Help us Grow
The York Region Arts Council (YRAC) is entering a new and exciting phase in 2018 with new initiatives which will further strengthen and support artists and arts organizations. Our work is made possible by the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the generous patronage of our funders and donors.
As a charitable, not-for-profit organization, YRAC actively seeks partnerships with public supporters, individuals, corporations and foundations. Without your strong partnership, we would not be able to grow our quality programming. Please consider making an individual donation below.
As a donor, you will support continued grown and artistic excellence in York Region as we work to reach artists directly and impact the arts so that we at YRAC can engage the community fully. Your generosity will help support and champion a vibrant, dynamic arts community within York Region and enrich the lives of our citizens and the success of the York Region Arts Council.
This gift will support the creation and implementation of professional development programs for York Region based artists, arts organizations, and creative entrepreneurs. The Artrepreneur business accelerator, mentorship, and artist-in-residence programs are examples of the type of project your gift will contribute to growth.
Creatives who participate in these programs go on to have a significant impact on the local community and beyond. You have the opportunity to collectively enable this impact and we look forward to sharing all of the success stories with you!
2018 Individual Donor Campaign
The first 100 donations of $100 or more will receive one of 100 limited edition prints of the original work, Fragile Balance, shown above by artist Anya Mielniczek.
About the Piece, in the Artist's Words:
"Creating this special piece for the York Region Arts Council, I wanted to work with themes related to our local environment. What came through was a water woman with some local creatures including a mudpuppy salamander and a couple of barn swallows. In my findings a recurring theme which came up was that it's a fragile balance keeping our ecosystems healthy, happy and clean amidst an ever growing city. Factors such are storm water run-off, population density and road salt are but a few factors that come into play in regards to the maintenance of our rivers, lakes and watershed management. With these things in mind I did want to showcase both positives and negatives - positives being the rise of sightings of such species as the mudpuppy salamander (which requires un-polluted waters!) and nesting barn sparrows which are a endangered species. However, in recent years such chemicals as chloride from road salt is being felt and picked up in our river water samples... It goes without saying, our lifestyles very much affect our local environments whether we are consciously aware of it or not. In this light "Fragile Balance" is a reflection on these findings and our place within it all."
Artist Biography:
Anya Mielniczek is a multidisciplinary artist working in various forms of art creation and facilitation since graduating from Queen’s University in 2012. The artist has worked with councillor’s offices, city BIA’s and groups of all ages with Mural Routes, Art Starts, the TDSB, and Cultural Hotspot. Her corporate project partners have also included Marlin Spring Developments, Arts Collective Brewing, and Dell.
Anya uses mixed-media to explore themes around human nature and highlight environmental sustainability, taking her practice into the public realm she sees the limitless potential working across the city on public and private surfaces, emphasizing a proactive and informative approach to art making.
Social Media:
Instagram: anyamielniczek
FB Page: www.facebook.com/anyamielniczekART/
Recent Media/Articles:
Dell World Oceans Day - Snapd Queen
