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Tips For Writing A Culture Days Story

November 7th, 2011 by Culture Days

Storytelling is a great way to share your Culture Days experience! But sometimes it’s easier said than done, so Culture Days has compiled a few handy tips to get the creative ball rolling.

Sharing your story will undoubtedly inspire others to take action in their communities and support the arts and culture! Whether you were an activity organizer or member of the public who participated in the over 5,500 activities that took place throughout the country over the Culture Days 2011 weekend, your first-hand experience is distinct and insightful – so don’t be shy!

Because your story is uniquely yours, feel free to use the format in which you feel most comfortable (ie. short story, essay, question and answer, etc.) with a maximum length of 500 words.

Here are some questions to get the ball rolling and to help ward off that pesky writer’s block! Feel free to use them as a guide to help you document your experience.

For Activity Organizers
Who are you and what do you do?
Why did you want to get involved in Culture Days?
What opportunities did you identify for you/your organization/community’s participation?
What did you organize for the Culture Days weekend? Describe your activity and the goals you set out for your activity.
What made your Culture Days 2011 activity unique?
What kind of feedback did you get from those who attended your activity?
Are there any moments from the lead up to and during the weekend that stand out?
Any moments during the weekend that made an impression on you?
What were the keys to your success?
What did you learn from your experience of Culture Days overall?
Do you foresee any long-term benefits for you/your organization and/or cultural community?
Is there anything else about your Culture Days experience that you’d like to share?

For Public Participants
Who are you and where are you from?
How did you discover Culture Days?
Why did you want to participate in Culture Days 2011 activities in your community?
What activities did you participate in and what attracted you to them?
Did you participate alone, with your family or friends?
Are there any moments during the weekend that stand out in your mind?
What did you learn/take away from your experience of Culture Days?
Are you planning on participating in Culture Days again next year?
Is there anything else about your Culture Days experience that you’d like to share?

Please submit your story to Culture Days via email at stories@culturedays.ca and it may be included in an upcoming blog post or newsletter.

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days 2011, Results and impact, community organizers, for activity organizers, opinions, role of arts and culture, seen, uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

NRTEA Challenges Participants to Take Part in Culture Days

September 17th, 2011 by Culture Days

During the National Roundtable for Teacher Education in the Arts conference held in Spring 2011 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, some 50 education professors, artists, arts administrators, teacher candidates, teachers and government officials from across Canada met to consider the best ways to provide effective instruction to teachers in the fine and performing arts.  A unique feature of the event was that many participants insisted that ideas be expressed through artistic creation.  Some did art-making, others created dance and music pieces and many performed improvised dramatic sketches. Interwoven into the dialogue, a hula hoop practice led by a PHd specialist in hula hoops and mixed with tap dancing lessons was also part of the overall experience.

An added challenge to all the participants at the conclusion of the discussion was for them to contribute something to the Culture Days weekend in their part of the country relating to some discovery or idea they leaned at the Roundtable. The Let’s Make Music Conference in Brantford ON, organized by NRTEA participant and Assistant Professor at Nipissing University Christina Grant, is one of these responses. During this Culture Days activity, a variety of free practical music education workshops will be offered to anyone with a love of music. Another response to the NRTEA’s challenge comes from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), which will showcase arts performances by elementary and secondary students with filmed highlights of various schools’ musical, dance and drama shows.

The following text is an excerpt from the NRTEA’s summary report. For the full report, click here.

For more information or to share your thoughts on the NRTEA’s initiatives, visit www.nrtea.ca or contact Michael Wilson: mpwilson@uottawa.ca.

Jumping through hoops for culture

NATIONAL ROUNDTABLE FOR TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE ARTS
MAY 25, 26, 2011
SUMMARY OF PARTICIPANT COMMENTS IN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS

The National Roundtable on Teacher Education in the Arts, held on May 25 and 26 ,2011, at the National Arts Centre, in Ottawa,  heralded the first time that an invited group of 53 experts consisting of education professors, teachers, artists, education students (both pre-service and graduate), arts administrators, government officials, and school board consultants and superintendents, met to discuss critical issues in the process of teacher education.  The connecting question to arts advocacy in general was: – In order to have better quality arts programs in our schools, we need better educated teachers.

A unique feature of this event was the element of preparation by all participants that included the offering of a creatively decorated piece of material that might symbolize prior to the event, attitudes on teacher education in the arts.  Each submitted piece at the beginning and during the progress of the Roundtable, was added to a kind of garden of ideas that stimulated metaphoric images throughout the experience. The interweaving of vocal dialogue, mixed with arts experiences continued throughout. In the 2 day dialogue, small group discussions of 8 participants each, met to consider 4 major themes of teacher education: a) pre-service or initial teacher education  b) models of in-service education  c) the role of partnerships  d) the relationship of instructor and candidate. At each opportunity for reporting findings to the whole, narrative summary, dance response, improvisational sketch creation, soundscape atmospheres and visual renderings, were all employed by the reporting groups.  The resulting findings and crystallization of ideas for all participants, included both logical idea suggestions and metaphoric images that continue to resonate in a kind of dynamic symmetry that has promoted alternative meanings for everyone.

As a concluding challenge for each participant, we asked all to conceive of an innovative theory, practice or event that resulted in some way from the experiences of this Roundtable, that could be offered to a public forum as part of the national Culture Days celebrations, scheduled for September 30 – Oct. 2, 2011.

Topics covered during the Roundtable include:

1.THE PLACE OF THE ARTS IN AN OVERALL PROGRAM OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION

Participants in this discussion group were asked to comment on delivery models,overall programs, the relative time for the arts in relation to the total program, the relationship to practica, degrees of integration, training for generalist candidates and pre-requisite issues for specialized candidates.

2. MODELS OF IN-SERVICE ARTS EDUCATION

Participants were asked to make observations about the situation of in-service training from their perspective, comment on insights that might have been sparked by their observations and recommend solutions or avenues for exploration on possible policies, procedures or models that could better in-service training in the arts.

3. THE ROLES AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMMUNITY, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL ARTS PARTNERS

Given the complexity and challenges of providing pre-service and in-service training in the arts for teachers and educators, it is important to explore and understand the diverse communities of partners and their possible contributions to the betterment, development and delivery of a variety of training programs. Many models exist and many more are being explored.

4. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INSTRUCTOR AND CANDIDATE

This question was not related to any particular sector of teacher education in the arts but pertained to all. Issues examined included instructor modeling; information vs experience; differences between excellence in teaching teachers compared to teaching in schools; unique characteristics of excellent teaching in arts teacher education; relationship of artistic excellence and pedagogical competence.

Full report here.

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days stories, Ontario, Results and impact, community organizers, role of arts and culture, uncategorized, ways to get involved | Tags: , , ,

Ragtime in Niagara Falls – an interview with Ennio Paola

September 14th, 2011 by Culture Days

Culture Days Project Assistant Reuben Finley recently spoke with Niagara Region’s award-winning composer and music educator Ennio Paola. Having introduced participants to pieces inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy at the City of Welland’s Public Library in 2010, this year Paola once again turned to municipal representatives in his search for a suitable venue. The Niagara Falls City Hall will be hosting his Culture Days 2011 activity, which will introduce participants to the history and melodic lines of Ragtime music. Click here to read Ennio Paola’s Sharing A Significant Music®™ activity description.

• What is your name and what do you do? What city and province are you in?

My name is Ennio A. Paola. I’m the Founder, Collaborative Composer, Artistic Curator and Director of Significant Music®™. I live in Pickering, Ontario.

• How did you first hear about Culture Days?

Initially, through an ad in the Toronto Star. A few days later, I responded to a Call for Artists published in the Welland Tribune to participate in the 2010 City of Welland Culture Days.

• What inspired you to get involved?

Immediately upon learning about Culture Days, I was drawn into the movement by a number of key factors, namely the quality of the project, its scope and the online support provided.  Culture Days is a multi-layered, cross-disciplinary, pan-Canadian cultural movement. It encourages self-mobilized grassroots and collaborative involvement by individuals and organizations of all sizes. At both the provincial and national levels, participants are provided with free tools made available via solid sponsors and supporters, who add further credibility to the project.

• What activity did you organize for Culture Days 2010 and what made it unique?

My Culture Days 2010 activity was titled Sharing a Significant Music®™ / SOUNDtracks: Deciphering the “Dante and Music” Code. It was presented at the Welland Public Library. That particular project was based on two original solo piano works of mine which were acknowledged in the scholarly text “Dante and Music: Musical Adaptations of the Commedia from the Sixteenth Century to the Present”  by Prof. Maria Ann Roglieri (Ashgate Press, Aldershot, UK).  Incidentally, a copy of that text was donated to the Welland Public Library a couple years ago and catalogued in the Library’s Local History Section… I suppose that means that through my compositions, I’m already recognized as a notable historical figure in my community! (laughs)

Since medieval times, a staggering number of visual works have been created in connection to a particular Cantica (Book) or Canto (Poem) within the “Divine Comedy” – Gustave Doré’s illustrations are well-known examples of this. Unfortunately, when it comes to music, examples have been few and far between. With “Dante and Music” however, there now exists a much needed, well respected resource on this topic. Aside from showcasing a fair number of noted composers such as Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Granados and Dallapiccola, Prof. Roglieri analyzes and presents a generous account of lesser known works, including my two contributions on this subject, “LUX IN TENEBRIS: La Commedia di Dante ~ Cantica I: Canto I (Lost In A Dark Wood) and Cantica III : Canto XXXIII (Dante Beholds the Universe)”.

For my Culture Days 2010 activity, a select number of musical excerpts by other composers opened my presentation, which was immediately followed by an examination of the creative process of musical composition. Amongst other things, participants were acquainted with the original alpha code I created for Cantica I: Canto I (Lost In A Dark Wood).

Illustration by Gustave Doré - Dante's Divine Comedy

• Are there any moments during the lead up to and during Culture Days weekend that really stand out in your mind?

Audience attendance, though small, was supported by a mix of on-site staff, young student walk-ins, and friends ranging from ones not seen in years to others who drove two hours to attend. Audience feedback was highly positive, with most finding this presentation to be a satisfying experience, which in retrospect could only happen as a result of Culture Days; Culture Days has the flexibility to encourage projects based more on artistic merit than financial gain.

• After your first experience with Culture Days in 2010, what longer-term benefits or lasting outcomes have you identified for continued annual participation? Challenges?

Awareness, inspiration and new connections were some of the main benefits. For me to have participated as one small voice within a larger artistic community was indeed an honour. I came away feeling “quasi-torn” that my own commitments, along with time and distance, would not allow me to attend and participate in a number of interesting Culture Days Weekend offerings taking place across Canada.

Experience causes me believe that connections established during Culture Days 2010 will encourage many towards a continued, annual, participation.  The Culture Days weekend is indeed a year-long “Days of Culture” endeavour — one that supports Canadian culture at home, and in a global arena. Culture Days’ success and long-term community benefits can only be measured as a year-round process in cultural engagement. It’s more than a three-day event – Culture Days promotes cultural awareness as a year-long endeavour. That last point cannot be stressed enough. Municipalities which have in that sense fully embraced Culture Days have designated and supported regional point persons, kept up to date with Culture Days Newsletters and participated in the regularly scheduled free Culture Days Tele-Info Sessions. Their success stories are an inspiration for communities across the country.

• What did you learn from your experience of Culture Days that would be useful for other activity organizers to know?

Visit the Culture Days Web Site often, sign up to receive Culture Days e-Newsletters, participate in as many Tele-Session Conference Calls as possible, keep in touch with Provincial and National Culture Days representatives to share your voice in the development of a Pan-Canadian artistic movement for all.

• Can you give us a hint as to what you are planning for your 2011 Culture Days activity?

For Culture Days 2011, “Sharing A Significant Music®™” is entering the first year of a four year commitment to celebrating the original Pan-American | Pan-Canadian Ragtime Era (1897-1917); the Ragtime Revival Period in Canada (1960’s-1980); including related music forms. A companion “Rag Times and Eclectic Related Music” catalogue of works will be used as a resource to discuss “Ragtime Music in Canada”, with emphasis placed on local-regional contributions to the genre.  Furthermore, a planned hands-on Rhythmic Activity will demonstrate steps involved in “ragging” a simple melodic line. Not to be missed!

Exerpt, "Hawkins' Hill Rag" - composed by E. Paola

• What do you feel is the impact of culture in your community?

Due to the limited access to concert halls, art galleries and theatres in the Welland-Niagara and West Durham regions, neighbouring communities take in a greater share of economical and non-economical benefits of arts and culture. In my opinion, the greatest impact of culture comes directly from arts instruction and through the contact students of all ages have with teachers when they study music, dance, visual arts, etc. I therefore truly believe initiatives such as Culture Days to be vital in providing best opportunity scenarios for artists and instructors of various arts disciplines, to advance the future directions culture will take within their own community — and beyond.

As a personal credo, I have found the following three ideals optimum, as handy reminders, on a regular basis: 1) when handed a lemon … make lemonade! 2) always move forward with a tradition of success! 3) never, ever, ever, give up … on Culture!

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days 2010, Culture Days stories, Ontario, about this blog, role of arts and culture | Tags: , , , ,

Culture Days Launches the “In Conversation” Video Series, Presented by Culture Days’ National Broadcast Partner CBC

September 7th, 2011 by Culture Days

Today marks the release of the “In Conversation” video series, presented by Culture Days’ National Broadcast Partner, CBC. The series showcases key leaders in the Canadian arts and culture sector and the organizations they represent. Highlighting the important role these organizations play in further galvanizing the relationship between arts and culture and the Canadian public, the series reveals the many and diverse ways in which Culture Days is helping to foster and grow this connection.

These short clips will be rolling out over the next weeks in the lead up to the Culture Days event weekend, starting with insights from:

Kirstine Stewart, Executive Vice-President of CBC English Television and member of the Culture Days Steering Committee
Kirstine, expresses how Culture Days is an opportunity for the CBC, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, to connect and engage with communities whose families have welcomed the CBC into their homes since its inception, and envisions a time when Canadians will celebrate “Culture Day in Canada” along side Hockey Day in Canada.

Antoni Cimolino, General Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Chair of the Culture Days Steering Committee
Antoni recounts his experience of the “real magic of Culture Days” when artists in Stratford came together to plan an activity for the inaugural Culture Days event weekend in 2010 and how the culmination of their planning was expressed in a large street fair where over 3500 people came together to celebrate the arts, artists and the Stratford community itself.

Marc Mayer, Director and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada
Marc describes how the National Gallery of Canada has built programs that serve the entire country and how its participation in Culture Days enables the formation of a deeper relationship between the public and the arts. This ultimately, Marc explains, helps the museum to further its goal of providing the public with access to the museum’s national collection and places Canadians’ visual culture within the greater context of art history.

Piers Handling, Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival
Piers speaks of the impact Culture Days will create within communities and expresses how TIFF’s participation in Culture Days allows that organization to play a leadership role for other festivals and organizations by opening its doors and offering its resources to the public over the Culture Days event weekend.

Forthcoming “In Conversation” clips will feature interviews with:

Bruce Kuwabara, Founding Partner KPMB Architects
Zaib Shaikh Actor, Director & Producer
Martha Henry, CC, Leading Actor
Jeff Melanson, Executive Director & Co-CEO Canada’s National Ballet School
Louise Sicuro, CEO Culture pour tous
Andy Kenins, Chair Elect Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir
Luce Moreau, CEO Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal
James (Jim) Fleck, OC, Chairman, Business for the Arts
Janice Price, CEO Luminato Festival
Stuart Reid, Executive Director MacKenzie Art Gallery
Marie Lavigne, CEO La Société de la Place des Arts de Montréal
Sarah Iley, VP Programming The Banff Centre
Sal Ferreras, Academic Vice-President Vancouver Community College
Tom McCabe, President & CEO Theatre Calgary

The first videos in this series are now LIVE and available on the Culture Days YouTube channel! Be sure to check back as more videos will be added in the lead up to the Culture Days event weekend.

View Comments | Posted in Funders & Supporters, community organizers, for activity organizers, role of arts and culture, uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Libraries across Ontario celebrate Culture Days

September 6th, 2011 by Aubrey Reeves

Public libraries throughout Ontario have enthusiastically embraced the spirit of Culture Days.  More than 100 public libraries in small towns, mid-sized cities and major urban centres in Ontario are taking part in Culture Days celebrations September 30 to October 2, 2011.

During the Aeroplan Culture Stories Contest, Canadians told Culture Days that their public library is a favourite place to experience arts and culture. As Catherine B. of Ottawa said, a library is “more than books and dust; it’s thriving, growing, cultivating – we meet, we share, we have a place that’s purely for exploration. Libraries ARE community, and they burst with arts and culture.”

The Elgin County Library is hosting a reading by Giller Prize winning author Bonnie Burnard and the Cambridge Libraries and Galleries is presenting storytellers Tongues Wagging Productions. The Stratford, Grimsby and Windsor public libraries are all holding “Human Libraries” during Culture Days. The public can check out “human books” including artists, writers and musicians who have volunteered for one-on-one informative and entertaining chats.

“Public libraries and Culture Days are a natural match because both are about inclusion and making sure that culture is available to everyone in the community,” said Stratford Public Library CEO Sam Coghlan.

Beyond the literary world, many Ontario libraries are also hosting a range of arts and heritage activities, such as a bilingual demonstration by instrument builder Pierre Laframboise at the Greater Sudbury Library. The Innisfil Public Library is holding a dance workshop by the Simcoe Contemporary Dancers and the Whitby Public Library is celebrating its 100th anniversary by asking the public to scan their historic photos of Whitby into a digital photo collection.

“Libraries have obviously come a long way in 100 years,” says Whitby Public Library CEO Ian Ross, “Back then we were inward looking. Today we are collaborative organizations, working with so many partners to achieve shared goals.”

Several major urban library systems have offered their spaces to artists and cultural groups wishing to present Culture Days activities. The London Public Library is hosting activities at every library branch in London. Similarly, the Toronto Public Library (TPL) is hosting 85 activities at 48 library branches for their program “Culture Days @ the Library.” This large-scale partnership between TPL, Culture Days and the Neighbourhood Arts Network is an unprecedented opportunity for the public to engage directly with artists in their own neighbourhoods.

“The great variety of cultural activities in urban library branches – from music and dance to poetry, storytelling, painting, bookbinding and stone carving – is testimony to the artistic talents in our cities,” said Toronto Public Library’s Senior Services Specialist Miriam Scribner. “In opening up library spaces for Culture Days, we are connecting artistic creators with local communities, providing high quality cultural experiences that are not always easily accessible.”

Participating Libraries include (as of September 7, 2011):

Barrie Public Library
Cambridge Libaries and Galleries
Chatham-Kent Public Library
City of Mississauga
City of Ottawa Archives
Cobourg Public Library
Elgin County Library
Elmira Library
Essex County LIbrary
Grand Valley Public Library
Greater Sudbury Public Library / Bibliothèque publique du Grand Sudbury
Grimsby Public Library
Guelph Public Library – Main Branch
Hamilton Public Library
Innisfil Public Library
Keswick Library
Kingston Frontenac Public Library
London Public Library
Masonville Public Library
Maynooth Public Library
Mississauga Library System
Norfolk County Public Library
North Perth Public Library
Orangeville Public Library
Ottawa Public Library / Bibliothèque publique d’Ottawa
Pembroke Public Library
Perth East Public LIbrary
Peterborough Public Library
Sault Ste. Marie Public Library
Smiths Falls Public Library
St. Marys Public Library
Stratford Public Library
Thunder Bay Public Library
Toronto Public Library
West Perth Public Library
Whitby Archives
Whitby Public Library
Windsor Public Library
View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Ontario, community organizers, role of arts and culture, uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Culture Days @ the Library – 85 free activities at 48 branches

September 6th, 2011 by Aubrey Reeves

Toronto Public Library, the Neighbourhood Arts Network and Culture Days are pleased to announce a major partnership called “Culture Days @ the Library” that welcomes more than 85 Toronto-based artists and cultural groups into 48 library branches throughout the city. On Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1 the public is invited to take part in free, hands-on and behind-the-scenes activities where artists will share their creative process, inspirations and techniques.

“The great variety of cultural activities at Library branches – from  Bollywood dance to Serbian choral music, to poetry, storytelling, painting, bookbinding and stone carving – is testimony to the artistic talents in our city,” said Toronto Public Library’s Senior Services Specialist Miriam Scribner.

Culture Days @ the Library matches Toronto-based artists and groups with library branches as a grassroots way of connecting artists to the public in their own neighbourhood.  The partnership allows artists to bring their work out of the studio and engage directly with the public.  Most activities are family-friendly, and all are free and interactive.

“Toronto Public Library is one of the best library systems in the world, but what makes it special to us is its accessibility. We jumped at the chance to present our traditional Tibetan dresses and music at such a community hub,” said Gelek Badheytsang, co-director of Tibetan arts group Drebu, which is participating in Culture Days for the second time.  “We enjoy being part of a movement that celebrates local arts across the whole country.” Drebu presents their activity Tibetan Chuba at Parkdale Library.

Search by keywords “Toronto Public Library” in the advance search to find Culture Days @ the Library activities. Or visit www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/culturedays for a complete list of activities at Toronto Public Library branches.

About Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library is the world’s busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 18 million people visit branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow more than 32 million items. As cornerstones of their neighbourhoods, our libraries connect people to each other and to their community, inspiring the spirit of exploration, the joy of reading and the pursuit of knowledge for people of all ages and backgrounds. To learn more, please visit www.torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131.

About Neighbourhood Arts Network

Neighbourhood Arts Network is the place where arts and community engagement meet. NAN helps artists and community organizations do what they do best: enrich Toronto and transform it into a more vibrant, beautiful, and liveable city. We catalyze new relationships and conversations, collect research and share information. We envision a Toronto where all residents are empowered to discover and shape the cultural life of their communities. Neighbourhood Arts Network is a project of the Toronto Arts Foundation. To learn more, please visit www.neighbourhoodartsnetwork.org

View Comments | Posted in Ontario, community organizers, role of arts and culture, uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Share YOUR Vision

July 20th, 2011 by Culture Days

Here’s a great personal vision as to what Culture Days is about from Amir Ali Alibhai, executive director of the Alliance for Arts & Culture and active member of the Culture Days British Columbia Task Force.

Click here to read Amir’s blog post.

If you have something to say about public participation and engagement in arts and culture, post it on the Culture Days blog! Submit your vision or post from your own blog via email at stories@culturedays.ca and we’ll share your story with the growing Culture Days network.

View Comments | Posted in Culture Days stories, opinions, role of arts and culture | Tags: , ,

Sun Life Financial Champions Arts Support in Canada

June 10th, 2011 by Culture Days

On May 26, it was announced that Sun Life Financial will receive two Business for the Arts (BftA) awards this year, including an Award of Distinction for its exemplary support of Culture Days.

Sun Life’s support of Culture Days enables a high impact, accessible and integrated multi-level collective marketing and media campaign that showcases the largest and most diverse set of arts and cultural stakeholders across Canada, working together collaboratively to reach out to the public in solidarity for the first time.

The only Canadian company to ever win two distinguished BftA awards in the same year, Sun Life will also receive The Globe and Mail’s Most Innovative Marketing Sponsorship Award for its support of the Toronto Public Library’s Museum + Arts Pass (MAP). Through the Sun Life MAP, the Toronto Public Library is able to bring the experience of the performing and visual arts to a wider audience and broaden access to arts and culture in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods.

Tom Bogart at the May 9 Culture Days 2011 media launch in Vancouver (Photo credit: Tim Matheson)

Understanding that the arts enrich our lives and communities, Sun Life has a particular focus on ensuring increased access through its Making the Arts More Accessible program. “Because Culture Days helps raise the profile of artists and cultural organizations of all types in communities across Canada, the movement provides a tremendous opportunity for businesses to make a valuable contribution to nurturing Canada’s creative talent and increasing accessibility to arts and culture,” declared Tom Bogart Executive, Vice President of Sun Life and Chair of Culture Days Council of Corporate Champions at the May 9 media launch for Culture Days 2011.“We are very pleased to continue our involvement with the ongoing growth of Culture Days and I urge other organizations to support this distinctly Canadian movement.”

Congratulations to Sun Life for these two distinguished awards and for championing further support of arts and culture throughout Canada!

View Comments | Posted in Funders & Supporters, role of arts and culture | Tags: , , ,

Toronto Public Library Application Form

May 6th, 2011 by Aubrey Reeves

Please note: the application deadline (midnight on June 10, 2011) for artists seeking venue spaces at the Toronto Public Library during Culture Days has now passed. Notifications will be sent out by July 15, 2011.

The Toronto Public Library (TPL), the Neighbourhood Arts Network and Culture Days are pleased to announce an exciting partnership called Culture Days @ The Library to help artists and arts organizations to share their creative work with the public. The Toronto Public Library is offering free venues to Toronto-based artists and arts organizations wishing to be part of Culture Days. Some 45 TPL branches spanning the city will provide various types of venues at no cost. Often described as the living-rooms of the city public libraries are important community spaces in our neighbourhoods for learning, exchange of ideas and connecting with others. This partnership enables artists to take their practice out of their private studios into the accessible spaces of library branches so that the public can discover and engage with their work.
To be considered for a space, the arts activity must be free and interactive. Toronto-based individual artists, small and medium-sized arts and cultural organizations, collectives or groups that wish to organize their events at a TPL branch are invited to submit an application by June 10, 2011. These will be assessed by a jury and matched with an appropriate branch location. Decisions will be based on the suitability of the activity for the branch’s venue space and the interactive nature to the activity. Artistic merit will not be assessed. Activities in all artistic disciplines are encouraged as well as those that appeal to families and to audiences of diverse ages. Whenever possible, artists/organizations will be matched with a branch in their own neighbourhood.

View Comments | Posted in Ontario, community organizers, for activity organizers, role of arts and culture, ways to get involved | Tags: , , , , ,

Community Spotlight: Cristian S. Aluas – Artist and Teacher, Kanata, Ontario

April 14th, 2011 by sbattle

As many across the country are starting to organize activities for Culture Days 2011, people are writing in, sharing their stories and what they’re planning for this year’s event, happening September 30, October 1 & 2. Here, we’re profiling individual artists who will be sharing their craft with those in their communities over the 2011 Culture Days weekend.

My name is Cristian S. Aluas and I am a full-time artist and art teacher, with a new art school here in Kanata (suburb of Ottawa). For starters, I was born in Romania and came here when I was 8 years old, fostering a love of art that grew here in Canada, at Canterbury High School, Algonquin College, and Concordia University (all specializing in the visual arts). I am proud to be Canadian, so that is one of the main reasons I love being part of Culture Days, and sharing my artistic gifts with my community.

I started my professional career in 2002, and have been teaching privately for art schools in the Ottawa area for 8 years. I noticed that in my area, Kanata, there was a demand for art classes, and I began taking students privately. This year, I have decided to focus on forming my own art school in Kanata, to serve my community by providing fun and creative ways that they can pursue a drawing or painting hobby, or develop skills in the visual arts. I teach ages 7 and up, and adults, subjects such as Cartooning, Drawing, and Painting with Acrylics (or water soluble Oils). Art can be a great creative outlet, I am passionate about it, and I love to share my knowledge with others.

Being part of Culture Days, I hope to spread awareness of the services that I provide, and to have an easy way for people to come by and get a complimentary art class, and know that there is a place now in the constantly growing Kanata area where young people and adults alike can pursue their dreams and interests and learn how to draw and paint.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday October 1st, from 2pm-3pm, for a free Culture Days Art Class!

More info can be found at www.CSA1.ca

View Comments | Posted in Community spotlight, Culture Days stories, Ontario, for activity organizers, role of arts and culture, ways to get involved |
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