PURPOSE
This initiative was created in 2014, as a partnership between Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Public Library. Artists in the Library is an artist residency program intended to create new collaborative opportunities for Toronto artists and increase arts access in underserved communities by animating libraries in Etobicoke, York, North York and Scarborough. The Artists in the Library program provides funding to professional artists, arts organizations and collectives working in any artistic discipline to undertake community-engaged artist residencies in selected branches of the Toronto Public Library. Resident artists will deliver free public a rts programming, such as performance creation programs, community-engaged arts programs, visual and media arts installations and exhibitions, workshops, artist-talks, open studio sessions, arts education programs, mentorship opportunities, performances and other public arts activities. Funding for this program is provided by the City of Toronto.
CONTEXT
Artists in the Library is one of TAC’s Strategic Programs, created to respond to specific needs across the City. The objectives of these programs are to encourage collaboration between artists and institutions, provide access to space for arts programming, offer opportunities for arts activities, and to provide leadership opportunities for arts workers. These new programs are a result of key partnerships that allow TAC to leverage arts funding with matching funds or in-kind resources. TAC’s partnership programs create new opportunities for artists and audiences at the local level, enhance assets that are already available within the community, and build on Toronto’s vibrant arts ecology.