As 2022 draws to a close we reflect on a very creative and energetic year with the many groups we have had the privilege to engage.

Elena  Soní and Vanessa Barnett continue to build new partnerships and strengthen existing ones.
Our year began with a new partnership with Baycrest@Home working with adult caregivers of family members living at home with Dementia. Shared Expressions: A Conversation Amongst Adult Caregivers ran from January to March and made a big difference in the lives of those you participated. 

In March, MAMC in partnership with ALPHA EDUCATION worked with 4 schools across the GTA with District and Catholic School Boards. 155 Students created plexiglass panels that reflected their lived experiences, attitudes about racism, and depicting them in a visually powerful artwork.
Shadows Of Racism, Voices Unheard culminated in an exhibit at the headquarters of the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Curated side by side, the panels interconnected the student’s stories, allowing the audience to view through and between pieces and learn about the reality of different communities. The exhibition invited the viewer to challenge their own notions. 

“ This work is extremely powerful and has made me reflect on the difficulty of growing up as a racialized youth in Toronto. I thought it wasn't like this anymore. They have shown lots of courage in telling us loud and clear!" visitor

“ This is a wonderfully enlightening program. I am learning so much that I never knew. What I have never known or seen before, I know now and am really happy to have joined the program” Almas, TNO Participant

“Careful observation of how you work together brings to mind the Indigenous way of collaborating. Each one brings a gift to the table. You work together with mutual respect and that allows your clients to see and feel that a safe space is being provided for them.”

 Pamela, Site of Encounters Participant

In September 2022 MAMC partnered in a study with Dr. Jacques Lee, Inagural Chair of Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute at Mt. Sinai Health Network to help seniors combat loneliness and depression. Throughout MAMC’s eight-session virtual arts workshop, the small intimate group developed friendships, as well as an ongoing community support system. MAMC arranged for this online community to have the opportunity to meet in person at the McMichael Canadian Collection, where we all shared our work and had the pleasure of a personalized tour of the exhibitions by Chief Curator, Sarah Millroy. 

In 2023 MAMC has a full agenda!
In 2023, MAMC continues its association with ALPHA EDUCATION working with 380 students, in 7 Secondary Schools across the GTA. This major effort is funded by the CASMARI Federal Government grant (Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program Projects Component). The work will be exhibited in 2024.

 We renew our partnership to work with Seniors at Progress Place and Dixon Hall. We return to Baycrest@Home to work with a new group of Caregivers. We return to Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (PQWCHC)  where our work will be with two groups - People who Identify as Women, and the second group of expectant and new mothers.
At the Centre For Spanish Speaking Peoples, we will meet with Seniors at the Jane Street location and in the afternoon at the Carlton site with a group of LGBTQ+ participants.
Vanessa and Elena thank all our participants and community partners for your allowing us to work with you to build strong bonds in your communities. 
In October MAMC has been hired to facilitate an intergenerational project at the Mabin School.
 We are working on building new partnerships and bringing in new communities in the Autumn and Winter to fulfill our goal of 9 fully funded projects to 200+ participants by the end of the year! 
To our donors our profound gratitude for your continued support and trust in what we do as we Make Art and Make Change in 2023!