Photo:
Welcome
The land in which Scarborough Arts is located has been the home of Indigenous people and Nations long before colonial documentation of time and is specifically the land of the Wendat, Anishnabek, Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Haudenosaunee. The territory of what is known today as Toronto is under the One Dish, One Spoon Wampum belt, a peace treaty between the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabek, and is a mutual agreement between nations for sharing land and resources.
The territories that encompass Toronto, as well, are under a number of Treaties including Treaty 13, and in Scarborough specifically the Williams Treaties. There have been many Indigenous names and words associated with this place, and today, Scarborough is home to a multitude of Indigenous people, languages, and cultures from around the world.
We as an organization are composed of people from various walks of life. All of us at Scarborough Arts encourage you to support and advocate for Indigenous people and communities, everywhere. In Canada, specifically, this can look like many things; such as actively returning land, rejecting government legislation that violates the rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, denouncing colonial histories within institutions, ending violence against Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, and girls, donating money to Indigenous youth groups, and any actions that genuinely support the wellbeing and success of Indigenous people, everywhere.
https://www.scarborougharts.com/land-acknowledgment-resources
Scarborough Arts acknowledges that not all members of our community have come to this land willingly, especially those of whom were brought here unwillingly as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. We pay tribute to those ancestors of African origin and descent.
We Bring Artists to the Community and Community to the Arts.
Scarborough Arts, a not-for-profit charitable organization, serves the Scarborough community by developing, delivering, and promoting innovative arts programming and cultural initiatives in collaboration and partnership with the community.
Photo: Map of Scarborough Wards. Designed by Chrysalis Brand Management
Photo: Collage of Youth Art Showcase
at Scarborough Civic Centre’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. Curated by Nithursan Elamuhilan.
Photo: Balangay Starfleet, Leeroy New, Nuit Blanche Scarborough 2023, Scarborough Town Centre
Photo: Participant of Healthy Arts for Seniors program - Cooking Up Community! Image by Mariam Magsi
Message from the Chair
I am pleased to report to you on the continued success and community impact of Scarborough Arts (SA) as we move into a period of organizational development and growth over the next 2-3 years. With changing priorities and directives from our funders, and to better support the Scarborough community, SA will be pivoting to an arts and cultural services model, while maintaining our core programs - COMMUNITY+Connects; EAST: HEART youth program; Food, Public Art & Neighbourhood Tours and Arts & Cultural Tourism initiatives; Healthy Arts for Seniors; The Annual Juried Exhibition; Big Art Book publications; and others. We will be scaling back
temporarily on our smaller special projects in order to implement a robust roster of services that will best serve the Scarborough community.
Our Strategic directions over the next few years will have a focus on building our operational fundraising reserves and capacity through grants, major donors, sponsors and corporate donations. Additionally, a big focus will be the pivot to a top organizational priority of delivering arts and cultural services to support local artists and communities.
With this shift to arts and cultural services, our focus will be on capacity-building and developing community-driven services that will extend the reach and impact not only of SA, but of our broad network of fellow artists, cultural workers, organizations, grassroots collectives, and local businesses. We envision Scarborough Arts to be a place where budding creatives come to hone their talents and skills, while learning hands-on creative industry skills, boosting employability and economic development activities in the arts and cultural sector across Scarborough, and the GTA. With a new incoming Executive Director, we are excited to see a fresh new vision for Scarborough Arts’ service offerings.
This year, some of our biggest successes included the launch of a major Healthy Arts for Seniors publication, “Cooking Up Community!” which has become a beloved resource and archive of participant’s engagements with food, culture, creative expression, artistic development, photography and community resilience. Led by the brilliant multidisciplinary artist, writer and educator, Mariam Magsi, participants engaged in meaningful opportunities to create their own blog, share it within their own communities, with family and friends, and to truly have time to connect amid the challenges of COVID-19, a cost of living crisis, interest rate hikes, and accessibility. Mariam approaches the facilitation of this program with compassion and deep empathy, working closely with senior workshop facilitators to provide a program that creates space for rejuvenation, respite and creative expressions for participants.
Our EAST: HEART program began its 5th year in FY2024, funded for 7 years through 2026 by the Toronto Urban Health Fund (Toronto Public Health), the program provides a peer-to-peer youth-led space with a fully developed program curriculum, for participants to gather, create and learn from each other about sexual health resources across Scarborough, and the GTA. This year’s program Scarborough On Paper explored the letter writing arts and literary arts, culminating in a celebration of poetry, prose and visual artworks at the Scarborough Museum in June 2024.
and Scarborough Arts were awarded a second Main Street Innovation Fund Grant from The City of Toronto, Through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, to develop an upcoming culinary, arts, and cultural tourism video project to be released earliest in Spring 2025. On the heels of our ArtworxTO #LocalDiscoveries joint-LASO project, we have continued our work in providing free, low-cost and low-barrier food, public art and neighbourhood tours across Scarborough. This year, we hosted for the first time two night tours to explore Scarborough’s lively nightlife. One of the night tours took place on Nuit Blanche in October 2023, connecting patrons directly to local artists, restaurants and artworks across a vast network of neighbourhoods including Wexford - Lawrence East, Midland and Finch, and Golden Mile, among others. After the tour, the group was dropped off at the Scarborough Town Centre to enjoy the public art installations at Nuit Blanche all night long. We’re looking forward to many more programs, new services, and upcoming advocacy initiatives into our 2025 fiscal year. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support of the arts in Scarborough.
A key highlight of this year’s programming has been working with our energetic partners at Eat More Scarborough. Led by Howard Tam, Eat More Scarborough
Sincerely,
Suman Roy Chair, Board
of Directors
Message from the Executive Director
As I transition to the next phase of my career, and welcome a new incoming Executive Director, I reflect with fondness on my tenure as Executive Director at Scarborough Arts. Being at the helm of Scarborough Arts since 2018 has truly been a formative experience in terms of learning and growing as a leader; collaborating with a talented team; and - the greatest pleasure, having the privilege of serving the local Scarborough community and artists over the past 7 years through a dynamic range of arts and cultural programs, services and advocacy initiatives. I will surely miss the people, places and things that make Scarborough the best place in Toronto to live, work, collaborate and be creative!
Scarborough Arts is a place where Staff, Board, artists and community members can learn and grow creatively together. I am grateful for the partnerships, opportunities and connections I have built and stewarded for the organization fortifying our impact and reach. I remember the very first event that I attended in the Bluffs Gallery in April 2018. It was the Healthy Arts for Seniors Poetry, Prose, Photography and Podcast program, where seniors had collectively written and designed an anthology publication, a podcast, and curated an extensive photography exhibition. I was humbled and impressed by the artwork and talent of the participants, as well as their pride, self-respect and excitement about the vulnerable, insightful and innovative works they had created. They exuded delight and pride as they read and shared their works and poetry, played excerpts from their podcasts, and showed their photography explaining how they had conceptualized each shot. It was humbling to connect the dots between the behind-the-scenes administrative work that characterizes much of SA’s day-to-day work with the real-time impacts we are making right here in Scarborough. And, it’s but one example of the powerful impact of community arts.
And, it’s but one example of the powerful impact of community arts.
Our 2018 Board of Directors was keen to see the realization of The SCARBOROUGH Sign project, a citynamed sign that moves to various Scarborough locations, creatively animated at each locale. The Sign has been layered with murals, craft installations, photography and vinyl installations, and more, by a brilliant range of artists, grassroots collectives and partner organizations. And, it has become a popular addition to many places annually, notably the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) for Orientation and Homecoming, Centennial College for the winter holidays, and the Toronto Zoo. COMMUNITY+Connects has been a successfully revitalized signature program, offering a diverse, free, low-barrier and accessible roster of creative, skill-building and professional development workshops geared towards artist and community engagement, creative expression, community wellness, and artistic professional development.
A definite highlight was working with multiple award winning visual artist, photographer and community leader, Anthony Gebrehiwot, alongside artist, writer and educator - as well as The City of Toronto’s Photo Laureate (2019-2022), Michèle Pearson Clarke, to host Scarborough’s New View Photo Contest, which engaged the local community in documenting the People, Places and Things that make Scarborough amazing. And, to combat the misnomered reputation, proliferated by the media, that has given Scarborough the perception of having a bad rap. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Photo Contest was instrumental in engaging the public to get outside, reduce social isolation and loneliness, and come together “apart” amid the height of
the COVID-19 pandemic - something entirely necessary for the health and wellbeing of the local community. Proudly, the contest engaged over 5,650+ submissions from across Scarborough and the GTA.
From the EAST HEART youth program that is bridging the gap for LGBTQ2S+ youth in Scarborough between creative self expression, peer-to-peer sexual health education, and creative training and mentorship to Kseniya Tsoy’s “Human Imagination Party” - a children driven art program culminating in a public children’s art exhibit; to working closely with the Local Arts Service Organizations on advocacy, arts/cultural sector development and sector-wide COVID-19 recovery and rebuild efforts, to seeing the impacts of our partner programs such as The Reading Partnership’s 360⁰ Stories Program that brings hands-on arts and literacy skill building to children in the Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park Neighbourhood of Scarborough; to the opportunities for creative mentorship and industry expertise and connection provided to participants in Black Women Film!’s annual Black Girls Film Camp; to being selected to act as a mentor for three years with the Toronto Arts Foundation, helping emerging artists learn about nonprofit management, operations and fund development; to the evocative portraits and writings of the Healthy Arts for Seniors program; to engaging in sumptuous feasts and underground neighbourhood histories by going on a Food, Public Art & Neighbourhood Tour led by partner organization, Eat More Scarborough… and so much more, Scarborough Arts has been committed to doing everything that we can to bring arts to the community, and community to the arts. As I pass the torch to a new dynamic leader, I wish you all the very best for Scarborough, today and always.
In terms of our 2023-24 fiscal year, we encountered challenges, and celebrated incredible successes - but, we’ve made it through with a financially strong position, and are poised to recalibrate our focus to community arts and cultural services and advocacy. I hope you have enjoyed the community arts work accomplished this year by our small yet mighty team. I extend appreciation to our Board of Directors: Suman Roy (Chair), Johnny Zhang (Vice-Chair), Amer Al-Shaar (Treasurer), Mathura Karunanithy (Director), Rodney Yip (Director), and Jason Li (Director). And, I respectfully owe a great deal to our team - Faith Rajasingham, Program Coordinator, who is growing into a strong arts and cultural sector leader. There’s a reason we call her, “The Mayor of Scarborough”.
Faith - I cannot wait to see what you do next! And, to Katie Pearson, our Finance & Administrative Officer - we truly would not be as organized and focused as we are now without your operational and financial genius. Thank you.
Yours in creativity always,
Derek Spooner, M.A.
Executive Director Scarborough Arts
To all the artists, creators, cultural workers, dignitaries, funders, sponsors, donors, partners, grassroots collectives, advisors, counsel, vendors, service providers, accountants, bookkeepers, and innovators of Scarborough: please know you’ve taught me so much, and it’s been an honour to serve Scarborough alongside each and every one of you.
Big Ups to you, Scarborough! I’m going to miss you. Please keep in touch. And, never stop believin’ in the power of your creativity to change the world.
Photo: Image of attendees with Scarborough Arts’ Executive Director (Derek Spooner) and Eat More Scarborough (Howard Tam) at Meet Me at the Plaza Video Launch, 2024
Looking Ahead - Scarborough Arts2025-2026
Strategic Priorities
Board & Staff Identified Key Strategic Priorities - 2025-26
Fundraising
• Develop a Fundraising Strategy with a focus on securing unrestricted operating funds to secure additional Staff in key areas of business functionality, as well as to secure the future of SA by making contributions to our Internally Restricted Operational Reserve Fund
• Increase annual and monthly donors by 130%-150% per annum for 2024-25 and 2025-26 to steadily build ongoing cash flows to support our mission
• Secure local Scarborough- and GTA-based sponsorship opportunities
Pivot to Services
• Temporarily scaling down programs in 2024-25 to reorient the organization towards a service-delivery model
• Identify arts, cultural, and other service gaps in the local community; do a needs assessment and identify the areas many organizations, artists and programs are already providing services to assess how SA can have the biggest impact in arts and cultural services in Scarborough
• Reorient certain programs towards a service model, such as the COMMUNITY+Connects workshop program, which can be developed to provide impactful professional development, mentorship and coaching for artists, cultural workers, collectives and grassroots initiatives in Scarborough
• Focus on understanding current services so that we can expand the scope of service offerings in Scarborough with a lens towards cross-sectoral, mutually beneficial partnerships for innovating what arts and cultural service provisions can look like in Scarborough
Photo: Find Face Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Nuit Blanche Scarborough 2023, Albert Campbell Square
2025-26 Strategic Priorities (con’t)
Board recruitment
• Build our Board of Directors recruitment efforts to build a strong and engaged Board that is representative of the Scarborough community
• Identify skills that would benefit our board and organization, while finding prospective Directors who also want to learn, contribute and be engaged with Scarborough’s arts and cultural scenes
• Develop strong functions for Board engagement, so that Board Directors feel valued, represented, and positioned to contribute to the long-term success of Scarborough Arts, and a thriving arts and cultural scene in Scarborough
Human Resources
• Continue joint LASO advocacy efforts at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, as well as with corporations, developers, etc., so we can secure substantial funding to ensure a retained, talented Staff who want to make a long-term investment in the development of Scarborough Arts’ community arts activities and local impacts.
• Conduct an Organizational Cultural Assessment to
strengthen the organization for all Staff and Board.
• Provide key training for all staff in areas such as: First Aid and CPR “C”, Mental Health First Aid, Occupational Health & Safety Training, Workplace Violence and Harassment, Accessibility Training for Employees (AODA), Anti-Racism, and Workplace Hazardous Materials Safety Information (WHMIS) Training, among others
• Provide substantive ongoing professional development opportunities for Staff to learn and grow both as team members, and as individuals
Marketing / Outreach / Social Media
• Explore models for critical Staff roles, such as Fund Development, Marketing and Communications, Operations and Logistics
• Develop a media and branding strategy, and thoughtfully engage the public through lively online resources, educational materials and content aimed at supporting arts and cultural growth in Scarborough
• Develop digital audio and video content, “shorts” and accessible resources (closed captioning, translation, etc.) that can provide self-directed workshops and continued creative and artistic development
Photo: Participants of COMMUNITY+Connects 2023: En Plein Air with facilitator Raoul Olou
Photo: 2SQTBIPOCSA Multicultural Youth Voices vs the world art exhibit showcase with Rainbow’s Pride in Scarborough, 2024
Message from Program team
Throughout our 202324 fiscal year, the SA Programs Team continued to further our mission and core values through a dynamic roster of programs that spanned crochet and textile arts, techniques in gouache painting and botanical illustrations, dynamic programs for children, youth and seniors, and many public exhibitions and video screenings that made the year unique. We continue to hone our program roster with new and innovative programs alongside old favourites, while expanding our reach across the City of Toronto with events such as The Scarborough Civic Centre 50th Anniversary Celebration, Doors Open Toronto 2024 at Nathan Phillips Square, and our 38th Annual Juried Exhibition - Metakinesis.
program offered a wide-range of professional and skills development opportunities for new and emerging artists. With newly forged community partnerships, we facilitated the new workshop series, Digital Designs, led by Eva Francis-Work, which offered creative digital design training for Indigenous youth from Scarborough. This workshop series would not have been possible without ongoing support from Native Child and Family Services and Toronto Public Library - Albert Campbell branch. The Toronto Public Library - Albert Campbell branch graciously offered us space for the 6-week program, and full access to their computer lab and softwares such as Adobe, Photoshop, and Lightroom for all program participants. Students walked away with new design skills for both personal creative and career development. And, we partnered with local artist and community arts facilitator, Kseniya Tsoy, to produce 3 artistic workshop series for children called Human Imagination Party!specially designed for babies, toddlers and children to lead and be a part of their own creative expression and public exhibition! The cutest program with the cutest participants, Scarborough Arts is excited to keep this program running for many years to come.
At Scarborough Arts, nothing happens in isolation; we had many new exciting partnerships, coupled with long-held partner organization, to offer a robust variety of programs, services and advocacy initiatives across Scarborough. With generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, our COMMUNITY+Connects
Photo: left to right SA Executive Director
(Derek Spooner), winner of Staff Pick Award (Shennel Simpson), Program Coordinator (Faith Rajasingham) at Scarborough Arts’ 38th Annual Juried Exhibition Metakinesis, 2023. Image by Daren Valdez.
Tarragon Theatre provided our EAST H.E.A.R.T. 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Program and Healthy Arts for Seniors program participants with complimentary tickets to live shows featuring a seasonal repertoire of plays that address complex contemporary issues in Canadian society today. It was a lively and rich experience for attendees, who connected with one of the premiere theatre companies in Toronto, with direct exposure to actors, playwrights and designers at each show. We have been fortunate this year to provide a high-volume of intergenerational opportunities to connect artists and community members of all ages to unique creative training, development and engagement opportunities.
A delight was partnering with the Doris McCarthy Gallery’s Artist-in-Residence, Myrui Srikugan, on Imminent Visions, a 46-minute documentary that captures Scarborough at a “pivotal moment when development projects, changes to transit systems, and growing popularity are dramatically transforming perceptions of Scarborough and its residents”. The documentary features insights from key arts and cultural leaders, organizations, collectives and artists who discuss the changing landscape of Scarborough now and into the future. And, we have been fortunate to partner with Black Women Film! - Black Girls Film Camp Camp!, a summer filmmaking intensive that provides Black women and women-identified folx with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and knowledge in various aspects of film production - from script writing, production, direction, cinematography, editing, and screening - each youth had the opportunity to create a unique short-film that provides a basis for their portfolio into the GTA’s creative industries, while speaking to the nuanced lived experiences of Scarborough residents.
A new partnership with Tender Possibilities was a major highlight this year. This partnership supported the movement of free and publicly accessible poetry
workshops from West Toronto to Scarborough. Emerging Scarborough poets were able to access high-quality poetry workshops throughout the summer at Guild Park and Gardens, and access an established network of fellow writers offering mentorship and guided discussions to benefit emerging poets.
In partnership with Eat More Scarborough, Scarborough Arts offered a series of day and night food, public art and neighbourhood tours supported by the City of Toronto, Ontario Arts Council, and Delta Downsview Bingo & Gaming. Tours provide low-barrier, low-cost access to some of Scarborough’s most important establishments, cultural culinary delights, public artworks and murals, and unique neighbourhood histories you won’t find anywhere else in the GTA. We also received funding from the Main Street Innovation Fund and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, who supported Scarborough Arts for a second time in developing a new video project that aims to put Scarborough on the map as an arts, cultural and tourism destination of choice in the GTA!
And the City of Toronto continues to be a big supporter of arts and cultural development in Scarborough. Our EAST H.E.A.R.T. 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Program: Scarborough on Paper Yr. 1 of 3, funded by the Toronto Urban Health Fund, enabled youth participants and artists to visit unique locations throughout the City in exploring the letter writing and literary arts, including field trips to: Toronto’s First Post Office, Big River Bindery, and Paperhouse Studio where participants learned the history of letter writing in Toronto, bookbinding, and how to create and paint with paper. We were also able to offer safe-party kits to program participants generously provided by the TRIP! Project.
Healthy Arts for Seniors Cooking Up Community! culminated with a beautiful celebration at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre where we communed with local politicians, dignitaries, Staff, Board, and friends & family of participants to celebrate the project’s culminating interactive senior-led cookbook, Cooking Up Community!. This book has become incredibly popular among Scarborough’s senior communities, reflecting the lived experiences and creative artworks of local seniors.
Scarborough Arts has never been so marked by the importance of partnerships and collaborations - and we wish to thank each and every partner who has made this year special and important for our local community. And, our work is not possible without the support and love of all of YOU! Thank You to all who have contributed to make 2023-24 an enduring success. We look forward to serving up high-quality, impacting, and fun programming again in 2024-25, and beyond! Yours in community,
Faith Rajasingham Program Coordinator
Photo: Participants of EAST H.E.A.R.T. 2SLBGTQ+ Youth Program, Scarborough on Paper Yr. 1 of 3 with SA Program Coordinator
Programs by the Numbers
14,049
AUDIENCE MEMBERS
20
VOLUNTEERS ENGAGED
32
PUBLIC PERFORMANCES/ EXHIBITION
460,000
ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE SCARBOROUGH SIGN
YOUTH EMPLOYED/ MENTORED
36
SENIORS ENGAGED
Photo: Dancer, Ruza Vatres, Scarborough Arts’ 38th Annual Juried Exhibition Metakinesis, 2023. Image by Daren Valdez.
Programs by the Numbers
• 360º Stories and The Reading Partnership
• 38th Annual Juried Exhibition - Metakinesis
• ArtworxTO - Meet Me at the Plaza Scarborough food, public art and neighbourhood promotional video in partnership with Eat More Scarborough and Scarborough Arts
• BIPOC Disability Justice with Krystall Kavita Jagoo
• Birchcliff Butterflyway & Scarborough Arts’ Pollinator Garden
• Black Women Film! Black Girls Film Camp Summer 2024
• Botanical Illustrations with Marjan Verstappen
• Chainmaille 101 with Laurie Poirier
• Chainmaille Basics with Laurie Poirier
• COMMUNITY+Connects
• Digital Design with Eva Francis-Work
• Driftscape App Self-Guided Tours
• Discover Agincourt Self-Guided Tour
• A Cross-town Cultural Cruise on Scarborough’s LRT Line!
• EAST: H.E.A.R.T. (Health, Education, Arts, Resilience, Together) - Scarborough On Paper letter writing arts program
• Eat More Scarborough
• Night Tour - Nuit Blanche Edition
• Kennedy Road Food Tour
• Golden Mile Revisited
• Keith Lee’s Hits (& What He Missed)
• En Plein Air with Raoul Olou
• Experimental Filmmaking with Niya Abdullahi
• Farewell SRT Youth Photo Exhibition at the Scarborough Civic Centre 50th Anniversary Celebration Event
• Guild Alive with Culture Arts Festival
• Guild Alive with Culture Arts Festival - public outreach and engagement
• Healthy Arts for Seniors - Cooking Up Community!
• Imagination Station I, II & III with Kseniya Tsoy children, toddlers and babies arts program and child-led art exhibition
• Imminent Visions documentary screening and panel discussion with Doris McCarthy Gallery and Artist-in-Residence, Myuri Srikugan
• LGBTQ2S+ Youth Mural Jam with artist Monica Wickeler
Photo: Food and Art Night Tour with Eat More Scarborough
• Navigating Grief in BIPOC Solidarity with Krystal Kavita Jagoo
• New Horizons for Seniors - Cooking Up Community!
• Oddside Arts - Beyond the Soil at Nuit Blanche Scarborough
• PlazaPOPS Movie Night
• PlazaPOPS Summer Bloom Fest
• Portrait and Landscape Photography with Myuri Srikugan
• Project Kids + Cameras Online Program and Exhibition
• Rainbow’s Pride in Scarborough (RPIS) Multicultural LGBTQ2SA+ Youth With Abilities Against The World Youth Arts Showcase and Event
• Scarborough Arts, Trades & Family Festival
• Scarborough Arts, Trades & Family Festival - Community Artist Booths
• Scarborough Arts at Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities (SCHC) Summer HubFest
• Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities HubFest - public outreach and engagement
• Scarborough Civic Centre 50th Anniversary Celebration Event
• Scarborough Folk Festival - public outreach and engagement
• Scarbrite Collective - Art Cart Community Paint Day
• Scarbrite Collective - Malvern HERstory Mural Project
• Sustainable Resistance for BIPOC Folx Storyteller Showcase with Krystal Kavita Jagoo
• Taste of Lawrence
• Tatreez: Existence is Resistance with Alexandra Verma
• Tender Possibilities
• Tender Possibilities summer poetry workshops
• The SCARBOROUGH Sign
• Things That Go Bump In the Night EAST: H.E.A.R.T. Youth Mural Project on the SCARBOROUGH Sign installed at:
• Taste of Lawrence
• Scarborough Food Security Initiative
• University of Toronto Scarborough
• Scarborough Civic Centre
• WexPOPS / PlazaPOPS
• UrbanArts CultureShock Festival - public outreach and engagement
• WexPOPS
• Workman Arts Satellite Joint-LASO Programs
Photo: left to right: Owner of Momo Hut, Food and Art Night Tour with Eat More Scarborough; participants of Healthy Arts for Seniors Cooking Up Community! with Mariam Magsi and SA Program Coordinator.
Testimonials
Farhia Tato (Founder & Cultural Curator, Tender Possibilities) Program Partner
“Scarborough Arts has been an invaluable partner in supporting Tender Possibilities’ Summer Series at Guild Park & Gardens. Their expertise and deep community knowledge have enriched our programming, connecting us with local artists and community members to create meaningful, accessible spaces for diverse participants to engage with poetry.”
Suvetha Krishnapillai
Program Participant
Participating in Scarborough Arts’ programs let me tap back into creativity that I usually don’t have time for. As a lifelong Scarborough resident, learning from local artists who grounded their teaching in our community made the experience deeply relevant. Having this dedicated time for guided creative play and skill-building gave me something to look forward to each week.
Niya Abdullahi
Program Partner
Facilitating “Experimental Filmmaking” for the Workman Arts x Scarborough Arts Satelitte Program was a transformative experience. Programs like these offer our communities opportunities that truly mobilize and revolutionize us. Art can often feel inaccessible for many, but Scarborough Arts removes these barriers, empowering folks to reach their full potential.
Program Partner
Scarborough Arts has been the most amazing partner for the last 3 years. We’ve done so much together to advance Scarborough’s food stories - we can’t wait to see what next year will bring!
Eat More Scarborough Food Tours
Howard Tam
Photo: Participants of COMMUNITY+ Connects: Artrepreneurship Networking Event
Taylor.
Photo: Raoul Olou, COMMUNITY+Connects: En Plein Air
Photo: Participants of Food and Art Night Tour with Eat More Scarborough. Image by Mariam Magsi
31
Treasurer’s Report
Dear Scarborough Arts Community,
I am pleased to report to you on the Scarborough Arts’ financial results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. The financial results are prepared by bookkeepers and are fairly presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The figures which are presented in this report were derived from our audited financial statements, completed by the firm Hogg, Shain & Scheck.
Reflecting back on the year, it has been a busy and challenging year and the Scarborough Arts team has risen to the occasion to continue delivering impactful and quality programming to the community and demonstrate the ability to manage general economic and market forces such as rising cost of living. Our strong financial position is a testament to the prudence of Scarborough Arts management as well as the support of our funders and donors.
Scarborough Arts has reported total revenues of $810,535 and total expenses of $768,009. This has resulted in excess of revenues over expense of $42,526 for the fiscal year 2023-24, a meaningful improvement
from the net loss reported for in the previous fiscal year. The primary source of revenue continues to be from government grants (67%) with meaningful improvement in other revenue sources such as fundraising and donations. Total expenses were composed of Programs (63%) and Administration (37%).
Scarborough Arts’ cash balance reflects a healthy financial position and has been invested in GICs to ensure continued growth and appropriate use of the balance that has been developed over the years. A key metric for any organization is the current ratio (calculated as current assets over current liabilities) and is an indicator of the ability to pay down any current obligations at a point in time. Scarborough Arts’ current ratio as at June 30, 2024 is 1.92, a healthy metric that management prides itself on maintaining.
I would like to thank our funders, donors and the dedicated Scarborough Arts community for the ongoing support that has contributed to the success of the organization and empowers us to continue serving Scarborough and beyond.
Sincerely,
Amer Al-Shaar Treasurer & Director, Board of Directors.
Photo: Scarborough Civic Centre’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, Scarborough Civic Centre
Condensed Statement of Changes in Net Assets for the Year Ended June 30
Excess (Deficiency) Revenue Over Expenses
Net Assets FY 2023 & FY 2024
2023-24 Staff & Board of Directors
Administration & Operations Staff
• Derek Spooner, Executive Director
• Amanda Singh, Administrative & Operations Coordinator
• Katie Pearson, Finance & Administration Officer
Program Staff
• Emily Peltier, Program Manager
• Faith Rajasingham, Program Coordinator
Canada Summer Jobs Team - 2023-24
• Aynsley Grealis, Administrative Assistant
• Laira Macapagal, Marketing Assistant
• Nawal Salim, Program Assistant
• Tomée Tzatzanis, Program & Outreach Assistant
• Kiu Kiu Mak, IDEAS Co-op Student, UTSC Experiential Learning
Board of Directors
• Suman Roy, Chair
• Johnny Zhang, Vice-Chair
• Amer Al-Shaar, Treasurer
• Kesava Kumar, Secretary
• Mathura Karunanithy, Director
• Rodney Yip, Director
• Jason Liang, Director
Project Staff
• Howard Tam + Eat More Scarborough
• Project Coordinator - Food, Public Art & Neighbourhood Tours
• Project Coordinator - Night Tours Scarborough
• Project Facilitator - Culinary Everywhere! Tour Guide Training Program
• Mariam Magsi, Project Coordinator - Healthy Arts for Seniors Cooking Up Community!
• Ashwini Varatharajan, Program Assistant - COMMUNITY+Connects Programs
• Jega Delisca, Youth Coordinator, EAST: H.E.A.R.T. Youth Program
• Leon Tsai, Peer Mentor, EAST: H.E.A.R.T. Youth Program
• Maneesa Veeravel, Peer Mentor, EAST: H.E.A.R.T. Youth Program
• Rainee Nelson, Peer Mentor, EAST: H.E.A.R.T. Youth Program
• Sky Ravinn-Ffrench, Peer Mentor, EAST: H.E.A.R.T. Youth Program
Photo: Participants of Healthy Arts for Seniors Cooking Up Community! with facilitator Sheniz Janmohamed. Image by Mariam Magsi
Funder & Community Partners
OUR OPERATING FUNDERS
•
• City of Toronto
• Government of Ontario
• Ontario Arts Council
• Ontario Arts Foundation
• Delta Downsview Bingo & Gaming
PROJECT FUNDERS
• ArtworxTO
• City of Toronto
• City of Toronto Night Economy Review
• Community One Foundation
• Doors Open 2024
• Flourish Research Cluster, University of Toronto Scarborough
• Generator TO
• Government of Canada - New Horizons for Seniors Program
• Main Street Innovation Fund
• Ontario Trillium Foundation - Resilient Communities Fund
• PlazaPOPS
• PollinateTO
• Red Cross - Community Services Recovery Fund
• Scarborough Civic Centre
• Toronto Urban Health fund (TUHF) - 3 Year funding 2023-26 for the EAST: H.E.A.R.T. youth program
• University of Toronto Scarborough
• Wexford Heights BIA
• Workman Arts Satellite Program
Photo: Cooking Up Community! Cookbook as part of Healthy Arts for Seniors. Image by Mariam Magsi
Photo: Letters of Haunting Par Nair, Nuit Blanche Scarborough 2023, Scarborough Civic Centre
Funder & Community Partners (con’t)
Foundations
• Community One Foundation
• Ontario Arts Foundation
• Work in Culture - Catalyzer Fund
Municipal
• City of Toronto
• Delta Downsview Bingo & Gaming
• Wexford Heights BIA
Provincial
• Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
• Ontario Arts Council
• Ontario Trillium Foundation - Resilient Communities Fund
Federal
• Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, United Way Centraide, Government of Canada - Community Services Recovery Fund
• Employment and Social Development Canada - Canada Summer jobs
• Employment and Social Development Canada - New Horizons for Seniors Program
• Government of Canada - Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Media Partners
• Canadian Multicultural Radio
• CTV News
• NOW Magazine
• The Bluffs Monitor
• The Scarborough Mirror / Toronto.com
• The Toronto Star
Photo: Councillor Jamaal Myers (Ward 23), Goodbye, Line 3, Scarborough Centre Station
Co-Producing Partners
• Big River Bindery
• Black Women Film!
• Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, City of Toronto
• Community Arts Guild
• Community One Foundation
• Destination Toronto
• Eat More Scarborough
• Flourish Research Cluster, University of Toronto Scarborough
• GeneratorTO
• Monica Wickeler, Artist
• Night Economy Review, City of Toronto
• Nordicity
• Oddside Arts - Beyond the Soil
• Phoenix Academy of the Arts
• PlazaPOPS
• PollinateTO
• Rainbow’s Pride in Scarborough (RPIS)
• Scarborough Bluffs Community Association
• Scarborough Civic Centre, City of Toronto with special thanks to Katheeshan Ramachandran and the Security Team
• Scarborough Food Security Initiative
• Scarborough Town Centre
• Scarborough Town Centre - TTC Station
• Scarbrite Collective
• Space for Grief
• SymplSolutions
• The Potter’s Studio
• The Reading Partnership
• The Wexford Heights BIA
• University of Toronto Scarborough
• Work in Culture
• Workman Arts Community Partners
• 1044262 Ontario Ltd.
• 360º Stories and The Reading Partnership
• 705 Progress Shelter
• Alien Art Market by Story Planet
• BEEKYN (Birchmount Eglinton East Kennedy Park Youth Network)
• Best Buy Team at 50 Ashtonbee Rd., Unit #2 in Golden Mile
• Big River Bindery
• Birchcliff Butterflyway
• Black Cap!
• Black Women Film!
• Cedar Ridge Creative Centre
• Chrysalis Brand Management
• Clark Centre for the Arts
• Community Arts Guild
• Community One Foundation
• Daniel Rotsztain and Brendan Stewart
• Delta Downsview Bingo & Gaming
• Doris McCarthy Gallery
• Driftscape App Self-Guided Tours
• Discover Agincourt Self-Guided Tour
• A Cross-town Cultural Cruise on Scarborough’s LRT Line!
• Eat More Scarborough
• Ethic Leadership Cluster
• FLOURISH Research Cluster at University of Toronto Scarborough
• Fool’s Paradise - Doris McCarthy House and the Ontario Heritage Trust
• GeneratorTO
• Greenhouse Peace Theatre
• Guild Alive with Culture Arts Festival
• Guild Festival Theatre
• Guild Park and Gardens
• Monica Wickeler, Artist
• Myuri Srikugan, Artist / Filmmaker / Photographer
• Native Child and Family Services
• Nordicity
• North Scarborough Cluster
• Nuit Blanche Toronto
• Oddside Arts - Beyond the Soil
• Paperhouse Studio
• Phoenix Academy of the Arts
• Planned Parenthood
• PlazaPOPs
• Publicly Engaged Scholarship & Education
• Rainbows Pride In Scarborough
• Round Table Records
• Scarborough Bluffs Association - Scarborough Arts, Trades, and Family Festival
• Scarborough Bluffs Community Association
• Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, the HUB Mid Scarborough
• Scarborough Civic Centre
Photo: Participants of COMMUNITY+Connects 2023: Imagination Station: Human PARTY! Final Celebration with Kseniya Tsoy
• Scarborough Food Security Initiative
• Scarborough Mazda
• Scarbrite Collective
• SoundLife Scarborough
• South Scarborough Cluster
• Space for Grief
• Summer HubFest
• SymplSolutions
• Tarragon Theatre
• Taste of Lawrence
• Tender Possibilities
• The Potter’s Studio
• The Scarborough Museum
• The TRIP! Project
• Toronto Urban Health Fund
• Toronto Public Library
• Albert Campbell Square
• Scarborough Civic Centre
• Toronto’s First Post Office
• University of Toronto Scarborough Campus
• UrbanArts Culture Shock Festival
• Wexford Heights
• Whippersnapper Gallery
• Workman Arts
Toronto’s 6 Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs)
• Arts Etobicoke
• East End Arts
• Lakeshore Arts
• North York Arts
• Scarborough Arts
• UrbanArts
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Photo: Participants of COMMUNITY+Connects 2023: Botanical Illustrations with Marjan Verstappen at Fool’s Paradise - Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence (Ontario Heritage Trust)
Photo: Untitled, Wendy Lau, 2023 as part of Healthy Arts for Seniors, Cooking Up Community! Final Event and Celebration