Centre for the Arts

We have received 30 chairs from Bloor West Village Playhouse and new carpet from Paul Lippi and Aptco Inc. These two recent donations are part of what the Centre is—a project that includes everyone.

We began by “striking the first nail” five years ago and that “nail” was struck by many. This project has never been the property of one nor for the purposes of promoting the individual but for the benefit of all. There is a long list of people who have built the Centre by painting, moving, designing the website, contributing material goods, donating money and the space itself is filled with so many things given to us.

The answer to our call for more chairs and the laying of the carpet is another moment in our history showing what we are. People giving real support which shows their real appreciation for the project. All giving proof to it is our space and we are taking our place.

Rajiv Maikhuri, Secretary

Saroj Bains, Treasurer

Journalist, filmmaker

Janine Pearson, Director

Head, Voice Department, Stratford Festival of Canada

Al St. Louis, Director

Elinor Reid, Director

Chris Bolton, Ex-Officio

Vice-chair, Toronto District School Board

Dan St. Amour, Truck Packaging Manager, William F. White International Inc.

Heather N. Segal, Lawyer
David Fox, Actor

Troy Miller, Filmmaker

Patrick Garrow, Actor

John Greyson, Assistant Professor, Graduate Program in Film, York University
Colleen Petch, Coordinator of Student Services, Greenwood College School

John van Burek, Artistic Director, Pleiades Theatre

The Sponsorship Program has allowed professionals, youth and anyone else with limited financial resources, to participate in programs at the Centre. This opportunity is helping to meet the need people have to be in a space where they can give expression to what is on their minds.

Here’s how you can lend a hand

Be a Friend $25
Assist an Arts Professional to take a Training session $150
Sponsor one Teen to attend Film Camp $350

Help develop new Projects $1,000 - $5,000

Support the Building Fund to keep our Space $5,000+

All sponsors will be listed on our website and have a tribute plaque mounted at the Centre in their name, which will be seen and viewed by all CFA patrons and students. Your real assistance is essential to the growth of this independent project.

Some of our supporters include:

William F. White International, Inc., Technicolor Creative Services and Kodak Canada.

Rancho Relaxo, Dufflets, Dominion, Bell Mobility, Bravo!FACT, Staples Business Depot, Canon Canada, Kalendar Restaurant, Kwik Kopy, Motoretta, TheatreBooks, Alphacine Toybox, Toronto, Precision Transfer and Currie's Art Supplies.

Guberman, Garson, Bush Immigration Lawyers, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., Red Pegasus, BetterBuilding Material, Rocco Galati, David Fox, Michelle Adams, Lewis Goldberg, Robert Haufrecht, Arnell S. Goldberg, Zachary Cox, Paul Alkhoury, John Greyson, David Krae, Aquila Pictures Inc., Brian Ehrenworth, Frameworth and Peter Martin.

Organizations We Partner With:

York University Grad Film Department, The CO., Breathe Electric with Melanie Windle, Dish Pictures, Kensington Carnival Arts Society, Book Publishers of Ontario, Dogtooth Theatre Group, Humber College Film Department, Queen's University, Arts in Community Education, Easy Productions and Southpaw Theatre.

The Centre is run by people initiating projects and running them. The organization and base of the Centre guarantees the success of the projects and together all the work gets done. As the permanent space is a condition for work to be done and for people to develop, it needs support to grow. The volunteers are the Centre. The Centre is the point—“the centre”-- and everyone who participates fills out the circle around the focal point and hence, presto, you have Centre for the Arts. If you have any ideas for projects or want to participate in what is going on please join us.

Before we officially opened the doors to the new Centre for the Arts we began construction of the studios and to mark that beginning we had a champagne ceremony. Called on ‘the night before’ notice twenty-five supporters showed up at 11 00 am and we clinked plastic glasses and drank cheap champagne and toasted: Striking the First Nail. We stated then that it is everyone who is building the Centre not just one individual. It is a social place and is being built and supported socially. By people in the community who need a permanent space to meet and work. A tradition was immediately formed whereby everyone who came to our space over the first few months took a hammer and hit the same nail in the middle of a piece of 2 x 4, thus, everyone Struck the First Nail. People loved to be part of this construction. It lifted the spirits of the front-line soldiers who were slogging to get the project underway and meeting all the problems head–on.

These photos attest to our history and the way the Centre began and still grows.

All for one and one for All!

This CHAIR fundraising campaign invites you to help build the not-for-profit Centre for the Arts. By contributing $25.00, you become a FRIEND of the Centre and your funds help to buy chairs and other equipment for the space. The CHAIR campaign is both literal and figurative, providing a practical way to include everyone who supports the Centre’s aims and efforts. This is your invitation to come to the new Centre for the Arts.

John Boylan, Director

Jodie & Damon Runyon

Carmine Raviele (Gato Nero)

Any contributors whose names we have omitted please accept our apologies and contact us and we will list your name.