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Are you an artist who wants to ensure you are paid fairly for your art? Do you want to learn how to create solid contracts for your work? Do you want to understand how your artistic income affects your taxes? Two of the most important things you can do for yourself as an artist are to ensure that you are paid fairly for your work, and that your administration is up to date. This workshop, led by lawyers through Pro Bono Ontario, walked participants through some of the important legal issues that you should understand as a practicing artist. The workshop focused on how to: create contracts that ensure you are paid fairly for your work, understand important legal elements about your arts business practice, and ensure that you have the correct and up to date paper work for your arts business practice to thrive. On Thursday, March 24th, 2016, ArtReach hosted Lawyers for the Arts, a workshop on legalities related to running your non-profit organization. This workshop was facilitated by Matthew Wiens, the Director of Corporate Pro Bono Projects for Pro Bono Ontario. Pro Bono Ontario supports Ontarians who have essential legal needs but can’t afford a lawyer. - View photos from the workshop here -

Are you an artist looking to access bigger contracts? Are you interested in applying to do arts based work for the City of Toronto? Do you have ideas on how to create communications materials that are more appealing to young people in the City? DETAILS Date: Thursday, March 10th, 2016 Registration/Food: 5:45 pm Workshop Start Time: 6:00pm SHARP! Location: Toronto City Hall, Committee Room #3 (100 Queen St. W) Facilitators: Paulina O’Kieffe, Andrea Zammit, Gena Meldazy RSVP: HERE (Space is limited, so register now!) NOTE: *This workshop is for youth ages 13-29. If you are an artist who is seeking to expand their portfolio/ resume through bigger contracts, check out this workshop on how to apply for requests for proposals. RFPs are becoming more popular in hiring contract work for not only public, but also corporate clients. Through this workshop you will learn what an RFP is, what RFP review committees are looking for, and best practices when putting together an RFP response. The activities in this workshop are also designed to support artists interested in submitting responses to City RFPs that will be introduced in the workshop. Click here to see the RFP Guidelines. The Applying to Request for Proposals (RFPs) workshop is being offered as part of the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy (TYES) Action 1D: "The City of Toronto will invest in youth artists and arts groups to develop youth sensitive and appropriate communication materials (posters, videos, songs, stories, etc.) that will promote key city programs that serve youth needs". These workshops are being offered to assist youth artists and arts groups in preparing to submit proposals for a Request for Proposals that will be put out by ArtReach, in partnership with TYES. The RFP will be seeking proposals from youth artists and arts groups to complete communications products (posters, videos, photos, etc.) promoting City of Toronto services and initiatives for youth. PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS EXTENDED TO MONDAY MARCH 28 @ MIDNIGHT.

We're distributing $270,000 in grants to youth arts projects in Toronto- if this is something that could support your work, we want to hear from you! The deadline to apply is April 15th, 2016 at 5:00pm (no late submissions!) Please read about our granting program here to see if our funding is a fit for your group, then contact us at grants@artreach.org to request your application package by no later than April 11th, 2016. This funding is available thanks to ArtReach's partnership with the Toronto Arts Council. For more info on this awesome partnership, click here.

Your brand is your identity. As an artist, your brand is important whether you get a contract, grant, or even a spot in a gallery. This dynamic workshop trained artists on how to develop their brand in a way that captures their creative identity and professionalism all in one package. They learned how to create their brand identity, wrote a professional artist statement, and developed their CV and professional portfolio. We shared basic tips and tools on how youth can expose their work and their brand as a professional artist, in order to make a living off their art. Participants were given access to artists and brand strategists who taught best practices in building a brand strategy, and how to take a brand to the next level. On Wednesday, February 24th, 2016, ArtReach hosted Branding 101, a workshop on all things branding related to your non-profit organization. This workshop was facilitated by The Real Sun, Rania El Mugammar, and Pauleanna Reid, and held at CSI Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park. - View photos from the workshop here -

On Tuesday, December 8th, 2015, ArtReach hosted it's annual Funder Speed Dating event at the beautiful ArtScape Sandbox building in downtown Toronto. - View photos from the event here - - View video from the event here - At this free networking event, participants had the chance to connect directly with representatives of various funding and granting organizations that support youth and arts projects in Ontario. Participants learned about different funding opportunities, got face-to-face time with potential funders, and gained the knowledge to help them overcome barriers in accessing funding. The goal of this session was to help youth make relationships with funders and sources of support for their arts projects. This event also saw amazing spoken word piece performed by PSL's Patrick de Belen, and the event's music was provided by DJ Flex of All Trades. Funder Speed Dating 2015 received support from the following funders: Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, FACTOR, and the City of Toronto.

On November 2nd, 2015, ArtReach participated in the Creative Spaces Partnership Exchange, a cross-sector networking and capacity building event. The Exchange was a unique opportunity for individuals and organizations to connect with potential partners working on current and future creative space projects outside of Toronto’s core. Click here to learn more about this event. Our amazing director, Paulina O’Kieffe was also a featured panelist, speaking on "Leadership from Grassroots to Government”, about developing leadership and support for ventures,  communicating programs, proposals and outcomes effectively to government and other key stakeholders, and approaches to framing an organization or an initiative so that it resonates with external stakeholders. - View photos from the event here -

On Tuesday June 23, 2015, we hosted an event at CSI in celebration of ArtReach x YOF’s partnership. - Click here to see photos from the event - This event was filled with great food, great people, and great vibes! Grantees from OTF’s Youth Opportunities Fund were able to present a snapshot of the amazing work they had been doing in their communities. The event was hosted by Randell Adjei from RISE, and featured performances by the amazingly talented Domanique Grant and Toronto’s foremost b-girl crew, Keep Rockin You.

On November 25, 2014, ArtReach × Youth Opportunities Fund hosted their annual networking event, Funder Speed Dating. At this free networking event, participants had a chance to connect directly with representatives of various funding and granting organizations, learned about different funding opportunities, got some face-to-face time with potential funders, and gained knowledge to help overcome barriers in accessing funding. - View photos from the event here - Guest funders included: Kate Fraser, ArtReach; Okeima Lawrence, City of Toronto; Suzanne Paes, City of Toronto; Kristina Hausmanis, StreetARToronto; Ashton Shearer, CUE; Erin Kiyonaga, FACTOR; Carolyn Gloude, Ontario Arts Council; Janice Lambrakos, Ontario Arts Council; Tabish Surani, Youth Opportunities Fund/ Ontario Trillium Foundation; and Peter Kingstone, Toronto Arts Council.

On April 3, 2014, Tides Canada named ArtReach among its Tides' Top 10 – a national annual award honouring some of Canada’s most innovative social change efforts that inspire people to take action, think in new ways and make the world a better place. - Click here to see photos - “Our Tides Top 10 award is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on some of Canada’s most innovative social and environmental initiatives,” said Ross McMillan, President and CEO of Tides Canada. “Each of this year’s recipients has demonstrated innovation, creativity and impact while working at the intersection of social, ecological and economic considerations. We’re pleased to recognize and celebrate their collective dedication to social change.” "We are honoured to receive this recognition," said shahina sayani, ArtReach Toronto's Director. "ArtReach is dedicated to supporting young leaders who create access to arts and culture and who have taken a stand to promote equity and social justice. This award reinforces the power of youth engagement and the arts." Click here to learn more about this award!

On November 27th, 2013, ArtReach hosted it’s annual Funder Speed Dating networking event. At this event, youth had the chance to meet face to face with potential funders in order to better understand the funding available to them in the City of Toronto. Youth were able to discuss their projects with funders and ask questions about getting their programs off the ground. This event was held at the Centre at 918 Bathurst. This year, funders included: Kate Fraser, ArtReach; Laurie O’Dell, Identify N’ Impact - City of Toronto; Suzanne Paes, Identify N’ Impact - City of Toronto; Lilie Zendel, StreetARToronto - City of Toronto; Jason Samilski, CUE Collective; Denis LeFebvre, Laidlaw Foundation; Michelle Miller-Guillot, Cultural Development Fund - Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration; Bushra Junaid, Outreach and Development Manager - Ontario Arts Council, Michael Murray, Ontario Arts Council, Anne-Marie Beneteau, CI Grant Program & Youth Opportunities Fund - Ontario Trillium Foundation; Andrew Suri, Community Arts Program - Toronto Arts Council; Kerry Swanson, Outreach and Evaluation Officer - Toronto Arts Council; and Margo Charlton, Theatre Officer & TAF Research Manager - Toronto Arts Council The night also included a special performance by ArtReach family member, Victoria Mejicano!

On Thursday September 12, 2013, ArtReach and City of Toronto Cultural Services, in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Grassroots Youth Collaborative (GYC), were proud to present the 2013 Youth Arts Pitch Contest. - View photos from the event - - View video from the event - Photography credit: Ebti Nabag Videography credit: Kevin Vinson An annual event, the Pitch Contest seeks to connect young local artists to the funding that they need to get their ideas and careers to the next level. This year saw eight finalists compete for $15,000 in cash prizes and $4000 in supplementary prize packs, to push them closer to their goals of professional artistry, youth empowerment, and community building. 2013's Youth Arts Pitch Contest brought Byron Photography, Francis Atta, Jason Williams of Queue, KeepRockinYou, Outburst! Young Muslim Women Project, Skittlez Gunn, The Starfish Canada, and Victoria Mejicano together on the main stage to display their goods, pitch their hearts out, and vie for the top prize. This year, we were honoured to have our panel of judges include: Garvia Bailey of CBC Radio 2; Setareh Sarmadi of Sportsnet Magazine; triple threat (actor/ dancer/ choreographer) Ofilio Portillo; Priya Ramanujam, editor-in-chief of Urbanology magazine; and groundbreaking filmmaker Romeo Candido. The ever-fabulous Femi Lawson and Shannon Boodram hosted the event, and took us on a musical, artistic, political, and comedic journey through this year's pitches. The Pitch Contest aims to help young artists secure hard-to-reach resources for unique elements of their work, provides training towards putting together a successful pitch, and assists in forging connections between the presenters and esteemed members of Toronto's arts community. All in all, the contest was a success not just for the participants, but also for the spectators who couldn't help but feel inspired by the passion and motivation demonstrated by these young artists in pursuing their dreams. And now for the results… Creative Business & Career Development Category: First: Jason Williams for Queue Second: Skittlez Gunn Runners up: Byron Photography & Victoria Mejicano Community Arts Projects & Productions Category: First: Outburst! Young Muslim Women Project Second: Francis Atta Runners up: KeepRockinYou & The Starfish Canada As always, ArtReach Toronto and our partners congratulate all participants in the 2013 Youth Arts Pitch Contest for their passion, bravery and talent!