New Collaborative Arts Project Addresses Needs of Newcomers in Scarborough

Creative Mosaics, a new collaborative project involving seven organizations, will set out to identify and respond to the needs of newcomers and culturally-diverse communities with the goal of developing an intergenerational, youth-focused arts program.

Scarborough contains some of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Canada, yet it remains under-served in providing arts and cultural programs, services and opportunities to newcomers, youth and culturally-diverse communities.

Creative Mosaics will involve a comprehensive community needs and capacity building assessment in order to develop a proposal for an arts program that integrates after-school, mentorship and intergenerational components, providing learning opportunities in the arts and an exploration of diverse cultural identities.

The Creative Mosaics collaborative includes Scarborough Arts Council, Catholic Cross-Cultural Services, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture, Arising Women, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) and Philippine Advocacy Through Arts and Culture.

Creative Mosaics will include engagement with youth, mentors, artists and cultural leaders, organization of community discussions and focus groups, distribution and collection of surveys, outreach, exploration and development of arts program models and writing of the final report.