City Building

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody..only when they are created by everybody. (Jane Jacobs)

Our imaginary city took shape at Artscape Youngplace's Recess 2 event. City building was an activity devised by the Givins ShawYouth Advisory Group and facilitated by Invention Squad. Our special guests Sipo Maphangoh and Daniel Fusca from the Toronto City Planning office shared insights about city development with the kids and parents.

Before

After

Daniel (right)

Sipo (left)

The first task was to fill the brainstorming centre with ideas for the evolving city:

And then the kids and parents built something awesome:

Community centre next to a park

The all edible restaurant

The gondola connecting different parts of the city together

Sidewalks, walkways and bike paths.

Cats were given pride of place in the city, with two cat play centres and even a cat bus.

Community housing

A concert hall by the lake.

An elevator to a viewing tower

Solar panel roofs on small houses.

Thanks to everyone -young and old- who participated in our city building event. It was fantastic seeing our city grow over time. Invention Squad encourages young people to design cities that work for people of all ages and abilities (and cats of course). 

2nd Community Open House at Artscape Youngplace

Join us for Art * Live Music * Creation * Conversation * Performance * Food & Drinks

Starting @ 4:30 pm

–CITY BUILDING! Drop-in, hands-on kids and family-friendly programming by Invention Squad and the Givins Shaw Youth Arts Advisory Group. What might a city designed by kids look like? 

– Local artist Huda Eldardiry creates a collaborative community mural.

– MAKE YOUR MARK! Help create a massive collaborative wall artwork using colourful self-adhesive vinyls and tapes on the expansive walls and quirky recesses of the Third Floor Hallway Gallery! Inspired by TYPOLOGY‘s current exhibition Flights & Landings

– Artists open studios

Starting @ 6:00 pm
– Community dinner (pay-what-you-can, until 7:30 pm)
– Exhibition Reception: Erratics at the Koffler Gallery, featuring installations by Martha Baillie, and Malka Greene with Alan Resnick (until 9 pm)
– Listening Sessions: A drop-in participatory performance by Victoria Stanton where the audience becomes the DJ, collectively building a eclectic playlist.

Starting @ 8:00 pm
– Live painting with local artist Nick Sweetman
– Designer, curator and educator Zach Pearl gives a talk on the rise of virtual tourism through the lens of popular culture and contemporary art.

Starting @ 9:00 pm
– Live musical performances in the Urban Living Lounge, featuring Charmie Deller, Renee Henry, Odane Taylor, Ramya Am U Than and Niko Young.

AND MORE!

Kids plan Toronto

City-Building is an event designed by kids from the Youth Arts Advisory group at Givins Shaw Public School for everyone in our neighbourhood. It will be run by Artscape resident teachers: Invention Squad.

In this all-ages free family event we will map out and build our giant dream city together from found and recycled materials.

What about:

• An indoor winter-playground with ziplines and waterslides.
• A working farm in a park.
• A street food market-place in an alleyway.
• A transit stop indoor cafe.
• A bike trail connecting all the parks?

Come build with us! Advisors from the city of Toronto Planning Department will be on hand to hear your ideas.

This event  will take place at Artscape Youngplace between 3.30-6.30pm on April 16th as part of the RECESS 2 Open House.  

Community Open House at Artscape Youngplace

Join Invention Squad and others for RECESS @ Artscape Youngplace
A Community Open House featuring:
Art * Live Music * Creation * Conversation * Performance * Arts Market * Food & Drinks

Starting at 4:30 pm
– Drop-in, hands-on kids and family-friendly programming by Invention Squad (until 6:30 pm)
– Informal tours of ULTRA-PARALLEL at the Koffler Gallery (until 10 pm)
– Arts market (until 9:30 pm)

Starting at 6:00 pm
– Community dinner (pay-what-you-can, until 7:30 pm)
– Exhibition Reception: TYPOLOGY’S Flights & Landings a two-part exhibition of work by three multidisciplinary artists from three different cities: Brooklyn-based Tamara Gayer, Berlin-based Christine Gedeon, and Toronto-based Janine Miedzik (until 8 pm) 
– SKETCH Working Arts for our Open Studio Showcase and Exhibition with live performances and artwork by youth involved in all of SKETCH’s programs (until 9 pm)
– Artists open studios
– Live melodic techno music with Juno-award nominee Arthur Oskan (until 10 pm)

Starting at 8:00 pm
– The Koffler Centre presents an artist talk with playwright Hannah Moscovitch and artist/architect, Philip Beesley
– Intergalactic Arts Collective presents a Double Bill of Dance:  “Sara does a Solo” by Sara Porter and “Experiment b” by Gerry Trent ham

AND MORE!

~illustration by Alicia Neuter

-text with thanks to AYP website