Meet ArtReach's 2025 Community Arts Programming Grantees!

ArtReach is proud to announce the 26 programs that were awarded funding in our 2025 Community Arts Programming granting round!

Funding for these grants are made available annually thanks to our partnership with the Toronto Arts Council- click here for more info!

4 THE WEST END: FIRST EXPOSURE $3,935

4 THE WEST END will run First Exposure, a beginner arts program for youth in Toronto’s West End. Consisting of three streams—DJ, Poetry, and Photography, weekly workshops led by professionals will offer hands-on learning, mentorship, and creative exploration. Participants will develop their artistic voices and technical skills, culminating in a showcase that highlights their growth and storytelling abilities.

ALEXANDER ROBINSON: MARKS OF EXPRESSION $9,975

Alexander Robinson will run Marks of Expression, a program that will introduce BIPOC youth ages 21-29 to mark-making as a tool for creative expression and emotional processing. Participants will explore different mark-making techniques through weekly hands-on workshops, with the final two weeks dedicated to creating individual works that will be displayed on Neilson Park Creative Centre exterior digital billboard.

ART CITY ST JAMES TOWN: ART CITY EMERGE $7,100

Art City will run Art City Emerge, an intensive workshop series that will equip youth ages 13-17 from St. James Town with artrepreneurship and art-making skills to sell their own artwork. These weekly workshops will focus on artist branding development and art projects, culminating with an art market planned and hosted by program participants.

BERMA: LOST IN ROTATION $14,983

Berma will lead Lost in Rotation, an intermediate-level DJ program for BIPOC youth to learn how to create and maintain an online radio show. Plarticipants will engage in workshops with professional instructors and guest artists that focuses on transitioning DJ skills from physical to digital, and how to create self-sustaining platforms to help propel their art and careers. Sessions will dive into examples of successful radio shows, how to create one, space facilitation, and set design, while building the core skills needed to become a better DJ.

BRUSH & PIXEL: THE BRUSH & PIXEL PROGRAM $9,000

Brush & Pixel will run a digital arts and graphic design program for Ukrainian newcomer youth ages 13-15, including youth with disabilities to create abstract art using Inkscape. Participants will gain hands-on experience, mentorship, and technical skills through weekly workshops, culminating in a final art exhibition that will showcase participants' work and build connections with the community.

CAMILA SALCEDO: EMERGING TEXTILE ARTISTS MENTORSHIP $15,000

Camila Salcedo will lead an Emerging Textile Artists Mentorship, a program for emerging immigrant artists. Participants will learn textile skills of their individualized interest from weaving, crochet, sewing, embroidery, and/or natural dyes. Alongside artistic creation, folks will learn entrepreneurship skills with a focus on writing grants, artist statements and bios, budgets, proposals and contracts, providing skills necessary to not only pursue a career in textiles or fashion, but to also bridge the gaps in entrepreneurship education often lacking from post-secondary arts programs.

CHARLOTTE CARBONE + DISÉIYE THOMPSON: PROJECT BEST DRESSED $14,992

Charlotte Carbone and Diséiye Thompson will lead Project Best Dressed, a sewing program for queer, trans, racialized, and equity-deserving ballroom youth. Participants will enjoy full-day workshops that culminate with the sewing of an original design, which will be showcased at an end-of-program celebration amongst the ballroom community. Project Best Dressed honours participants' desires, bodies, and histories by being specific to ballroom community and culture, providing a new low-stakes non-competitive environment to shine together in.

DRAMA & QUEERS: ESL DRAMA AND QUEERS! $9,790

Drama & Queers! will run ESL Drama & Queers! A performance arts program for 2SLGBTQIA+ Latinx youth newcomers. Participants will work with mentors to enhance their acting and singing skills while also improving their public speaking skills in English. This program fosters a supportive community where youth can gain creative skills and overcome language barriers to confidently express themselves.

GIRL POWER’D: SUMMER FLOW PROGRAM $12,500

Girl Power’d will run the Summer Flow Program, a spoken word/ poetry and visual art program for young Black girls, aged 13-16 years experiencing systemic barriers to accessing professional arts opportunities. Participants will gain visual art skills, confidence to express themselves in a spoken word/poetry lens and gain hands-on artrepreneur skills, providing valuable knowledge and skill for youth to take their art to the next level.

GUMAWA SPACE: COMING HOME- HONOURING OUR LANDS $14,900

Gumawa Space will run Coming Home: Honouring Our Lands, a storytelling program for queer South-East-Asian, South-Asian & Black youth ages 20-29, from Toronto, with no formal-arts background. This program will provide a space for Youth who recently visited their Motherland to explore what home means to them and who they are as diasporic youth navigating their hyphenated identities through written/visual/oral storytelling and story-sharing from a variety storytelling mentors/alumni.

IMAN DIRIE + AHMED ADAN: A WAY WITH WORDS $10,000

Iman Dirie & Ahmed Adan will lead A Way With Words, a poetry workshop series for Black youth from low-income communities in Toronto. This program provides a space for black youth to explore poetry, storytelling, and spoken word performance while developing their creative and professional skills, culminating in an open mic event. Through writing exercises, discussions, and mentorship, participants will strengthen their artistic voices and gain insight into poetry as both a craft and a career pathway.

MIO SAKAMOTO: BEYOND WORDS- MOVEMENT AS LANGUAGE $10,000

Mio Sakamoto will lead Beyond Words: Movement as Language, a dance workshop series for Japanese-Canadian youth in downtown Toronto who speak or are learning Japanese. Participants will develop ways to generate movement and express themselves through dance, beyond the confines of the English language. The workshops will be led by a youth Japanese-Canadian professional contemporary dance artist and conclude with a public performance.

MOM x WYFE: SCREENPRINTING, BRANDING, AND INDEPENDENT MERCH CREATION FOR ARTISTS $14,980

MOM x WYFE will run Screen Printing, Branding and Independent Merch Creation for Artists, an intensive weekly workshop designed for young artists, aged 18 to 29, based in Toronto. This workshop series focuses on screen printing to create personalized merchandise for artistic brands (musicians, poets, visual artists, textile artists, etc.). With an emphasis on entrepreneurship, sustainability, and hands-on skills development, participants will engage in D.I.Y. practices, enabling them to create after the program concludes.

MUSIC IN THE HEIGHTS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP SERIES $10,000

Music in the Heights Youth Leadership Series is a music production and mentorship program that will serve youth within the Lawrence Heights community. Participants will learn hands-on music production and spoken word/ poetry writing skills. Youth will be able to utilize studio equipment, as well as collaborate with industry professionals such as audio engineers and song composers/spoken word artists in order to create their own unique music and poetry/spoken word projects.

MYURI SRIKUGAN + ALICIA REID: LENS ON THE ENDS- SCARBOROUGH $10,000

Myuri Srikugan and Alicia Reid will lead Lens on the Ends: Scarborough, a workshop series for BIPOC youth (ages 18-29) from Scarborough to develop their photography, documentation, and storytelling skills. Participants will explore Scarborough’s diverse landscapes, creating a visual narrative that deepens their connection to the area. The program includes hands-on learning, photo walks, and guided exercises, refining both technical and creative skills.

PAINTING IN 3’s COLLECTIVE: PAINTING IN 3’s $9,995

Painting in 3's Collective will run Painting in 3's, an intensive workshop for emerging artists ages 18-29 in East Scarborough to develop their skills in acrylic, impasto, and oil painting. Running in East Scarborough, this intensive series will strengthen foundational art skills, emphasizing tool proficiency and diverse painting techniques across 3 mediums. Participants will complete a self-directed final project in their chosen medium and feature their work in a printed art catalogue, available in digital and physical formats, allowing artists to share their work beyond the workshop.

QUEER SOUTH ASIANS: QUEER SOUTH ASIAN ARTSPACE- ROOTS REVIVED $9,700

Queer South Asians will run Queer Souths Asian ArtSpace: Roots Revived a multidisciplinary arts program for queer and trans South Asian youth, ages 16-29. Participants will attend workshops in each category - Visual arts, dance and drag, culminating in a community showcase. These sessions will have an overarching theme of queerness and reconnecting with culture, providing youth with a supportive environment to explore their identities through art.

RAVE ANGELS: DECKED OUT $14,970

Rave Angels will run Decked Out, a DJ intensive program for LGBTQA youth. Through in-person workshops, participants will explore a variety of sound mixing techniques and artrepreneurship skill development with support from industry-level mentors. The program combines DJ techniques with fundamental skill development, providing youth with the essential tools to secure paid opportunities in future. The program will culminate in a showcase where participants will demonstrate the skills acquired throughout the intensive

SCARBRITE: SCARBOROUGH HERSTORY EXPRESSIONS- MALVERN (SHE MALVERN) $15,000

Scarbrite will run Scarborough HERStory Expressions: Malvern (SHE Malvern), a mural art-making intensive for young women and non-binary youth ages 14 - 19 from Scarborough.  Participants will work with Scarbrite to co-create an indoor wall mural that reflects their own personal and collective experiences in the community. Youth will also be mentored in event-planning, and the program will culminate with a mural unveiling led by participants.

SIXTH SENSE COLLECTIVE: CHRONIC PUNK CRIP WAACK $10,000

Sixth Sense Collective will run CHRONIC PUNK CRIP WAACK, a virtual program that will teach waacking and punking adapted for youth with chronic pain and mobility differences. Participants will engage in weekly workshops focused on waacking and punking foundations, such as style history, iconography, musicality, and discography, all through a disability justice lens. The program will culminate with a final in person showcase/ dance party and a live stream via zoom for virtual attendance and exhibition.

SPARC (SCARB PAN-ASIAN RESIDENTS COLLECTIVE): L.I.N.K $2,330

SPARC (Scarb Pan-Asian Residents Collective) will run L.I.N.K ( Learning Illustration and Nurturing Kinship), a digital illustration program for youth ages 19-29 from the Pan-Asian diaspora living in Scarborough. Workshops will include mentorship and guidance from youth pan-Asian facilitators, who are also experienced digital artists and conversations and guided prompts to allow participants to unpack topics such as connection, culture and foster a sense of community. The program will culminate with a collaboratively created printed book featuring illustrations made by participants.

THE GREENPRINT NETWORK: THE GREENPRINT ACADEMY- JCM $15,000

The Greenprint Network will run The Greenprint Academy: JCM (Creative Writing & Performance 101 + Choreography + Dance 101), an afterschool program for Black and POC youth ages 13-21 in the Jane and Finch community. The creative writing and performance sessions will engage participants in storytelling, poetry, and lyrical composition, while the choreography and dance sessions will focus on dance technique and developing original pieces, culminating in a showcase performance.

TOBY’S PLACE: IN OTHER WORDS VOL. 2 $10,850

Toby's Place will run In Other Words Vol. 2, a poetry program for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth ages 13-20, living in Scarborough and east Toronto. Participants will be mentored by published poets in poetry technique, while engaging with themes of self-exploration, self-expression, and 2SLGBTQIA+ liberation. Youth will also receive dinner, and the opportunity to break bread with one another.

UNBOXING ACCESSIBILITY: MENTORSHIP PROGRAM $15,000

Unboxing Accessibility’s Mentorship Program is a peer-to-peer hybrid mentorship program for BIPOC youth with disabilities ages 16-29 years old.  Participants are invited to be program leads, mentors or mentees and start a dialogue with each other through various art forms like storytelling and creative writing. Participants will receive a program kit that contains high-quality art materials and equipment, opportunities to network with leaders in the arts and accessibility fields, and a platform to share their stories with the world, empowering youth with a sense of belonging and social connection.

VERSE & VISUAL EXPRESSIONS: VERSE & VISION- COLLABORATIVE CREATIONS $15,000

Verse & Visual Expressions will run Verse & Vision: Collaborative Creations, a virtual multidisciplinary program exploring poetry, collage, and performance for BIPOC emerging artists ages 18-29. Participants will learn technical skills, collaborate on multimedia projects, and document their process through voice notes and photos. The program culminates in an in-person showcase, where scanned collages will be projected onto poets during live performances, creating a truly immersive experience.

VINCY LIM: INFINITE SKIES $15,000 

Vincy Lim will lead Infinite Skies, a self-love rug making workshop series for QTBIPOC disabled survivors. This program will teach participants the slow craft of punch needle, starting off with learning how to make rug coasters, then with the guidance of the facilitators, be able to design their own rug projects to their liking. Focusing on radical teaching rather than result based teaching, this program is about showing strength in community and giving participants the knowledge that they deserve to not only take up space but to exist and thrive.

• This grant opens annually on December 1st and closes February 1st. Learn more at artreach.org/programgrant or follow us on social media @artreachtoronto

  
  

• Click here to see our previously funded programs 🥰