From Weeds We Grow is back for a packed summer! Join STEPS Public Art, local artists and community members as we explore Rexdale’s Panorama Park!
Rooted in local creative desires, From Weeds We Grow is an interdisciplinary public art project exploring Panorama and Rowntree Mills Parks. Since 2019, this program explores artistic, Indigenous, multicultural, environmental and community-based approaches to public space; connecting community members to the arts, each other, and to the parks.
From June through September, join us for monthly activities in Panorama Park, including visual arts and creative writing workshops, community storytelling, Indigenous teachings and park walks. All are welcome!
We invite you to register for the following dates:
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- Saturday, June 18 (11am-4pm)
- Saturday, July 16 (11am-4pm)
- Saturday, August 13 (11am-4pm)
- Saturday, September 17 (11am-4pm)
Save your spot today!
Photo Credit: Samantha Beltran
Restoration of Relationship: ‘Gä•sweñta’: Two Row Wampum’ Beading Circle
Part of From Weeds We Grow, Restoration of Relationship: ‘Gä•sweñta’: Two Row Wampum’ Beading Circle is an interdisciplinary arts workshop explores the ‘Two Row Wampum’ living treaty and our connections to the environment through the beaded artworks.
Led by Artist Lindsey Lickers, Mushkiiki Nibi Kwe (Medicine Water Woman), this arts workshop in Rowntree Mills Park, near the Humber River is a reflective and creative exercise for participants to dive deeper into their current relationship themselves and the land as treaty people.
To register for this workshop, please visit this post to learn more.
Accessibility Notice
The From Weeds We Grow project team is committed to the community’s full participation in this project. Please contact Ima at ima@stepspublicart.org if you have any questions or requests and we will do our best to accommodate.
Park Activation Details
Park Activation #1 – June 18
Morning
- 11 am-1:30 pm: Community Paint Day with Kareen Odd and Kanisha Dabreo (180min)
- 11 am-12:30 pm: Gentle Movement and Self-Directed Quests with Marina Fathalla and Marjan Verstappen (90min)
1:30-2 pm: Lunch, Light Refreshments
Afternoon
- 2-3:30 pm: Creative Writing & Poetry Workshop with Zara Rahman (90 min)
- 3:30-4 pm: Story Sharing Circle & Speakers Corner with STEPS and community members
Park Activation #2 – July 16
Morning
- 12 – 1:30 pm: NETWALK with Ms. Ellie of fouronesixlove inc.
- To join the nNETWALK, please meet at Rowntree Mills Park, main entrance (off Islington Avenue, just north of Finch Avenue)
- 11 – 1:30 pm: Print-Making Workshop with Quentin VerCetty
1:30-2 pm: Lunch, Light Refreshments
Afternoon
- 2 – 4 pm: Restoration of Relationship: In conversation with Lindsey Lickers, Mushkiiki Nibi Kwe, and Matthew Fountain, Oshkaabewis
- 2 – 4 pm: Drop-in experience to explore the new From Weeds We Grow Activity Booklet & Web App!
Park Activation #3 – August 13
Morning
- 11:00 am – 12:30 pm: Community Park Walk with Adassa B.
- 12:30 – 1:30pm: Self-Directed Quests with Marina Fathalla & Marjan Verstappen
1:30-2 pm: Lunch, Light Refreshments
Afternoon
- 2:00 – 3:00 pm: Creative Writing & Poetry Workshop with Zara Rahman
- 11:00 am – 4:00 pm: Drop in to participate in art-making activities and share your story at our Speakers Corner!
Park Activation #4 – September 17
Morning
- 11:00 am – 12:30 pm: Medicinal Walk with Traditional Indigenous Teacher and Healer, James Carpenter, Grey Cloud
- 12:30 – 1:30pm: Artmaking with STEPS Public Art!
1:30-2 pm: Lunch, Light Refreshments
Afternoon
- 2:00 – 3:00 pm: From Weeds We Grow Web App – Update Launch!
- 3 – 4 pm: Community Showcase, featuring Community Poets and Storytellers, with MC Zara Rahman
- 11:00 am – 4:00 pm: Drop in all day to explore the From Weeds We Grow Web App, Panorama Park Activity Booklets, games, creative activities and surprise giveaways!
Meet the From Weeds We Grow Team
James Carpenter
James Carpenter is a recognized Traditional Healer. He has mixed Ojibwa and Cree and Chippewa ancestry from James Bay, Chippewa of the Thames, and Alderville, Ontario. Since 2003, James has worked as an Oshkabewis (helper) at Anishnawbe Health Toronto under the tutelage of various Traditional Healers in the Traditional Healing Services Program.
Lindsey Lickers, Mushkiiki Nibi Kwe
Lindsey Lickers is Turtle Clan originally from Six Nations of the Grand River, with matriarchal ties to the Mississauga’s of Credit First Nation. She has been a practicing artist specializing in painting, beading and community arts facilitation going on fifteen years.
Zara Rahman
Zara is is a local resident and spoken word artist with numerous awards and publications in local competitions and virtual settings. She is also the founder of a local nonprofit organization called Youth Professionals, dedicated to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth and their future careers.
Quentin VerCetty
Winner of the 2020 Joshua Glover Memorial competition (Toronto), Quentin VerCetty is a multi-award-winning multidisciplinary storyteller, educator, and Afrofuturist. With a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from OCAD University and Master’s in Art Education from Concordia University, his work speculates inclusive public spaces and has exhibited his work around the world.
Marina Fathalla
Marina is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and collaborator whose work examines intersections of poetics and politics.
Marjan Verstappen
Marjan is is a multidisciplinary artist and facilitator whose art practice encompasses installation, drawing, photography and performance.
Adassa B.
Adassa is a community leader and collaborator for the From Weeds We Grow project. Adassa leads community walks through Rexdale and Humber Summit, supporting her friends and neighbors in exploring North Etobicoke’s natural green spaces.
Ms. Ellie
Ms. Ellie of FOURONESIXLOVE INC. is driven on supporting the development of the community through curating special events in the Humber Summit area and beyond.
Kanisha Dabreo
Kanisha is a Caribbean-Canadian multidisciplinary artist and digital designer based in the GTA. Artistic Perception is a creative company that provides fine art, prints, and custom pieces/designs. She has a passion for the arts in a variety of mediums including murals and exhibits that focus on storytelling from an Afrocentric lens.
Kareen Weir
Kareen is a multidisciplinary artist dedicated to exploring and preserving Jamaican Patwah through her art practice. She is a graduate of the Edna Manley College with a major in Sculpture but has been exploring the world of mural painting since immigrating to Canada. Her work looks at themes of memory, retention, representation and identity through the Black experience and deliberate use of Patwah language as the primary means of expression.
Caity Ferrar
Caity Ferrar was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario and started taking art classes at a young age, with her father. Encouraged by her family, she attended Sheridan College and Ontario College of Art and Design University. Calling Toronto to me for 7 years, she created and exhibited work, and facilitated artist workshops, murals and other large pieces as a contract artist.
Matthew Fountain
Matthew is an Ojibwe born and raised in Toronto. His character was shaped by the teachings shared by his mother and father. With an emphasis on kindness, diligence, and gentleness his parents raised him to be a person to value sharing and helping others. It was these simple lessons which led him to become an Oshkabewis.
For the past 14 years, Matthew has been part of the traditional team at Anishnawbe Health Toronto in the capacity of a helper i.e. Oshkabewis. Under the supervision of Medicine People he is responsible for the preparation of traditional medicines for a vast array of illnesses. He is responsible in assisting Healers in individual and group sessions through client education. He also facilitates teaching circles between clients and traditional Elders.
Project Partners and Funders
