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April 2022   —   Newsletter

January March 2022
Shared Expressions: A Conversation Amongst Caregivers© 
MAMC collaborated with Baycrest@Home to offer an art-making programme to Adult Caregivers who are supporting family members in their homes. Participants dedicated a portion of their afternoon each week to rekindle or discover the pleasure of taking unhurried time for themselves, exploring art materials and techniques while creating an artist book.

 At the heart of the project were the processes of community building and peer support. Over the 9- weekly sessions, participants become an engaged group, talking, responding, experimenting, taking risks, and communicating about their work, interests, thoughts, concerns, and their role as caregivers. MAMC’s facilitators found this experience extremely moving and enriching. Adult caregivers of loved ones living at home are the unsung heroes who have chosen to selflessly dedicate themselves without due recognition.

 
“Being a part of this project has reaffirmed the fact that none of us are in this journey alone. That we can transcend any differences by relating to our plights and sometimes the pleasure of being caregivers. We have a lot in common through our roles (especially as we juggle wearing numerous hats all at once!)
Shared Expressions - participant
“I loved the journey from the beginning when you requested the photos, to receiving the box of art supplies so wonderfully put together…lots of playful exploration already!
The mini-lectures on the artists' slide shows to inspire, and inspire they did!
The inspiration of poetry was wonderful as were the little stories along the way. I loved being taken on the journey not knowing the outcome and lo and behold at the end of it, the outcome was me! And new connections!
 
— Shared Expressions - participant
February to June 2022

Shadows of Racism: Voices Unheard 

MAMC has started working with our partner ALPHA EDUCATION and 155 students from Norman Bethune Secondary School (TDSB), St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School (TCDSB), and St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School (HDSB). This project challenges students, teachers, and MAMC facilitators to question our own prejudices. We will explore the implicit and explicit biases within a Canadian context, in particular, aggravated by the increased toxic rhetoric worldwide. 

The students are exploring multiple stories in the process of creating videos and visual art pieces to reach an understanding of equity, diversity, inclusion, and speaking truth to power.

The video stories and artwork produced will be installed as a public exhibition in September 2022.

Upcoming Projects

May to June 2022

Diary of Place©

MAMC is looking forward to our second project in the Thorncliffe Park Community. The project will be offered on the same day to 2 groups of 10 participants, one in the morning and another in the afternoon over 8 weeks. 

The focus, in the form of a visual diary, will explore different techniques and materials, to recount the varied individual stories that are interwoven with the vibrancy of life in this Toronto neighborhood. 

June to July 2022

A Site for Encounters. Making Art Together©
 

 MAMC is collaborating with Dr. Jacques Lee, Inaugural Research Chair of Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Lee has designed a study to measure the long-term impact of 8 weekly, art-making sessions on loneliness, anxiety, and depression due to isolation in seniors. 

This programme will encourage self-discovery, poetry, writing, and the act of making in a supportive, visually stimulating online environment. The artwork becomes a layered exploration of self, in dialogue with others. 
 

Making Art Making Change is a non-profit charity committed to giving voice to individuals in a group setting within communities through the use of visual arts.

Our experienced artist educators are committed to creating a safe space and engaging projects where participants can explore artistic expression while developing self-awareness, collaboration skills and original creative thinking. Our focus is to facilitate dialogue and collaboration, thereby strengthening community bonds and reducing isolation.

Charitable Number 770955870 RR0001

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