from the inside...
raw materialz Showcase
Saturday August 21 @ 7:00pm
on the tube...
celebrating our training successes...
Our rAiz'n the sun training is now in its 10th season offering indisputably relevant, necessary, and unique development opportunities to participants. The program has been a solid springboard and a continuing nurturing environment for the careers of a list of succeeding young artists. Scores of young and emerging artists have participated in the program so far; many more may lay claim to having benefited from our work.
In addition to the increasing numbers of recognized and accomplished 'graduates' of our training & professional development program, their very presence and the variety of work being generated is undeniable evidence of the dazzling array of previously under-recognized artforms, traditions, performance styles, plays, aesthetics, voices and influences which inform their choices, aspirations and directions as professional artists. As artists from the different programs continue to engage with the professional community these influences continue to percolate through the Canadian artistic scene's cultural fiber. The influence of the rAiz'n the sun programs has become an integral part of the arts community which calls itself Canadian.
rAiz'n the sun continues to be the only professional streaming of Arts Career and Community Development in Toronto specifically geared for young and emerging Black artists. The programs offer all participants [from any background] opportunities to learn and hone artistic skills through exploring in workshops, creation of new collective and individual performance material, internships or apprenticeships, engaging with mentors and in volunteer activities with small and large scale professional companies, attending shows and special events, and working on projects in community or educational settings. Classes and workshops are facilitated by working artists, who also serve as mentors.
The rAiz'n the sun Program currently has 5 components:
a. The rAiz'n Ensemble which incorporates a variety of facilitated and self-directed development activities and workshop modules for a selected group of career-focused, emerging artist members.
b. The rCurrentz Program which focuses on artists or arts workers whose main area is not performance work.
c. The Summer aRts Project which is an entry level program for youth aged 14-19
d. rAiz'n Connexions which is open to participation from the wider communities with a strong focus on youth in underserved communities
e. rAiz'n Futures which is designed to increase the presence of Artists of Colour working in school settings, and opportunities for some of our new artists to work with youth.
Alongside rAiz'n the sun is the re:Connexion Artists - a group comprised of present and past b current emerging artists affiliates. re:Connexion Artists began collaborating with the company to:
a. Further expand resources for development, training, and execution of new and existing projects with community youth
b. Generate, lead, and participate in these youth-focused projects
c. Outreach to youth communities at an 'on the ground level' where they see young artists at work: leading and participating. In a real sense, being the young faces of b current.
