OUR STORY

Workman Arts is a multidisciplinary arts organization that promotes a greater understanding of mental health and addiction issues through creation and presentation. We support artists with lived experience through peer-to-peer arts education, public presentations and partnerships with the broader arts community.

Empowering artists with lived experience while challenging and advancing perspectives on mental health.

Workman Arts is the longest-running multidisciplinary arts and mental health organization in Canada. It was founded in 1987 by Lisa Brown, a former psychiatric nurse at the Queen Street Mental Health Centre (now known as CAMH), as a theatre company of eight member artists. 

Over the years, it has grown to a multidisciplinary arts organization with 500+ member artists. For 35 groundbreaking years, Workman Arts has produced a variety of projects, including: 30+ original full-length Canadian plays, the annual Rendezvous with Madness Festival and the annual Being Scene juried art exhibition. In 2019, Workman Arts was shortlisted for the Premier’s Arts Award. 

In fall 2020, Workman Arts moved into our permanent home in the brand new McCain Complex Care and Recovery Building at the corner of Queen Street West and Lower Ossington. The Workman Arts space includes an arts studio, classroom, media lab and sound studio as well as a 300-seat auditorium.