1. Greetings from The Public!

Happy Spring! It’s a time of rebirth, awakening, and fresh beginnings. As the fight for a life of justice and beauty thrives across our communities, The Public is springing into action and welcoming new energy with exciting work and collaborations.

2. The Public News: In the Studio

Welcoming our Spring Interns!

Interns play a vital role here at The Public, taking the lead and designing two key in-house initiatives, our DIY Creative Resistance design zines and People’s History posters. This April and May, we are excited to welcome our newest interns Josephine and Brittany. We can’t wait to see what brilliance they’ll bring to the studio!

In Solidarity with Black Lives Matter

The Public stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Toronto, who recently held their Tent City outside of Toronto Police Headquarters. Over two weeks, Black Torontonians and allies challenged anti-Black racism in our city and demanded: justice for Andrew Loku, Jermaine Carby and Alex Wetlaufer; an overhaul of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit in consultation with families of victims of police violence, the Black community, and the community at large; a commitment to the full elimination of carding; and a condemnation of Toronto Police’s excessive use of force and ongoing intimidation tactics against Black Lives Matter Toronto protesters. We celebrate the important wins BLMTO has achieved through collective action, and support the continued fight for dignity and justice for all Black lives. For more information on how to support and to stay updated, click here!

3. The People News: In the Community

Hand Embroidery Intensive
Saturday April 23 to Sunday April 24 at Pio! (163 Sterling Road, #116)

Drawing can be done in many ways, yet we might not often think of thread as one of them! PIO Centre for Drawing is hosting an intensive weekend workshop on hand embroidery. Participants will learn how to draw on fabric, get comfortable with three fundamental stitches, and create their own embroidered masterpiece to take home by the end of the workshop (all materials are provided). Find out more about registration here!

Mayworks: Festival of Working People and the Arts
Sunday May 1 to Saturday May 14 at various locations across the GTA

The 31st Annual Mayworks Festival is back for another year of multi-disciplinary arts that celebrates working class culture. Mayworks is Canada’s largest and oldest labour arts festival, based on the premise that workers and artists share a common struggle for decent wages, healthy working conditions and a living culture. Check out the full line-up of events here!

Call for Submissions: Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar
Sunday May 15, 2016 (deadline)

Since 2002, the Certain Days Calendar has been an everyday archive of movement building, hanging in homes, workplaces, prison cells, and community spaces around the world. This year, the Certain Days collective are looking for art and article submissions on the theme of Sustaining Movements, exploring how movements for liberation sustain, grow and overcome challenges. Proceeds from the calendar will be used for direct support work for Political Prisoners and anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist struggles in the U.S. and Canada. Find out more here!

4. The Public News: On the streets

Natalia has had a busy winter, from teaching her Design and Social Justice class at George Brown, going to coding school, and gearing up for her band's first show April 25th! She is looking forward to collaborating with the other members in the Radical Design School as they take on creating art for this year's Grassy Narrows River Run in June. She is also looking forward to spring weather, gardening and planning her summer vacation.

Anabel continues to dig into her healing justice practice in psychotherapy school and is gearing up for an online course, “The Wilder Edge: Re-enchanting Ourselves to a World Song,” on intuitive skills to apply towards facilitating social justice organizing. Meanwhile, she has been enjoying getting back to dance choreography and her visual artwork. Her article “Shimmers Below the Surface: Emergent Strategy and Movement Building through 2-QTPOC Media” will be launched in UnderCurrents: Journal of Critical Environmental Studies later this month at The Free Times Café.

Sheila has been busy working on the upcoming music issue of Shameless (stay tuned for the launch in May!). As she wraps up a busy semester at OCAD, she has been working on setting up a pop-up shop-from-the-future with her speculative design class (launching at the 707 Market later this month!) and prepping her thesis students for the annual graduate exhibition. Her own work will be featured in the It's (still) Privileged Art 2016 exhibition and publication at 401 Richmond. In May, she'll be giving a keynote speech for the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario status of women committees and is looking forward to being on the keynote panel and co-presenting a workshop at the Media Action Research Conference in Orillia. She is also looking forward to delivering a workshop on zine-making at the Burlington Public Library and on creative writing for the Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton.

5. What we're working on

• Branding mentorship for Youth Opportunities Fund group, Words of Wisdom
• Design of an annual report for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
• Production of an eBook on labour and LGBTQ rights for the Canadian Labour Congress
• Development of a toolkit exploring domestic violence and the workplace for the Canadian Labour Congress
• Design of booklet welcoming newcomer students to school for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
• A Women’s Equality project for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
• Site redesign and outreach for Teen Health Source for Planned Parenthood Toronto
• Site design for a course on Feminist Legal Reform for the National Association for Women and the Law
• Site design for the Ontario Women’s Health Network
• Workshop and newsletter design for OPSEU local 558
• LGBTQ Youth campaign materials for Planned Parenthood Toronto
• Infographic series on health equity for Rainbow Health Ontario
• Re-brand and site re-design for the Scarborough Housing Help Centre
• Newsletter design for Unifor
• Design of materials for Health Nexus' project on Collaborative leadership in practice
• Re-brand for CESAR, a student union for continuing students at Ryerson University

6. What we've done

•  Spring 2016 issue of Sex, Etc. magazine
• Infographics and knowledge-transfer materials for the LGBTQ Home Care Access Project
• Infographic for the Supporting Newcomer Access Project at Planned Parenthood Toronto
• Site design for What's Next for Me?

7. Housekeeping!

Find youself in the neighbourhood? Our office is open 9-5, Mondays through Fridays and we are always excited to meet and share with community members and new friends. Stop by and say hello!