As Ontario continues to loosen restrictions during phase three of reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Toronto arts organization is hoping to continue both digital and in-person sessions for future events.
“For our funded projects, our grantees, I’ve seen a lot of hybrid programming where they are going to run some sessions in-person in a park, [and] maybe if it is safe now that things are open indoors,” said Allie Harvey, the program manager for ArtReach Toronto. “I’ve seen more touch points where they are meeting at community centres or community spaces.”
ArtReach Toronto is an organization dedicated to provide funding and support for community-based initiatives, including workshops and classes. The focus of these sessions range from writing, podcasting and research to financial literacy and self-care.
The organization allows each community, who Harvey said know themselves the best, to choose, and organize events and sessions catered towards specific interests and needs of their youth.
Since the start of the province-wide lockdowns in March 2020, the organization shifted to digital exclusively, allowing grantees to adjust and adapt to the new restrictions.
“In terms of our grant program, we let people experiment,” said Harvey. “We gave a lot of folks space to experiment with maybe we going virtual with this and we deliver supplies to our participants. “There was a lot of flexibility around our funded projects in terms of being able to adapt them virtual delivery, or postpone entirely.”
With the possibilities of shifting back to hosting in-person workshops and sessions, Harvey said ArtReach wants to offer the option of in-person and digital for the future.
“We did get a very positive response about how accessible it is to offer workshops online,” she said.
She mentions probable commute times, finding childcare and mobility limitations as reasons to keep a digital element to every event.
ArtReach Toronto was founded in 2006 as a response to the city’s summer of the gun, when there were 25 gun-related homicides from June to September 2005. Starting as a three-year pilot project initially, the organization is celebrating 15 years in 2021.
Listen to Allie Harvey’s full interview:
