We are two immigrant women, enthusiastic dreamers that wanted to create an arts group to work with the community. “Emotionart” is the name we gave it because we believe that emotions move us to create arts and build or rebuild better communities.
Our goal was to focus on working with seniors residents at Toronto Community Housing buildings, on the East End, targeting the Danforth area between Greenwood and Coxwell.
Why do we focus on the seniors? Because I have noticed after 8 years of living in this area, in a housing building, they live alone and in some occasions sadly I have found out that some of them have died alone in their homes. This was the main reason to create a space where we can check in with each other every week, while getting to know each other better, reconnecting with each other, while we are all creating arts in a non-judgemental environment.
This community project started on January 27, 2020, and I would have been running until April 27, 2020, every Monday, from 10 am to 12 pm.
Unfortunately, as everywhere in the world, the pandemic, make us stop the program after 8 weeks of program. Nowadays, we are in stand by and looking forward to restarting it again, when the regulations of social distance and the gathering rules become more flexible for us to work together again.
These are some pictures of the program, their work and their alebrijes in process.
Armstrong’s print 
Jackie’s print
