Join Tita Nina’s Community Care for a relaxing, meditative pattern-making workshop where we’ll be stamping designs on your favorite clothing or tote bags using natural objects and acrylic paint.

In this session, we’ll explore the beauty in everyday items we often overlook—like a rock on the ground, a fallen leaf, or a broken twig. We’ll transform these found objects into unique stamps to create patterns on fabric pieces you bring, whether it’s a shirt, tote bag, apron, or blanket. Feel free to bring something you already own to personalize!  We’ll be providing the paint, nature-inspired stamps, and a t-shirt or tote bag! Register!

JAYU Festival of the Arts is teaming up with The Give & Grow to bring you a workshop designed to tap into your creativity—where mini basketball backboards become your canvas!

Participants will design personalized vision boards using scrap fabrics and magazines, while engaging in meaningful conversations around personal growth, mental wellness, and the powerful life lessons basketball can teach us. Whether it’s about resilience, teamwork, or staying focused on your goals, discover how the game can inspire your journey off the court.

All materials will be provided but we ask that participants bring in one piece of old clothing to incorporate into their boards by cutting and pasting. Register.

Get ready for a night of high-energy, high-impact performances as 10 talented poets go head-to-head, competing for the grand prize of $350 and the prestigious title of JAYU Festival of the Arts Slam Champion. These poets will bring their most powerful words to the stage, sharing stories that matter most—our stories.

Feautred Poet: rudiejay
As the 2023 Slam Champion, rudiejay is a gifted writer, storyteller, and performing artist. Her poetry explores themes of grief, girlhood, biracialism, identity, and belonging—all while promoting hope and healing. Her powerful words create spaces for reflection and connection, reminding us of art's ability to transcend barriers of skin color, social status, and pain.

This is a night you don’t want to miss! Come experience the magic of a JAYU Slam and be part of an evening that will leave you feeling inspired and energized. RSVP Now!

Join us for a screening of We Will Be Brave followed by a Q&A session with director and iAM Alumni Chrisann Hessing. A film that follows the journey of Toronto's "Good Guise" collective, who are committed to sparking conversations around healthy masculinity through art. From photography and beatboxing to poetry and martial arts, the artists in the collective share their unique lived experiences and welcome others to join in their mission of finding radical alternatives to shame and punishment.

As each of them grapples with upheavals in their personal lives, their resolve is further tested by a dire lack of resources and the burden of racialized discrimination. We Will Be Brave is a story about personal evolution, healing and an unlikely brotherhood forged in vulnerability.

Save your seat!

Watch these 8 short films that highlight both local and global issues, offering diverse perspectives that inspire critical conversations. Screenings will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A, providing a space for deeper reflection and meaningful dialogue..

Save your seat!

Come celebrate with us as we kick off the JAYU Festival of the Arts and uplift youth voices across the GTA through the power of creative expression rooted in human rights, social justice, and equity!

This year, we’re thrilled to present the iAM Retrospective—a special exhibition showcasing the work of youth artists who’ve grown with us over the years. These youth artists and iAM alumni will take you through their creative journeys—past, present, and future as they share art that captures their unique experiences and perspectives. The evening will feature a panel discussion where they dive deeper into their stories, process and artistic practise.

Produced and curated by youth, this festival shines a light on the next generation of GTA artists and filmmakers who are tackling important issues through art, film, and poetry. They’re opening up new ways for us to experience the stories that matter most—our stories.

RSVP

As a pre-festival event, we are teaming up with Urbannoodling for an evening of screenings followed by an interactive virtual panel discussion.

We're bringing you two powerful documentaries: 

• China’s van Goghs (2016) by Haibo Yu & Kiki Tianqi Yu

• 14 Paintings (2023) by Dongnan Chen

Through the vibrant backdrop of Dafen Village, Shenzhen, these films explore how a small town became a global art hub—unpacking the lives, dreams, and challenges of the migrant workers driving its success. Together, we'll rethink what "authenticity" and "value" in art truly mean, and the hidden costs behind mass production in the creative world.

Following the screenings will be an online panel discussion featuring 14 Paintings director Dongnan Chen and a special guest where we'll unpack these powerful themes further.

Don’t miss this unique chance to reflect, engage, and explore. Get your ticket!