We want to share with you a story about Terence, a young boy who participates in Art City’s After School Program. Before the holidays, Terence made an impromptu speech in class: “…it’s all great and everything to listen to the rules “Be KIND, Be PATIENT, Be HELPFUL, and Raise Your Hand” when Heather and Mekayla tell us… it’s good to be kind and patient and everything, but we should take these outside of Art City and into our lives.”

Terence is a typical pre-teen: he is confident, yet vulnerable, and struggling to find his place amongst his peers. We have watched Terence build a community and deep friendships at Art City. 

He is a class leader and the first to be kind, patient and helpful: when his classmate, Basit, loses focus, Terence tries to redirect him. When Rithvik talks over the teacher, Terence reminds him to raise his hand. When Nihal takes something that is not his, Terence helps him return it. Sometimes in his earnestness Terence sparks some minor disputes, offering a moment to truly lean into building his leadership qualities.

Through artistic self-expression and exploration, our free community-designed multidisciplinary arts programs teach students technical art skills while building confidence, self-belief, and a sense of belonging.

As you may know, Art City is a registered charity and community art studio dedicated to providing children and youth with innovative and professional arts programming, free of charge. Art City’s primary goal is to provide space and tools for anyone who wishes to express themselves creatively.

We welcome all students into a supportive environment where they can adapt and learn at their own pace. Terence has grown from simply participating, to modelling and building the active learning community that we are creating at Art City together. 

The programs at Art City are so highly in demand that there has been a student waitlist since 2000. We want to provide more opportunities to students like Terence, but we need your help to increase our space, to grow our staff and to expand the number of students we can serve. We are embarking on a $30,000 Growth for Success campaign in order to eliminate our waitlist for the first time in Art City’s history.

Until December 31, 2023, all donations up to $10,000 made towards the Growth for Success Campaign will be matched by our Board of Directors. Art City serves vulnerable youth in our community and with your help we will be able to unlock their potential through the power of art.