Cultural Hotspot Projects showcase local artists and organizations that celebrate creativity, culture and community. These projects are free and provide opportunities for the public to participate in arts activities and events. Browse upcoming Cultural Hotspot events.
A community beautification project that builds upon a three-year program in the Danzig community. Lead artist Amir Akbari works with the Scarborough Creative & Arts Talent Hub to co-design artwork for five concrete benches, with community engagement sessions held to inform final artwork designs.
Funding Recipient: Behind the Line
Local youth from the Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park (KGO) neighbourhood write and illustrate original picture books that contribute towards a final community picture book anthology. The project culminates in a community showcase.
Funding Recipient: Story Planet
A hands-on 10-week seniors’ mosaic-making workshop series held in two cohorts at East Scarborough Storefront and Cedar Ridge Creative Centre. Workshops include an art history component that focuses on mosaic traditions.
Funding Recipient: Mural Routes
A one-day graffiti and mural festival featuring local artists from KGO and Scarborough, at a local Toronto Community Housing building. Six professional graffiti artists are paired with youth mentees for live painting sessions held throughout the day.
Funding Recipient: Visual Landmarks
An intergenerational participatory poetry initiative held in accessible green spaces in KGO, led by poet, cultural curator and facilitator Farhia Tato.
Funding Recipient: Scarborough Arts
Offering free, return shuttle service with interactive performances between key transit hubs and Guild Park and Gardens, Theatre in Transit transforms transportation into a creative experience.
Funding Recipient: Guild Festival Theatre
A community-engaged public art project for youth from KGO that culminates in the creation of an indoor mural. Participants learn concept and design development and hands-on mural production skills.
Funding Recipient: Next Generation Arts
A youth mentorship program that engages participating KGO youth in co-creation and facilitation of art and theatre workshops for community members. The project culminates in a community showcase.
Funding Recipient: The East Scarborough Storefront
An intergenerational storytelling mentorship program for youth to collaborate with elders to collect and shape neighourhood “lore.” The project culminates in a series of visual storytelling displays in storefront windows of local businesses in KGO.
Funding Recipient: Kimberly Lopez of the Ginhawa Collective
A visual arts project that empowers neurodivergent youth through creativity and self-expression workshops. Youth ages 13 to 25 take part in a series of free weekly painting sessions, with participants taking part in an exhibition showcasing their work.
Funding Recipient: Art It Forward
A hands-on carnival arts program for participants ages six to 18 years, with creative workshops that build artistic skills and cultural knowledge. Participants design and create their own costumes to be showcased as part of the Scarborough Junior Carnival Parade.
Funding Recipient: IMPACT 'n Communities
The fifth annual one-day Hip Hop festival with DJ turntable demonstrations, interactive workshops, giveaways and interactive performances.
Funding Recipient: HHF Community Services Inc.
A three-month youth-led photography program engaging four local youth in exploring placemaking and photography techniques. Participants produce and exhibit their photos in an outdoor public space.
Funding Recipient: itsneerby
The Spice Master Bootcamp is a community-engaged program for KGO youth. Interactive weekly workshops focus on spice and food history and facilitated creative storytelling sessions. Project culminates in a public showcase.
Funding Recipient: Spice Master Bootcamp
A photography and storytelling project for KGO residents. It includes guided photo walks and portrait sessions that explore creative expression and perspective. The project culminates in a public photo installation.
Funding Recipient: Lens on the Ends
An art creation and short documentary film project that engages three IBPOC youth creatives from the KGO area. Artists produce original artworks in response to the question: “What does your neighbourhood look like in five years?” A narrative documentary captures each artist’s creative journey and culminates in a public screening.
Funding Recipients: Millicent and Deshawn
A Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park (KGO) storytelling project that collects and archives community-based narratives, exploring how stories are maintained in cultural groups through various practices.
Funding Recipient: Kimberly J. Lopez
A partnership building and toolkit development project with the goal of introducing youth participants to using painting techniques for self-expression through workshops.
Funding Recipient: Art It Forward
A mentorship project that supports arts-focused capacity-building for five youth from the Danzig neighbourhood, with the long-term goal of developing mentees into community arts leaders.
Funding Recipient: Amir Akbari
A Caribbean arts project that lays the groundwork for future workshops in the KGO area through outreach, partnership building, research and toolkit development.
Funding Recipient: Spirit of Caribbean Arts
A skills-development project that focuses on building expertise in new artistic mediums celebrating South Asian heritage, with the goal of offering accessible workshops to KGO residents in the future.
Funding Recipient: Makers Collective
A documentary film project highlighting the untold stories of KGO community members with a focus on the cultural and economic role that Black and immigrant-owned small businesses play in the neighbourhood.
Funding Recipient: Kotiande Yomo
An Indigenous and youth-focused project that explores shared narratives through capacity-building to grow Indigenous-led and community-engaged theatre arts in the KGO neighbourhood.
Funding Recipient: Community Arts Guild
A Youth-led project that focuses on self-expression, connection and advocacy to support the development of a future youth leadership arts initiative.
Funding Recipient: East Scarborough Storefront
A youth-led photovoice project that invites participants to document and visually map places of meaning, care and belonging in the KGO neighbourhood to define spaces of safety.
Funding Recipient: Next Generation Arts
A community-based storytelling project that uses short film, photography and oral history to explore the cultural landscape of KGO, focusing on ethical approaches to exploring community identity through mentorship and creative experimentation in filmmaking.
Funding Recipient: Terra Elysium Foundation