Scarborough Arts, in collaboration with 7th Generation Image Makers, will be hosting a large-scale art and mural making program as a part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021-2022!

This workshop series is for Indigenous youth ages 16-29 and requires a commitment of attending 5 workshop sessions held weekly on Saturdays from May 28th-June 25th. The program will provide each participant with: a free art kit, instruction and mentorship by Mo Thunder to develop their artistic skills, professional development, a $1000 artist and participation fee, and the opportunity for their work to be featured on the Scarborough Sign which will be installed on June 30th at the very high traffic Scarborough Town Centre!

Youth, as a part of this program, will also have the opportunity to have a feature of themselves and their practice on the Scarborough Arts website as well on this program's landing page. This program was developed with the Scarborough Arts mandate in mind to provide professional and artistic development to youth of all levels of experience in our communities.

*Please note this workshop series is only open for registration for folks that identify as Indigenous (First Nation, Inuit, and/or Métis).
*Workshops are scheduled for EDT and will be delivered in-person at a to-be-announced location in Scarborough.
*Applications close on Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 11:59PM EDT.

About the Instructor:
Mo (they/them/she/her) is Onyota’a:ka with family ties to Oneida Nation of the Thames / Aamjiwnaang First Nation and French-Canadian. They’re a neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist and visual storyteller from a small town along the St. Clair River and are currently based in T’karonto (Toronto).

Mo holds a BFA in studio art with a focus on drawing, silkscreen printing, photography and video from Fanshawe College and the University of Lethbridge, however, much of their current art practice is self and community-taught. They have over 15 years of experience in community arts facilitation, organization, education, collaboration and consultation. They have been working in community arts since high school creating solo and collaborative murals and providing group and individual art facilitation. Mo has also been drawing since they were a child - they created cartoons, comic strips / books and designed clothing and places to escape to.

Through their multidisciplinary art practice (painting, murals, mixed media, beading, journaling, poetry and textiles), they create visual stories about their lived experiences in connection to their personal healing. Mo is also inspired by intergenerational connections and healing, family and community, memories, personal and collective empowerment, and all of creation, especially skyworld. For the last 5 years, Mo has co-created and co-facilitated a community art / creative expression program for young Indigenous folks aged 18-30 in T’karonto called Our Stories Our Truths (OSOT). They are currently completing their major project at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute and co-creating Earth Sky Collective, a mural collective of 2SLGBTQQIAP+ and gender diverse creatives. They have a deep love and passion for learning the Oneida language, zines, journals, art supplies, music, neurodiversity, organization, sewing, fashion and tattoos!