Arts and culture positively impact people and communities. It promotes cooperation and collaboration, and it helps achieve key housing, health, and neighbourhood goals. Not only the Arts creates social cohesion, but it also strengthens the social fabric and increases people’s sensitivity to different cultural practices, beliefs, and identity. Many studies and evidence have shown that arts and culture are important part of community development and neighbourhood preservation. Learning and participating in various arts and cultural programs are paramount to understanding the community’s goal, aspirations, and future directions. Cultural festivals, art exhibitions, theatres and plays, and other similar forum are the best places to engage, experience, and understand other culture different from ours.
Together, we can support the continuity and promotion of the arts and culture by supporting various artists working in these endeavors. One way is to support the Toronto Artscape Foundation; a registered charity governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, with a goal to increase the public’s understanding of arts and culture through its community programs and access to arts and cultural facilities. They provide facilities to financially support facilities in which artistic and cultural events take place, including galleries, studios, and performance space. They also provide and operate non-profit residential accommodation for low-income artists and their families, as well as for elderly and disabled artists primarily of low or modest income. Not only do they offer and sponsor various educational activities such as seminars and forum, but they also provide scholarships, bursaries, awards, and other forms of financial assistance to enable members of the public to attend at educational programs in Canada.
With the support from individual donors, public and private foundations, and corporation, the Toronto Artscape Foundation can continue and undertake their meaningful and impactful activities. To learn more about the work they do, please visit their website at www.artscape.ca.