Resources

STEPS joins with others across our world in the condemnation of all forms of racist violence against black, brown, Indigenous and people of colour. As an organization committed to supporting communities to activate public space by leveraging the power of arts to raise awareness about inequities in our cities, we must become better allies. This begins with examining our own blindspots and privilege as an organization that operates on stolen land in Tkaronto.

The following is a collection of resources that we feel may be valuable to our communities. Many have been created by colleagues, while others have been developed or shared by people around the world. This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive list. We encourage you to share resources that you have found valuable with our team.

STEPS reaffirms our commitment to amplifying the work of Indigenous, Black, newcomer, LGBTQQIP2SAA+, disabled and artists of colour working across the region that is currently Canada. We will continue to expand the ways we support equity-seeking artists through targeted residencies and equitably paid opportunities. We will continue to facilitate participatory arts programming in some of Canada’s most diverse communities and provide a platform for people to share their vision for our cities. Furthermore, we will continue to listen, learn, and identify ways we can actively address and dismantle racist and exclusionary systems through our work.

We acknowledge that there is so much more we can do, and we welcome feedback on where we can do better. We encourage individuals to learn more about racism in Canada, and ways in which they can take action through allyship, beginning with some of the following resources, which members of our team have found helpful in our own learning.

For additional public art opportunities (calls for artists, workshops, funding opportunities and more), visit the monthly opportunities round-up that is frequently updated with activities on our radar by external organizations.

Supporting Indigenous Communities

• Amnesty International – Ten Ways to be a Genuine Ally to Indigenous Communities
• Anishnawbe Health Toronto
• Anishnawbek News 
• Canadian Federation of Library Associations/Féderation canadienne des associations de bibliothèques – Truth and Reconciliation Report and Recommendations in libraries and archives
• CBC Indigenous News
• Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society – “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor”
• First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
• First Nations Health Authority – Mental Health and Wellness Support
• Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society Counselling Services: Survivors crisis line is open 24 hours a day & 7 days a week: 1-800-721-0066
• Indigenous Awareness Resources – Curated by Lindsay (Swooping Hawk) Kretschmer, Executive Director of Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council
• Indigenous Storytellers: Sylvia Maracle, Executive Director, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres; Kenn Richard, founder and former Executive Director of Native Child and Family Services of Toronto and now Director of the Indigenous Spirit Fund; Listen to Lindsay, Sylvia and Kenn discuss reciprocity (YouTube)
• IndigiNews and The Discourse – “Non-Indigenous people – here’s what you can do, right now”
• Indspire
• Legacy of Hope Foundation
• On Canada Project – Settlers Take Action, A List of Resources
• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation – Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports and its 94 Calls to Action; in particular Volume 4 which deals specifically with missing children and Unmarked Burials
• National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls – Reclaiming Power and Place Report
• Native Land – Find out whose traditional territory you live on
• Native Women’s Association of Canada
• Reconciliation Canada
• Tkaronto Indigenous Peoples Portal
• Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC) Toronto Aboriginal Report
• Toronto Star – “Beyond thoughts and prayers: Actions you can take to support residential school survivors in Canada”
• University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies – Free Indigenous Canada Course
• University of Manitoba Press – A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Woodland Cultural Centre – Save the Evidence Campaign
• Yellowhead Institute – Calls to Action Accountability: A 2020 Status Update on Reconciliation

Supporting the Black Community

• A Different Booklist – Featured Booklist
• ByBlacks – Master Directory
• Canadian Black Speakers – Canadian Black Hosts/Moderators/Speakers List
• Loveland Foundation – Loveland Therapy Fund
• Patreon – Unlearning: America’s Rebirth
• The Most Nurtured – Community-based Holistic Wellness for Black Women
• Black Women Connect Vancouver
• 7 Ways Non-Black People of Color Perpetuate Anti-Blackness by Palmira Muniz
• Yo, Is This Racist? Podcast with Andrew Ti and Tawny Newsome
• AROBA: A Black Mental Health Podcast Series

Further Allyship and Other Resources

• Authority Collective – Resources for Photographers and Beyond on Anti-Racism
• Autumn Gupta and Bryanna Wallace – Justice in June
• Bakau Consulting – Workshops, training programs, and resources for equity, justice and anti-racism
• Black Lives Matter – Ways You Can Help
• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)
• Canadian Urban Institute – A Call to Courage: Individual Learning Agenda
• City of Toronto – Toronto For All: Confronting Anti-Black Racism Initiative
• Courtney Ahn Design – An Illustrated Guide to White Privilege
• Darin Buzon – Design Thinking is a Rebrand for White Supremacy
• Future Ancestors Services – Workshops and training to advance climate justice addressing systemic issues through the lenses of anti-racism and ancestral accountability
• GoodGoodGoodCo – How to be Actively Antiracist
• Medium – 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice
• Mireille Cassandra Harper – 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship
• Our Book Bag – Children’s Booklist
• Peggy McIntosh – White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack
• Pride At Work – LGBTQ2+ Workplace Inclusion Learning Modules
• Rania El Mugammar – How to be An Ally: Islamophobia at the Intersections
• Schessa Garbutt – Black Lives Matter is not a Design Challenge
• Showing Up for Racial Justice – Toolkit on Calling People In About “Violence”
• The Creative Independent – How to think differently about doing good as a creative person
• Toronto Public Library – Black Lives Matter: A Booklist
• Toronto Public Library – Read Indigenous
• Toronto Star – Racism Exists in Canada
• Type Books – Booklist
• What it takes to be racially literate (TED Talk by Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo)
• The urgency of intersectionality (TED Talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw)
• Why I’m Nonbinary but Don’t Use They/Them by Ashleigh Shackleford
• Asking About Gender: A Toolkit for Youth Workers, YouthREX and LGBT YouthLine

Accessibility Resources

• Vital Practices in the Arts – A resource guide for documenting, producing, and sharing arts and knowledge in ways that are accessible, collaborative, and disruptive
• Tangled Arts + Disability
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) – Free online training, website audits, on-site training, and AODA consulting
• Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba (AANM) – Resources and services for members, artist resources, supporter resources, and accessibility audits for arts venues

Supports for Artists

• Monthly public art opportunities – regularly updated with opportunities by external organizations
• Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) – Artist-run organization to represent the interests of visual and media artists and establish standards and equitable fee scales
• Ontario Artists’ Legal Access and Support Network – CARFAC Ontario and Artists’ Legal Advice Services lawyers

Public Art and Placemaking Resources

• AIGA & Google – Design Census 2019
• Alesia Montgomery – “Reappearance of the Public: Placemaking, Minoritization, and Resistance in Detroit”
• My Main Street Placemaking Toolkit – Free toolkit to learn more about placemaking and tips on how to develop impactful projects for your community
• Innovation and Resilience in the Arts, Culture and Heritage, Research Key Takeaways and Themes
• Guidelines for safe, happy and fun park programming during COVID-19 by Park People
• National Survey Highlights – The role of parks during the pandemic and role in recovery by Park People
• Indigenous City Building: Signature Projects in Canadian Cities (ULI Canada)
• Indigenous Protocols for the Visual Arts
• The Field Guide for Parks and Creative Placemaking, City Parks Alliance 
• Success Measures Creative Community Development Evaluation Tools, NeighborWorks America