Community Arts Canopy Town Hall

Community Arts Canopy Town Hall

Last summer and through the fall and winter we worked with Nordicity and the Toronto Arts Foundation to investigate the dynamic shift to digital and virtual spaces for Community Arts (CA) organizations, practitioners, and Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs) in Toronto.

This project aimed to assess the effectiveness of strategies and practices that we’ve all been using in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges/barriers that we have encountered in moving to virtual models.

The report tools and supports that could help strengthen the abilities of Community Arts organizations and practitioners to serve their communities virtually, even as we’ve returned to in-person programming.

Who is this session for?

• Community Arts Organizations, Service Organizations and Workers
• Community Arts Practitioners and Facilitators 

What can I expect?

At the Townhall we’ll hear about this report, hear from the City of Toronto about the status of their Community Development Review and later have a chance to brainstorm and share best practices in supportive and safe breakout rooms. You can view this report here . We will also be having a guest speaker, Pat Tobin! Pat Tobin is the General Manager of the Economic Development and Culture Division of the City of Toronto. He will be joining our town hall and discussion. You can view Pat's biography below:

Pat Tobin is the General Manager of the Economic Development and Culture Division of the City of Toronto, a role he assumed in October 2022. Previously, Pat had held the position of Director, Arts & Culture with the City of Toronto's Economic Development & Culture Division since February 2017. In the General Manager role, Pat oversees municipal economic and cultural development policy, including an annual grant portfolio of over $45M. Prior to joining the City of Toronto, Pat spent 18 years with the Canadian federal government, working in areas such as culture, civic engagement, and economic development. From 2014 to 2017, Pat was Director General of Innovation and Community Development for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, where he worked to deliver major economic development projects for Ontario, ranging from stem cells to steel mills. Pat also led Canadian Heritage’s operations in Western Canada for five years over 2010-2014. Outside of government, Pat has worked with the Maytree Foundation on immigrant integration and the Inuit Art Foundation on expanding markets for Inuit culture. Pat has a bachelor's degree in Canadian history and literature from Carleton University and a master's degree in Canadian Studies, also from Carleton. Born in Scarborough, Pat is now a proud resident of Leslieville, and even prouder dad to three young kids, and, outside work, enjoys cycling, hiking and kayaking.

Breakout Room Themes

1. How to succeed in delivering hybrid programming- Bring your ideas and success stories to this learning circle.
2. How to cultivate digital knowledge and expertise- Join a discussion about how to create a digital mindset.
3. How to plan for digital delivery- Understand the scope of work necessary for hybrid delivery.
4. How to pay for digital programming resources- Share insights into the funding opportunities and challenges for digital programming.
5. How to measure digital programming impacts- Discuss strategies for reaching your digital goals.

Please select your top 2 breakout room topics you are interested in. We will try our best to place you in your top choice! 

Are you interested in attending? Come and join other community arts organizations, arts workers, LASO Organizations and community members to discuss ideas on how we can best serve our communities, virtually as we trickle back into in-person programming!