✨ MINDFUL MOVES: Dance & Wellness ✨🌸
Spring is here… 🌼🌹🍁🌓time to move, feel good, and connect👭
Join us for a fun dancing 💃 and welcoming program where newcomer youth explore Afro history and dance through styles like Afrobeats, Dancehall, Amapiano,Bachata, Salsa,Hip Hop traditional music & more!
🌼 What to expect:
✨ High-energy dance sessions
✨ Good vibes & new friendships
✨ Cultural connection & self-expression
✨ A safe, fun, and inclusive space
No experience needed 💃everyone is welcome!
🎟 FREE program – just scan the QR code to reserve your spot!
May 19, 26 & June 2
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Art Starts Studio, Yorkdale Mall Toronto
👥 Ages 18–27
🌞 Come enjoy the spring energy, meet amazing people, and move your body, your way 💛
More info or questions:
Email:[email protected]/4372884028
✨ @oddsidearts Paid Opportunity for Emerging Muralists ✨
SCALE: Mural Mentorship Program
Application Link in Bio
Are you an emerging muralist ready to take your practice to the next level?
Join lead muralist @jacquiecomrie for a paid mentorship opportunity supporting 8 emerging artists through the creation of a large-scale public mural in Mabelle Park. This program is rooted in community, joy, and connectivity where mentees will be taken through a mural accelerator program that provides background knowledge and experience of what it takes to become a professional muralist.
This program centers women/femme artists who also have the intersections of one or more of the following: Black, Indigenous, POC, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled and/or neurodivergent, with priority for those connected to the Mabelle community.
🌿 What you’ll gain:
- Hands-on mural production experience
- Mentorship from professional muralists
- Industry certifications (Working at Heights + lift training)
- Portfolio documentation + real public art credit
- A $1,000 honorarium
📍 Location: Mabelle Park (38 Mabelle Ave, Etobicoke)
🗓️ Program Dates: June – July 2026
🎨 Includes workshops, certification + 5 mural production days
🗓️ Application Deadline: May 18, 2026 @11 :59PM
Step into public art by building your skills and leaving your mark at Mabelle Park.
This project is supported by the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto program (@start_streetartoronto ) in partnership with @mabellearts@artstartsto and @muralroutes
#torontoartists #publicart #muralopportunity #emergingartists #callforartists
Experiment, create, and explore
Jr. Creative Labs is a free after-school art program where young artists can dive into new materials, try out different techniques, and bring their ideas to life in a supportive, creative space.
Join us every Thursday at Art Starts and build confidence through creativity all season long.
For full program details and registration, visit our website or check the link in our bio.
Get ready to shape, build, and play with clay!
Clay & Play is a free after-school program where participants explore hand-building techniques while developing creativity, patience, and confidence through making.
Over the course of the program, artworks will be fired in our kiln at Art Starts, giving participants a chance to take home their finished pieces.
Join us every Wednesday at Art Starts.
Free snacks are provided, and Presto tickets are available upon request.
For more information and registration, visit our website or the link in our bio.
Art Exhibit: Feb 13th, 2026
“Humanize the Hood: Neighbourhood Heroes”
We’re still sitting with so much gratitude after the very FIRST art exhibit dedicated entirely to community. 7 YEARS in the making! 🥺
What began from trauma became a room filled with connection, conversation, and shared experience.
To everyone who showed up, brought a friend, shared a post, stood in front of a piece a little longer than usual, or took the time to share what it meant to you — THANK YOU! Your presence validated our communities, our stories and most importantly, our traumas living and growing up in the hood. This exhibit was never just about the art itself, it was about us. About honoring the stories, resilience, creativity, and spirit that make our community what it is. Seeing people gather, reflect, laugh, and connect reminded me exactly why we started this movement.
To the supporters, collaborators, helpers behind the scenes, and every single person who walked through those doors — you made this milestone unforgettable. You reminded us that art is powerful, but community is transformative.
See you at the next one! ✊🏾
Always love,
Humanize the Hood
Our event photographer 📸 : @geboy.ceesay
Happy to be a part of 'Healing the Boy Within' a multidisciplinary photo exhibition and panel discussion that explores the emotional lives, mental health, and healing journeys of Black men and masc-identified people.
Moderated by Dr. Leo Edwards @dr.leoo
David Lewis-Peart
Tramar Anderson @hoodman2manhood
Jermaine "Main Man" Henry @jermainehenry.ca
Photos/organized by Imani Edwards @imni.edwrds
Worksman Arts - 32 Ligar St.
Feb 28th
6:00pm -9:00pm
RSVP today
In collaboration with @camhnews@artstartsto@blackmenstherapyfund@hiphop.healing
Sponsored by @blackmentalhealth.ca@honeysoulfood@eatcops Funded by GUCCI ChangeMakers, Ada Slaight Foundation, and Delta Bingo.
#BlackMentalHealth #MadMan #BlackBoy #HealingTheBoyWithin
What does healing look like when we make space to feel?
Healing the Boy Within invites you into a world of photography and conversation centring Black men’s mental health, vulnerability, and becoming. The evening will feature a curated photo exhibition followed by a live panel discussion with Black therapists, mental health advocates, and community workers.
February 28 | 6–9 PM
Workman Arts — 32 Lisgar St.
Speakers:
Tramar Anderson - @Poettray
Jermaine Henry - @jermainehenry.ca
David Lewis-Peart - @honouringtheinnerman
Hosted by Dr. Leo Edwards - @dr.leoo
Special thank you to our sponsors and partners:
@blackmentalhealth.ca@honeysoulfood@eatcops
RSVP IN BIO
Supported by @artstartsto Culture Shift program. Funded by GUCCI Changemakers, Ada Slaight Foundation, and Delta Bingo. In collaboration with @camhnews Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) department, and @blackmenstherapyfund
Our very FIRST Humanize the Hood event, an art exhibit dedicated to community by our founder @r.h.adan
This debut event is more than showing up — it’s about healing together, honouring our stories, and changing the narrative that has too often been written about us instead of by US! It’s about creating space where trauma is met with compassion, where voices are heard, and where healing is not rushed but respected.
On Feb 13th, we also honour the neighbourhood heroes — the ones who give their time, energy, and hearts to uplift others, often without recognition. YOU ARE THE BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITIES, and this moment is for you. 💐
This is just the beginning.
A seed planted with intention.
A reminder that marginalized communities are not broken — we are resilient, powerful, and worthy of care.
A HUGE Thank you to @artstartsto for the partnership. We’re forever grateful. Thank you to @hopehustleheights for the continued support.
PULL UPPPPPPP! And let’s change the narrative one story at a time.
Always, with love.
— Humanize the Hood.
✨ Hair We Are ✨
A hands-on workshop for children ages 9–12 that celebrates Black hair, cultural knowledge, and styling practices. Through guided conversations, demonstrations, and hands-on styling, participants explore the basics of hair care while building confidence and creativity.
For more details and for registration, visit our website or the link in our bio
✨ Experiment, create and explore ✨
Jr. Creative Lab is a free after school art program where kids get to try new materials and build creative confidence, letting their ideas lead the way. Join us every Thursday at Art Starts - registration is open all season!
For more details on what we’re up to each week and for registration, visit our website or the link in our bio
Lil Dreamers building the dreams of tomorrow. 🌙
Because every dream starts young, and the future is shaped by how we choose to invest in the youth today.
We are forever grateful to have hosted our first annual Lil Dreamers event. This is only the beginning, and one of many moments to come through our Dream Builders Initiative as we continue creating spaces where young minds and people with aspiration regardless of age can dream freely.
Endless gratitude to everyone involved, our incredible team, and our sponsors @artstartsto for believing in the vision and helping us bring it to life.
The work continues.
✨❄️ What a night! ❄️✨
Our Winter Glow community celebration and open house was filled with laughter, creativity, and holiday cheer! From live music by SoundCheck Youth Arts, to holiday charm-making with Reisha Felix in our community gallery, to tasty hot chocolate and treats with free giveaways from our host Chantelle Cruzat-Whervin, Art Starts was buzzing with joy.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, including our friendly polar bear Arty 🐻🎁, and to the team and all the collaborators and community members who helped make this event magical. Your energy and creativity truly lit up the night!
Swipe through to see the highlights and the smiles that made Winter Glow 2025 ✨💛
📸 @nich0laswilliams
