The weeks seem to be flying by faster than ever! While this feels like a familiar sentiment, it rings especially true as we dive deeper into our project. The more we learn, the more we realize just how much more there is to uncover. Over the past few weeks, we’ve had the privilege of conducting even more insightful and heartfelt interviews with arts organizations and women deeply involved in Regent Park’s community.
Some Highlights from Our Interviews:
Leticia and Amie sat down with Layla Zia, Manager of Operations and Strategic Initiatives at the Learning Development Center (LDC) in Regent Park. They brought back rich insights about how the LDC has supported the Regent Park Sewing Studio (RPSS) for over a decade. What began with just two women walking in and starting a sewing circle has since grown into a fully-fledged sewing school with multiple session levels and over 100 students each year.
Angelina met with Heela Omarkhail, VP of Social Impact at The Daniels Corporation. Heela’s work focuses on ensuring that the communities built by Daniels are socially, culturally, and economically robust. Her perspective will soon feature in both our podcast and journalism piece, adding to the mosaic of voices we’ve gathered—including interviews with Leticia, ArtHeart, another Regent Park mother, and Zahra, of course (from Shoot for Peace).
Leticia’s personal journey continues to shape and inspire our project. As a newcomer to Canada 15 years ago, her early experiences with the Digital Storytelling Program captured her reflections as a young mother and immigrant. She recently unearthed old DVDs featuring her voice and story from that time, sparking powerful conversations among our team about growth, change, and resilience.
Picture of Leticia posing with the DVD that the Digital Storytelling Program collaboratively created. If you look closely, you can see a younger Leticia on the disc
Listening to these recordings feels like being suspended in time—between the struggles of a single mother adapting to a new country and the strong, articulate community leader we know today. Leticia often says, “Motherhood is art,” and this phrase resonates more deeply than ever after hearing her younger self and seeing the woman she has become.
Update On Our Lost Booklets
Unfortunately, most of the public notebooks we placed around the neighbourhood have been either stolen or damaged by weather. This was a frustrating reflection point for us last week. Luckily, we managed to photograph many of the pages beforehand, so the contributions won’t be lost entirely. A few notebooks were also left with partner organizations—hopefully, those will still collect meaningful entries. (Not all hopeless!)
Some entries inside the stolen notebooks.
At our final exhibition, we plan to showcase the surviving booklets and introduce a few new ones created especially for the event. We hope the University of Toronto × Focus team will also join in and contribute to this evolving creative community piece. Stay tuned—we’re excited to see what emerges!
Next Steps & Reflection
With our journalism draft nearly complete, the next steps seem to be clear:
Transcribe and process all remaining interview material
Continue researching academic literature on women’s organizing, craft-based community building, and the history of women’s initiatives in Regent Park
Listen through Leticia’s Digital Storytelling Program DVDs
Record and produce our final podcast
As we push through the final stretch of our project, we’re thrilled by how the project is taking shape. What we’ve uncovered is a powerful narrative about how women in Regent Park come together to create space, community, and opportunities for creative expression. These woman-led initiatives—born out of friendship, resilience, and care—offer essential social support and empower mothers in times of economic and emotional hardship.
The team members of Ars Communitas are Sunnie, Leticia, Amie, Angelina, and Avila (Youjia).