings, performance, workshops, and an Open Mic session on September 17, 12-5pm at the East York Civic Centre. Part of the Weekend of Words.

ArtCave presents Animating Danforth East - a series of free animation workshops for kids, youth, and adults, held by emerging and established local artists and animators from May-September & an exhibition and animation festival from September 16-23.

Everyone is welcome at Danforth Village Fair on June 10 from 12-6pm at Main Square (Main and Danforth). Take part in a day of community fun with a free program of music, children’s activities, bike repair, workshops, a paint-in, and more! A Cultural Hotspot SPARK Project.

From May through October 2017, the Cultural Hotspot program will shine a spotlight on arts, culture, and community in East York and the East end, inspiring new ideas about where culture thrives in Toronto. Explore a list of Cultural Hotspot SPARK and Signature community events!

Main Squared is a free arts and community festival that will activate and explore the public square at the corner of Main Street & Danforth Avenue from August 26 to September 3, 2017.

Youth aged 14-29 are invited to register and participate in Ankon: Paint & Brush, a series of eleven free participatory youth art workshops in mural making, photography, and writing with experienced professionals. Ankon: Paint & Brush is presented by Bangladesh Centre and Community Services in partnership with East End Arts and Mural Routes, and is a Cultural Hotspot SPARK project in partnership with the City of Toronto. Apply by May 20, 2017.

Attend a free information session on May 31, 6-8pm at Ralph Thornton Community Centre to learn about funding opportunities through the Toronto Arts Council. Whether you are a seasoned grant writer or are exploring funding opportunities for the first time, this session will introduce you to the Toronto Arts Council's diverse funding streams and help prepare you for your next grant submission.

Art MEETS is a series of FREE community arts workshops in Toronto's east end that invites you to make, explore, experience, transform, and share. Art MEETS provides a variety of fun, accessible, and engaging opportunities to experience and participate in arts workshops led by experienced, welcoming, and talented artists and arts educators. Join us and come tap into your creative side!

Join multi-disciplinary artist, creative entrepreneur, facilitator and coach Nerissa Bradley for Art MEETS: Power of a Portrait on May 30, 6-8pm at Queen/Saulter Library. This workshop provides an opportunity for participants to share, create, and collaborate, and provides all the materials and inspiration to create your own self-portrait. Hone your creativity to express your unique identity to the fullest extent, and put your own creative ideas into the world.

Join poet, playwright, and essayist charles c. smith for Art MEETS: Balancing Words & Movement on Thursday, June 15, 3-6pm at S. Walter Stewart Library. This free workshop will engage participants in creative writing and performance. Participants will be able to create their own written and performance work for presentation.

Join drama artist, educator, story gatherer and community arts enthusiast Melanie Fernandez-Alvarez for Art MEETS: Searching for Stories. Tell stories, listen, play, and write! * POSTPONED - NEW DATE will be announced soon.

Join Lynda Watson of Dreamation on Saturday, April 29, 1-4pm for Art MEETS: Nature Mandala, You & Samgha. In this unique workshop we will explore what mandalas are, who you are, and how we can use nature to express that in an original way. All you need to bring is your creativity!

Join self and community taught crochet artists Tumaini Lyaruu and Chason Yeboah for Art MEETS: Streams of Consciousness Crochet on Saturday, June 10, 1-4pm at Dawes Library. In this workshop we will learn how to crochet and use a variety of textile arts to create art pieces that externalize the expansiveness of the creative mind through stream of consciousness crochet.

Join poet, story teller, and avid scripturient Hanan Hazime for Art MEETS: Cut & Paste - Found Poetry on May 20, 1-3pm at Riverdale Library. Poetry is everywhere, you just need to find it! Refashion, reorder, and reframe ordinary texts including books, magazines, and other pieces of literature into creative poems using found poetry techniques.

A work of art can tell a story. Participants will learn how to transfer a photo to birch board using a polymer emulsion, and optionally, if taking part in the collaborative art theme of home and community, layer the image with archival city photographs or maps, paint, and/or narrative to create a collage or palimpsest.

Join author and workshop facilitator Karen Krossing for the free Art MEETS: Writing in Place workshop on April 8 from 1-4pm at Danforth Coxwell Library. Using fun and inspiring prompts, like six-word stories and writing based on photos, you’ll learn writing techniques and explore how your everyday experiences can enrich your writing.

Join East End Arts and Access Point on Danforth for the Opening Reception of SELF, a group exhibition featuring the work of seven talented youth artists. Meet the artists, celebrate their incredible work, and enjoy a light lunch. Saturday, May 13, 2:30-4:30pm. Free and all are welcome.

Join East End Arts for a community photo walk on Saturday, March 11 and explore the 2017 Winter Stations temporary public art installations on Balmy, Kew, and Ashbridges Bay beaches.

Prologue to the Performing Arts invites you to a FREE information session on February 6 for artists interested in the tdsbCREATES Festival. Participants at this session may be inspired or invited to submit a proposal for the current or future programs to expand the tdsbCREATES artist roster.

My City My Six is a participatory public art project that will reveal Toronto and its residents in celebration of Canada 150, six words at a time. Take your story to the next level! Register for an upcoming community arts workshop and turn your six-word story into a visual work of art to be displayed in a My City My Six exhibition at the East York Civic Centre from September 15–17.

Help shape the next Cultural Hotspot! Artists, arts organizations, community members and groups based in East York and the Beaches are invited to attend a Cultural Hotspot Community Connect information session on Thursday, January 5, 6-8pm at Community Centre 55. Find out how to participate in this exciting project happening in 2017.

Join us at an Open Mic Night event on Thursday, December 1, 6:30-9pm at Time Capsule Cafe, presented by East End Arts and hosted by vocalist May Chook. Musicians, singers, comedians, poets, spoken word artists, experimental performers - this event is for all styles, levels, and ages.

Culture Days is taking place September 30, October 1 & 2. Explore a list of free activities happening in Toronto's east end.

Join us for a weekend of literary events in the east end, as we celebrate reading, writing, the beauty of words, and the diversity of languages in Toronto with What's Your Story? East York on October 1 and the 2016 East End Poetry Festival on October 2.

Enjoy an afternoon of poetry and a celebration of language hosted by internationally-acclaimed poet and novelist Anne Michaels, Toronto’s Poet Laureate. The 2016 East End Poetry Festival is Sunday, October 2, 12-4pm at the Children’s Peace Theatre.

What's Your Story? East York is a celebration of reading, writing and publishing. Join us for this free event on Saturday, October 1 from 2-4:30pm at S. Walter Stewart Library.