EDUCATION PROGRAM

In this poetry-writing course, participants will be encouraged to explore their own cultural, ancestral and personal connections to flowers, plants and trees. Through gentle and supportive guidance, they will write in a variety of poetic forms, learn how to edit and refine their work, and create their own "garden" of poems. For deeper resonance, each class will conclude with a takeaway prompt or nature activity that participants can do in their own time.

Objectives:

* Participants will learn how to write in a number of different poetic forms including ghazals and haiku, while also understanding the importance of working within poetic forms with care and consideration, particularly forms that originate in cultures outside of their own.

* Participants will have gained the skills to engage more deeply with nature.

* Participants will walk away with more knowledge about the symbolism, resonance and meaning of plants, flowers and trees within their own cultural heritage and homelands.

Instructor Bio: Sheniz Janmohamed is a poet, artist educator and nature artist with ancestral roots in Kenya and India. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (U of Guelph-Humber) and has published three collections of poetry with Mawenzi House: Bleeding Light (2010), Firesmoke (2014) and Reminders on the Path (2021).

Sheniz has presented her work nationally and internationally, including the Jaipur Literature Festival, Kenya Literary Association, Aga Khan Museum, Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), Vancouver Writers Fest, Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) and TEDXYouth Toronto.

Sheniz holds an Artist Educator Mentor certification from the Royal Conservatory, and visits dozens organizations and schools to offer performances, talks and workshops in poetry, spoken word, writing and nature connection. She currently teaches Creative Writing at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies.

www.shenizjanmohamed.com

MONDAY

4PM - 6PM

ONLINE

May 25 - Jun 29

ARTS APPRECIATION IS BACK!

Sign up and get the scoop on free tickets to plays, concerts, exhibitions, and more around Toronto. *Limited spots available.

*Most events have a limited number of spots and not all those who register will be guaranteed a spot. When tickets for events become available, we will contact members who have registered for Arts Appreciation. Tickets will be distributed through a lottery system.

Once an event has reached capacity, we may have a wait-list. For events with a wait list, participants are also chosen through a lottery system. You will receive a confirmation email directly from the Education Coordinator, Susana, indicating whether you have been granted a ticket or placed on the wait-list.

For more information, please contact Susana at Susana_Meza@workmanarts.com

Wednesday

10AM - 6PM

EMAIL LIST

Apr 15 - Jun 30

Inspired by dreams for disabled and mad futures of care, this course invites participants to rethink what it might mean to dance through a desire for the creativity of crip/mad life. Moving beyond expectations of mastering the body and its movement—expectations that often work to exclude disabled and mad embodiment from dance exploration, we will engage in somatic/movement practices to understand and care for how our bodyminds are entering into creative space. Participants will engage in somatic research and learn choreographic methods of score writing/drawing/installation/creation, and practices of individual/collective movement improvisation. Moreover, participants will be introduced to disability arts and disability justice understandings of access aesthetics and care work as choreographic process.

Instructor Bio: Jose Miguel ‘Miggy’ Esteban is a dance/movement artist, educator, and a PhD candidate in social justice education at the University of Toronto. Miggy’s scholarly and artistic research and teaching explore critical-creative pedagogies and embodied modes of inquiry oriented through disability/mad arts practices of access and care, black radical traditions of counterstorytelling, and dance improvisation. Miggy’s current performance project, “pahinga ka muna,” transforms audio descriptions into choreographic scores that invite audiences to join them in pursuing improvised rituals of navigating mad and queer routes to embody Filipinx (un)rest. An iteration of this work is being presented as part of DanceWorks Toronto’s 2025-2026 season.

Image credit: CanAsian Dance and Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) EntryWaves Residency (2024)

Wednesday

12PM - 2PM

ONLINE

May 20 - Jun 24

In this inspiring hands-on workshop, participants will explore how to turn discarded or pre-loved materials into beautiful, one-of-a-kind artworks using cyanotype, a historic sun-printing process, and elements from nature.

Guided by a focus on sustainability, creativity, and personal reflection, this class teaches the art of upcycling — transforming old fabrics, papers, or clothing into meaningful creations using leaves, flowers, and other natural elements to compose botanical blueprints under the sun.

Participants will learn how beautiful it is when art and science are blended. We will explore the beautiful intersection of upcycling and cyanotype dying by partaking in the process ourselves. Each maker will leave the class with their own one-of-a-kind nature inspired design!

This hands-on class is perfect for anyone looking to breathe new life into old textiles or found objects.

• Repurpose old clothing, linens, or paper into unique art pieces or wearable designs

• Practice crafty repair skills

• Learn how to arrange materials (like plants, lace, or transparencies) to create striking sun prints

• Experiment with tone-shifting techniques and creative layering

• Understand the basics of sustainable design and circular making

• Learn the history and science behind cyanotypes

• Explore stories through things that mean something to us.

• Explore the stories and meanings of things you love.

Instructor Bio: I am a textile and cyanotype artist, educator, and community facilitator whose work explores the connections between craft, healing, and eco feminism. Since 2015, I have taught sewing, textile arts, and creative workshops in community and nonprofit settings, working with youth, survivors of abuse, and individuals from diverse and under-resourced communities. I co-founded a women's empowerment social enterprise and have worked with women from around the world who use the art of upcycling to inspire others. My practice integrates sustainable textile methods, upcycling, and cyanotype printmaking as tools for storytelling and reflection. Alongside my artistic work, I am a contract university instructor and a PhD candidate at York University. You can find my work at Wonderland_Wildflower designs.

Wednesday

2PM - 4PM

32 Lisgar

May 20 - Jun 24

This six-week creative incubator offers a supportive environment for artists interested in exploring video-based practices and moving image experimentation. The program welcomes projects at any stage of development—whether beginning from a research question, fragments of footage, or an existing work-in-progress.

Rather than focusing on producing a finished piece, the incubator emphasizes exploration and the creative process. Participants will be encouraged to test new visual approaches, and develop their ideas through experimentation and short video exercises.

Each session combines the discussion of key references in video art with hands-on exploration and group dialogue. Artists will have opportunities to present works-in-progress, exchange feedback, and refine their projects within a collaborative setting. Individual guidance from the facilitator will support participants in expanding their artistic direction and exploring new creative possibilities.

Through experimentation, reflection, and collective discussion, participants will develop new strategies for working with moving images while deepening their understanding of their own creative process. The incubator concludes with a collaborative video essay that weaves together the works-in-progress developed throughout the program.

Instructor Bio: Agustina Isidori is a video and media artist based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Her practice explores experimental forms of moving-image storytelling across video, immersive media, and hybrid digital formats. Through research-creation methodologies, her work investigates themes of memory, embodiment, trauma, and collective experience, often engaging with questions surrounding technology, environment, and social structures.

Her projects combine cinematic language with experimental media practices to create immersive and emotionally resonant visual experiences. Her work has been presented internationally in festivals, exhibitions, and media arts contexts across Argentina, Venezuela, Canada, United States, Spain, Austria, and Italy.

Agustina holds degrees in Film Studies from the University of Buenos Aires and a Master in Design from Concordia University, where her graduate research focused on trauma-informed approaches to participatory and digital media.

Wednesday

6PM - 8PM

ONLINE

May 20 - Jun 24

Branding & Social Media for Artists is a practical, beginner-friendly course designed to help artists build a clear creative identity and confidently share their work online. Many artists feel overwhelmed by social media or unsure how to present their work in a way that attracts opportunities. This course breaks down the essentials of branding, storytelling, and content creation so artists can develop a strategy that feels authentic and sustainable.

Across six sessions, participants will learn how to define their artistic voice, identify their audience, and create a cohesive visual brand. We will explore social media platforms as tools for visibility, community building, and professional growth. Artists will also learn how to document their work, write engaging captions, and develop a simple content plan that supports consistency without burnout.

By the end of the course, participants will have a clearer understanding of how to present their work online, strengthen their artist brand, and use social media intentionally to share their practice and expand their creative opportunities.

Instructor Bio: Andrea Rodriguez (AndreaCataRo) is a Toronto-based mural artist, lettering artist, designer, and educator. Her work celebrates colour, nature, and Latin American identity through vibrant public art and community projects.

Andrea has created murals and creative programming with organizations including North York Arts, StreetARToronto, Arts Etobicoke, and Mural Routes. She is also Program Lead for Creative Entrepreneurship at OCAD University's Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers, where she supports artists and designers in building sustainable creative careers.

Her teaching focuses on helping artists develop confidence in presenting their work, communicating their ideas, and building meaningful creative opportunities. Through workshops and courses, she combines practical tools with an encouraging approach that empowers artists to share their voices and grow their practice.

Thursday

4PM - 6PM

ONLINE

May 14 - Jun 18

In this class, we will explore archetypes in everyday life and how they shape the way people see themselves and others. Students will create an original 5–10 minute performance piece inspired by an archetype they want to examine, question, or redefine. While each student is encouraged to develop their own work, collaboration is also welcome for those who would like to create a piece with others.

This project can be created in any art form you feel best expresses your idea. This may include theatre, spoken word, dance, music, multimedia, visual art combined with performance, or another creative form of your choice.

The goal of the piece is to tell a story and communicate a message about the archetype you are exploring. Consider questions such as: Why does this archetype exist? How does it appear in everyday life? How does it affect the way people are perceived? You might choose to explore how others have labeled or misunderstood you, and use this project as an opportunity to share your true story or challenge those perceptions through art.

Instructor Bio: Alexandra is a Toronto-based actress and arts educator. She completed her BFA in Theatre at York University, specializing in the Acting Conservatory, and later earned her Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. Alexandra is a strong advocate for mental health and believes deeply in the power of the arts within education and community spaces.

She has always loved returning to teach at Workman Arts, where she has led devised theatre workshops that encourage participants to explore storytelling through personal experience and creative expression. She has also taught devised theatre with Soldiers in the Arts, supporting participants in sharing their stories through performance.

Currently, Alexandra is teaching high school math, where she continues to bring creativity, empathy, and a commitment to student well-being into her classroom.

Thursday

6PM - 8PM

32 Lisgar

May 14 - Jun 18

Hypergraphia, clang associations, word salad, logorrhea, perseveration, selective mutism, magical thinking—these are a few of the fascinating ways that Madness plays with—and at times resists—language. Drawing on the wisdom of lived experience and critical Mad theory, this course considers the creative dimensions that Madness often brings to writing. Each week, we will close-read writing from authors who identify as Mad/mentally ill/neurodivergent, analyzing how different iterations of Madness innovate literary devices, neologistic vocabulary, imagery, metaphors, stylistic techniques, and text structures. What can we learn from work written during a psychotic break, a flagrant manic episode? How does paranoia punctuate the page? What are the narrative advantages of the post-traumatic mind that deliberately disrupts linear chronology? What editorial and poetic possibilities emerge from depressive, dissociative, or even stuporous catatonic states? What if we wrote as Mad as we are? These are some of the many questions I have and would like to think about in collaboration with workshop participants. Workshops will also include short writing exercises and time for participants to share and discuss each other’s work in the spirit of intellectual generosity and constructive curiosity.

Open to all but might be better suited for members interested in a seminar-style course.

Instructor Bio: K. Zimmer (they/she) is a disabled writer, musician, artist, and performer based in Toronto. Their writing has been published by The Vault, Lived Collective, Workman Arts’ Literary Anthology, and Feels Zine, where they are a regular contributor, and they have performed live readings for Feels Zine, With/out Pretend, Issues Magazine Shop, and literary symposia at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, the University of Calgary, York University, and the University of Glasgow. They are trained in classical piano and compose music for independent production companies. Their artwork has been displayed at Show Gallery and Nuit Blanche. As an actor, they performed in a Workman Arts play, the Hamilton Fringe Festival, and the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. They were the 2025 literary artist-in-residence and a 2026 writing course instructor at Workman Arts. They are working on a book funded by the Toronto Arts Council.

NO CLASS: Jun 12

Friday

2PM - 4PM

1025 Queen St. W

May 8 - Jun 19

Queering Mosaics Part 2 expands on the fundamentals, using direct and indirect mosaic making techniques to life on creative surfaces and 3D forms. As before, participants can look forward to working with a wide variety of unconventional materials while centring our discussions and projects around Queer voices.

Mosaics is a methodical process, which leaves a lot of room for making connections while we work. This is an intermediate level course, some previous experience with mosaics or a related discipline is strongly recommended. Priority for LGBTQ+ members, allies are welcome.

Instructor Bio: Coley is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tkaronto, whose path is driven by continual experimentation and making. Their practice is largely process-based and explores duality, space, and essence.

Coley’s relationship to glass is shaped by their ongoing engagement with collage, drawing, and performance. Coley combines glass techniques with established personal methodologies to create sculptures and installations that reflect their continued exploration of embodied place, perception, and material gesture. Most recently, Coley has undertaken a passionate quest to learn the endangered art of neon bending.

Friday

1PM - 3PM

32 Lisgar

May 22 - Jun 26