Community Arts Space: Common Ground
Aug 1 2026 – Aug 16 2026
Participants from the Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT) share personal and collective narratives through clay.
Community Arts Space
Find out how we’re building community using the transformational power of clay.
Established in 2016, Community Arts Space (CAS) is the Gardiner’s incubator for arts-based community projects that build community through clay making. Each year, we partner with local community groups to host clay workshops, exhibitions, and community events.
Our current and past community partners include The 519, Akin, Angry Asian Feminist Gang, Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT), Asian Community AIDS Services, ArtHeart, Art Starts, Canada Nos Une Multicultural Organization, Connected North, Crazy Dames, FCJ Refugee Centre, Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Hyperallergic, Invisible Footprints, Madeleine Co., Margin of Eras Gallery, Nia Centre for the Arts, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (Niiwin Wendaanimak (Four Winds) Indigenous Health and Wellness Program), Rice Roll Productions, Salon Noir, South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Titiesg Wîcinímintôwak // Bluejays Dancing Together Collective, The Truth & Dare Project, Turtle House Art/Play Centre, University of Waterloo School of Architecture, Unspun Theatre, VIBE Arts, and YYZ Artists Outlet, among others.
Lead Sponsor
Community Arts Space Projects
Discover some of our current and past Community Arts Space projects.
Community Arts Space: Formed and Transformed
Jul 9 2025 – Jul 20 2025
Participants from Nia Centre for the Arts explored their personal histories, inspirations, and cultural narratives through clay.
Community Arts Space: Fostering Connections
Aug 29 2024 – Sep 7 2024
This presentation at The Riverdale Hub Gallery featured new ceramic work by VIBE Arts’ Emerging Artists.
Radius Child and Youth Services: No Mud, No Lotus
December 7 2023 – December 11 2023
We featured the work of participants from Radius Child and Youth Services and celebrated their journey of healing and empowerment.
Mark Making: Narrating Our Histories
August 11 2023 – September 4 2023
We featured works created through a series of workshops led by multidisciplinary artist Sharon Norwood along with members of VIBE Arts’ Emerging Artists program.
Fragments and Fictions
August 12 2022 – September 5 2022
Z’otz* Collective presented an interactive community exhibition of new ceramic works alongside objects from Gardiner’s Ancient Americas collection.
Forever (Bird-Botanicals)
August 21 2023 – August 31 2021
Toronto-based sculptor David Constantino Salazar transformed the Exhibition Hall with a series of over 500 hand-sculpted pieces.
Community Arts Space: Community Is Essential
November 2020 – January 2021
During the pandemic, we connected participants to one another through artistic production despite their physical isolation.
Community Arts Space: What we long for
July 2019 – September 2019
Four public projects engaged with community healing, transformative justice, and how craft creates opportunities for acknowledgment and action.
Community Arts Space: Recent Histories
July 2018 – September 2018
Five public projects examined how cultural knowledge is passed on and the role of a museum in cultivating lived and living memory.
Community Arts Space: Art Is Change
July 2017 – August 2017
Six projects considered how the city’s unique and varied local histories of art and social activism can be re-mapped for the future.
Gardiner Community Arts Space: The Make it Real Project
July 2016 – August 2016
Five partners explored four themes—interactivity, performance, community-engaged arts, and city building.
Formed and Transformed with Nia Centre. Public Celebration. Community Arts Space 2025. Photo: Tiana Smith
Fostering Connections with VIBE Arts. Public Celebration. Community Arts Space 2024. Photo: Henry Chan
Mark Making: Narrating Our Histories with VIBE Arts. Public Celebration. Community Arts Space 2023. Photo: Henry Chan
Fragments and Fictions by Z’otz* Collective. Community Arts Space 2022. Photo: Brittany Carmichael
Forever (Bird-Botanicals) by David Constantino Salazar with Workman Arts. Community Arts Space 2021. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Hair We Are with Art Starts and VIBE Arts. Public Celebration. Community Arts Space 2019. Photo: Henry Chan
The Sin Fronteras Monarch Butterfly Project Exhibition Launch with Akin, Canada Nos Une Multicultural Organization, and the ROM. Community Arts Space 2019. Photo: Henry Chan
Live Choreography: jes sachse and Alice Sheppard. Community Arts Space 2018. Photo: Yuula Benivolski
Outdoor Mosaic Making with Waterloo Architecture & PARTISANS Architects. Community Arts Space 2017. Photo: Dainesha Nugent-Palache
