Various weekdays in July 2025
Art on my Mind 2025 Workshops
songwriting and performance workshops with Success Beyond Limits, Flaunt It. and The Neighbourhood Group
Facilitated by Nathan Baya and Kibra
Off-site at Black Creek Community Farm
4929 Jane Street, Toronto ON
Art on My Mind 2025 is a songwriting, performance, and dance program designed and facilitated by Jane Finch hip hop artist and Director of Jane Street Speaks Nathan Baya in partnership with The Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery of York University. Baya brings extensive experience facilitating music workshops for emerging musicians to this program, which will include more than 20 hours of workshops.
Participants will learn the building blocks of song writing, practice rhyming, and have opportunities to participate in cyphers to gain experience in improvisatory freestyling. The curriculum will focus on the art of performance, including developing stage presence, captivating audiences through emotional connection, and how to integrate movement and choreography. Participants will workshop one song, gaining feedback on lyrics and, after performing the song, supportive and constructive feedback to strengthen future performances. Baya will also offer two introductory hip hop dance sessions, open to the public.
A select number of workshop participants will be invited to perform in the Art on My Mind Showcase, presented in collaboration with Jane Street Speaks and BCCF’s Farm Festival. This is a paid opportunity for workshop participants, showcasing their new songs to an audience and gaining valuable hands-on experience in live performance. The Showcase will be hosted by Jane Finch resident Kadiatu Barrie and feature performances by New Tradition Music, Jane Finch R&B singer Kibra, and hip hop powerhouse Sydanie. The event will be DJ’d by Jane Finch hip hop dancer and educator DJ CUR8.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Allyson, aadley@yorku.ca, 416-320-5863.
Special thanks to the Toronto Arts Council, the Toronto arts Foundation and Arts in the ParksTO for generously funding and supporting this program.
Nathan Baya is an artist, songwriter, and performer born and raised in Toronto. Baya’s parents immigrated to Canada from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a heritage that has left an indelible impact on his musical sound. Known for his electrifying performances, Baya has taken the stage at over 100 venues including for the Toronto Raptors, Afrofest, Nuit Blanche, Rise Edutainment, and the Toronto Biennial of Art. He appears in the Wagner & de Burca film, RISE, which was produced by the Art Gallery of York University (now The Goldfarb Gallery). Additionally, Baya was the opening act for Koffee at the 2020 Manifesto Festival.
Toronto-based singer Kibra is quickly making a name for herself as one of the most exceptional voices in Toronto’s R&B scene. Kibra has experienced numerous career-defining milestones that have propelled her artistic development. One of these turning points was when she was asked to be an ambassador for Destination Toronto and performed for Sofar Sounds to a packed audience in Brooklyn. Representing the best of Toronto’s arts scene, Kibra gave a showstopping performance, demonstrating her vocal agility and emotionally charged lyricism. Posted online, Kibra’s performance was viewed 165,000 times. Another defining moment was when RNB Radar posted her live performance of Laydown, garnering over 1 million interactions and 28,500 likes, making it their most-liked post featuring a Canadian artist.
See also:
