Civic Impact

Yesterday evening more than 15 "civic champions" converged on the ground floor of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) Annex location to answer questions about city politics, civic participation, and how to get your voice heard in Toronto. 

The champions, which included politicians, activists, and representatives from advocacy groups and Toronto-based non-profits, were taking part in the inaugural Turnout Toronto event, a new event series that uses the traditional job fair model to promote civic engagement. 

The goal of Turnout Toronto--an event founded and organized by members of the CSI community--is to "educate on the opportunities to get involved [in Toronto politics] which hopefully leads to things like higher voter turnout, civic participation and love for TO."

"After a CSI networking event, we were talking about a lot of the bad press Toronto was getting, some of our problems, our mayoral issues, and we decided to set up an event that would give people an opportunity to get more involved with the city," says Erin Kang, an events coordinator at CSI and co-organizer of Toronto Turnout. "We though a lot of people probably felt similarly about the need to take action, but maybe they didn't know how in a big city. There are so many organizations and projects. So we had this idea to have a job fair model of civic engagement."

"We want help shift the paradigm in Toronto so that people feel able to champion issues rather than think it's all up to the Mayor and all up to City Council. We want people to have ownership of their city. A feeling of ownership which can potentially lead to more voting, more youth engagement, and just a desire to shape the city we want to see."

By reaching out to members of their personal networks, says Kang, the organizers were quickly able to amasses a impressive list of what Toronto Turnout has dubbed "civic champions". Last night's participants included Councilor Mike Layton (Ward 19), representatives from the TCC Riders Union and Better Budget TO, as well as members of the Etobicoke-based civic engagement organization the Our Place Initiative.

"It was really humbling how many people were interested," says Kang. "We started reaching out to our contacts…we just tapped into the brain trust we already have here [at CSI]."

Though, says Kang, despite the high participation rate, she hopes in future that Turnout Toronto will be able to attract more groups from beyond the downtown core. 

"I reached out to a lot of different groups [outside the downtown core], but because of the short notice a lot of people we unable to make so in future we'd really love to hold this event in other parts of the city. It's very important to think between these divides between downtown and North York and Scarborough and really stand in solidarity. We are one city and we should be focusing on things that we can do together."

Source: Erin Kang,  Events Coordinator, CSI and Co-organizer of Toronto Turnout 2014
Writer: Katia Snukal 

The Toronto Arts Council has partnered with the City of Toronto's Museum Services department to offer a new series of grants that will allow artists to create public space interventions in heritage spaces across the GTA. 

The new Historic Sites granting program is part of an ongoing series of TAC initiatives to bring art into more public spaces and into a broader range of communities across the city. 

All of the sites for the future artworks--Scarborough Museum, Gibson House, Montgomery Inn, Todmorden Mills and Zion Schoolhouse--are located outside the downtown core. A decision, says Claire Hopkinson, TAC’s director and CEO, that was very much deliberate. 

"We've been working on this vision for about five years, this desire to make the arts more accessible throughout the city," says Hopkinson. "But there are challenges to that due to a lack cultural space outside the downtown core thanks to a history, prior to amalgamation, of limited funding for cultural infrastructure and programming [in these areas]."

"These are challenges that take a while to overcome, so these partnership with organizations that have venues who have well-established reputations is a step towards making the arts as relevant to someone who lives in Scarborough as it is to someone living at Yonge and Front."

But, while many communities lack the kinds of established art institutions prevalent in downtown Toronto, Hopkinson, and her partners at Museum Services, see these different cultural landscapes as much as opportunities as they are challenges.

"Artists are very important assets to the city in terms of interpreting stories and using the assets the city has," says Hopkinson. "And so many artists really value the opportunity of interacting with local communities and working in different environments. This is really about expanding opportunities for both Toronto artists and for the public to be part of an artistic project free of charge in an environment that perhaps is unexpected to them to witness art."

Moreover, adds Hopkinson, by partnering with established museums, artists are guaranteed a venue and audience. Two factors crucial to any art exhibit that often prove challenging for emerging, or even established artists. 

"With this program, the artist or artists are not only going to have a grant, they are also going to have a roof over their head and an audience. Normally when you apply for a grant you have to find a venue and do the publicity on your own, so this is great for the artist but also helps to complete our mission of block by block by making art as accessible as possible to everyone in the city."

Artists or artist collectives interested in the historic sites grants can apply to TAC for grants ranging from $5,000 for initial research to $30,000 for full programming. The application deadline is January 24, 2014.

Photo by Grant MacDonald.

Writer: Katia Snukal 
Source: Claire Hopkinson, Toronto Art's Council, Director and CEO

In a presentation to the media last Monday, Toronto Hydro described the aftermath of the city's December ice storm as "the most disruptive incident" the company has ever faced. At it's peak, the storm resulted in the loss of power to approximately 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers. And while power was restored to almost 75 per cent of those customers within 48 hours, some households remained without power until New Year's day.

And despite the frustrations of some homeowners, there's no denying that Hydro crews were working furiously to remove hazards and repair damage (Toronto Hydro maintained 24/7 operations for a total of 13 days). In fact, a recent poll by Forum Research shows an 82 per cent public approval rating for Toronto Hydro's ice storm performance. 

But, as is often the case when dealing with a disruptive incident unlike any other that has come before, Toronto Hydro admits that there are some things that could have gone more smoothly. 

At Monday's press briefing on the ice storm and its aftermath, Toronto Hydro announced the convening of an expert panel "that will oversee a review of the utility's response to the ice storm that seriously damaged the electricity grid in neighbourhoods across Toronto on December 21 and 22, 2013." Toronto Hydro also announced that it will perform it's own internal audit and will compile it with results from the independent review. 

The panel will be chaired by David J. McFadden, a former conservative MP who examined the 2003 blackout, and will include City Manager Joe Pennachetti, and Sean Conway, an energy expert from Ryerson University and former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE).

"We do have things we can improve upon," said Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines at Monday's briefing. "...We're fairly pleased with what has happened, and our response to what was really a very catastrophic weather event, one that you heard me talk about being one of the most major weather events in Toronto Hydro's history."

The panel will oversee a review of Toronto Hydro's storm response that will be conducting by energy consulting firm, Davies Consulting. The final report will cover everything from electricity grid design to emergency response to customer communications. 

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Toronto Hydro 

Photo courtesy of CNW Group/Toronto Hydro Corporation.

In the summer of 2013, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection partnered with the York Region Arts Council (YRAC) to offer a mentorship program for emerging artists.

The newly created Arts Mentorship Project provides relatively inexperienced artists with a rare opportunity: the chance to collaborate on artwork with an established professional.

For the program's inaugural year, McMichael teamed mentee Ben Barak—a Newmarket resident and recent graduate of Nipissing University's BFA program—with mentor David McEown, a renowned Canadian landscape painter.

On Sunday January 19th, McMichael is holding an exhibition celebration to showcase the work that emerged from that pairing.

As explained by Anna Stanisz, assistant curator in Education & Programs at the McMicheal, the exhibit manages to highlight both artists' unique style, while also demonstrating the ways in which they've influenced one another.

"When Ben Barak applied he was working in oil and often painting in interior settings," says Stanisz, "But he explained he was always interested in this idea of landscape, of working outside, of working in water colour, which is what David McEown is known for."

Throughout the summer months, McEown and Barak worked on-site at the McMichael and, though it wasn't initially part of the plan, took a weak long hiking trip to do work in Algoma.

"It's really an interesting result," says Stanisz. "After working with Ben, David produced works that, although very much his own style, have bit of studio quality to them. The mentorship challenged him to work in the studio. Ben's work is a mix of oil paintings and watercolours, he even displays some of his work in a three-dimensional way. A lot of it is still studio-based and in oil but he uses techniques he worked on with McEown."

At the January 19 reception, both artists will talk about their work and will share video and pictures of the mentorship process. The exhibit runs until March 2nd, 2014. 

McMichael is currently accepting applications for its second session.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Anna Stanisz, Assistant Curator, Education & Programs, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection

Photo courtesy of McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

A selection of the best civic impact stories we published this year. All stories written by civic impact editor Katia Snukal. 

Yonge Street published almost 100 Civic Impact stories in 2013.

Taken together, the collection of stories--ranging from public art interventions to affordable housing advocacy, to sewer system renewal--give a snapshot (albeit an incomplete one) of Toronto's civic fabric. 

We learned, for example that for each dollar invested into the Toronto public library system, Torontonians receive $5.63 of value and that the number 1 reason Torontonians use foodbanks is because housing costs are too high.

We also saw some new and innovative collaborations. Foodshare, in partnership with the TTC,  launched Toronto’s first mobile food truck. The City formed an affordable housing advocacy group and the York Region Municipal Council committed to a 10-year affordable housing strategy. RV Burgess Park, the only green space in the densely populated Thorncliffe neighbourhood, became home to North America's first public Tandoor Oven. And, for the first-time ever, Scarborough hosted its very own film festival.

The narrative of collaboration and common interest among and between different areas of Toronto and the York Region is a reminder perhaps that the kind of "fractured" and "divided" city rhetoric that is often couched in the now the re-emergent deamalgamation debate is at best suspect and, at worst, counter-productive.

That's why, going forward in 2014, we're going to make every effort to keep presenting a nuanced image of the city and the wider region and to keep an eye out for the kinds of coalition building and innovation that transcends and moves across the inner suburb, 905, and downtown division. 

Click here to view a list of the best Civic Impact stories of 2013.

Writer: Katia Snukal 

Photo: postbear