Workshops

PLANTING IMAGINATION WORKSHOPS

Workshops and sessions are facilitated by a group of Chinatown community organizations and X University Toronto researchers who will work alongside community partners and local organizations as well as 40 recruited and diverse Chinatown Community Activators from across the Chinatown community to co-design the Cecil Community Centre back garden.
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From January 2022 to August 2022 we’ll meet once every 2 to 4 weeks to:
• Talk about a future of Chinatown that works for locals
• Learn how to use virtual reality to create new visions for different parts of Chinatown
• Work together to redesign, add to, and build a community garden in Chinatown

WORKSHOP SERIES PLAN 2022‍

Session 1: Onboarding (Jan)

To introduce the group to the project, get to know each other and explore needs and values.

Session 2: Co-Design 1 (Feb)

To introduce the group to the virtual reality garden game platform and explore collective working and decision-making.

Session 3: Co-Design 2 (Feb)

To further develop virtual reality garden designs based on important values and design elements identified by the group.

Session 4: Co-Design 3 (Mar)

To introduce the group to 360 virtual reality to co-design a collective design proposal for the garden.

Session 5: Co-Design 4 (Mar)

To introduce the group to augmented reality as a design tool and take a AR garden tour.

Session 6: Programming (April)

To develop programming for the garden space and foster community stewardship.

Session 7: Reflection (May)

To reflect on the co-design process to date.

Session 8: Co-Fabrication 1 (June)

To introduce the group to digital fabrication tools and start to build the garden together.

Session 9: Co-Fabrication 2 (July)

To introduce the group to digital fabrication tools and start to build the garden together.

Session 10: Co-Fabrication 3 (Aug)

To finish the final touches on the garden and celebrate with a garden launch event.

Session 11: Legacy Planning (Nov)

To develop and discuss stewarding the space including Chinatown Activator continuation for next season and beyond.

Myseum of Toronto Intersections Festival 2023 (April 2023)

Myseum Intersections is an annual city-wide arts and culture festival that explores Toronto through intersectional perspectives. A storytelling exhibition and gardening programming will take place in April 2023 to highlight the design process and invite the public to experience the community garden.

Learn more: https://www.myseumoftoronto.com/programming/intersections-2023-plantingseedsofimagination/
Watch the repot back: https://www.youtube.com/live/_GeMWmBjfoY?feature=shared

HYPERCITY AUGMENTED REALITY Festival 2022-2023

Hypercity is an Augmented Reality (AR) art exhibition experienced via the Hypercity App developed by SpekWork. Gesturing to both the subversiveness and precarity of street art, the AR installations invite participants to intervene and dream in Toronto’s fraught public space.

Learn more: http://www.torontolongwinter.com/hypercity