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Regent Park TV: Hubs in Regent Park – The Daniels Spectrum
By Jamelia Parnell
Jamelia is a youth journalist with the FOCUS Media Arts Centre.
In the first of these series, Jamelia explores various hubs available to young people in Regent Park. In this episode we feature Daniels Spectrum Art Centre.
On September 2012, the Daniel’s Spectrum opened up its doors to the public. Located in the heart of Regent Park, on 585 Dundas Street East, the building was designed specifically as an arts hub, and it shows. The outside building décor is illuminated with vibrant colours and a digital display, symbolizing that there is something bold going on inside.
To get more insight into this boldness, I had a conversation with Jermyn Creed, the Community Manager of the Daniels Spectrum, about the role it plays in the community and the broader city.
According to Jermyn, Daniels Spectrum is an important part of the Regent Park community because it gives low-income residents of Regent Park access to a wide variety of arts programming that normally would be out of their reach. The building not only gives youth a place to hang out after school but also offers opportunities for children and youth to get involved in visual arts, dance, theatre, poetry, music and film.
One example of the centre’s creative programming is the Ada Slaight Mentorship Program. This program annually connects youth interested in the arts with professional artists – people who are making a living off their art. Jermyn believes that this program dissolves the misconception of the “starving artist” syndrome. “Programs like these are important because it tells youth that they should not be afraid to go after their passions, contrary to popular belief,” says Jermyn.
Daniels Spectrum is not only open to residents of the Regent Park community, its programming is available to people from all over the city, and even the world through hosting events such as film screenings, music concerts and festivals, theatre performances, conferences and weddings.
If you are starving for the arts – the Daniels Spectrum is the place to be.
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FOCUS Media Arts Centre (FOCUS) is a not-for-profit organization that was established in 1990 to counter negative media stereotypes of low income communities and provide relevant information to residents living in the Regent Park area and surrounding communities.
We seek to empower marginalized individuals and under represented communities to have a voice, through the use of professional training, mentorships and participatory based media practices that enable the sharing of stories, experiences and perspectives on relevant matters and issues. In brief our mandate is to empower marginalized individuals and under-serviced communities to have a voice and tell their own stories.
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