Official Groundbreaking & Naming Celebration at the Historic Shaw Street School

This morning Artscape supporters, Board and staff gathered at the historic Shaw Street School to celebrate the official groundbreaking and naming ceremony of Artscape Shaw Street Centre. MC’d by Artscape Foundation Chair, Mazyar Mortazavi, the event heralded the announcement of the Centre’s new name and the second round of tenants and owners.

Artscape Board of Directors Chair, Robert Foster announced the lead $2 million gift from The Michael Young Family Foundation towards the transformation of the school into a centre for creative collaboration. The new name, Artscape YOUNGplace, was unveiled with the help of young participants from College Montrose Children’s Place.

The second group of non-profit organizations and artists that will call Artscape YOUNGplace home were also announced. They include Koffler Centre of the Arts, TYPOLOGY Projects, York Wilson Foundation, pianist Eve Egoyan, visual artist and theatre designer Gerard Gauci, visual artist Andrew Horne, painter Gillian Iles, visual artist Matthew Schofield, visual artist Shabnam K. Ghazi and painter Sybil Goldstein in addition to the Artscape Head Office (find a full tenant and owner list here).

UPDATED! Find the updated video here.

Here are some of our favorite moments of the morning.
Find more photos on Flickr.

Pauline Harper Shirt performs a smudging ceremony.

Acoustic string trio led by future Artscape YOUNGplace tenant Elyssa Lefurgey-Smith.

College Montrose Children’s Place youth and parents assist Mazyar Mortazavi, Artscape Foundation Chair, with the unveiling of the Centre’s new name.

Artscape CEO Tim Jones and Koffler Centre of the Arts Executive Director and VP, Culture of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Lori Starr.

Left to Right: Robert Foster, Chair of the Artscape Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the City of Toronto’s Creative Capital Initiative and President & CEO of Capital Canada, Lori Starr, Executive Director, Koffler Centre of the Arts, Tim Jones, President and CEO, Artscape, Mazyar Mortazavi, Chair of the Artscape Foundation Board of Directors and Principal at TAS Design Build, David Young, The Michael Young Family Foundation, Vid Ingelevics, Artist and Associate Professor, Ryerson University, Councillor Mike Layton, Ward 19 Trinity-Spadina