{"id":28227,"date":"2020-12-10T20:46:28","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T01:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=28227"},"modified":"2020-12-10T20:46:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T01:46:37","slug":"arts-help-wants-to-leave-a-lasting-impression-on-library-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/arts-help-wants-to-leave-a-lasting-impression-on-library-square\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts Help wants to leave a lasting impression on Library Square"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mo Ghoneim believes in the simple principle of \u201cfor the community, by the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an Aurora native, it is a philosophy that guides his work as co-founder and managing director of Arts Help, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping groups develop \u201cprojects and programming for social change.\u201d And it is a philosophy he and his partners are looking to bring back to Aurora through the development of Library Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts Help, which was founded with the aim of \u201cart making the world a better place,\u201d is seeking to bring \u201ctraditional and non-traditional art forms\u201d to the downtown revitalization project now underway through what they describe as an \u201cinteractive digital network\u201d that will provide programming within the walls of Library Square, as well as allow programming to reach all corners of Aurora and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur mandate has always been inclusivity as an organization,\u201d Mr. Ghoneim said as he and partners Sophie Brussaux and Mercedes Custodio pitched their idea to Council last week. \u201cWhy we\u2019re really excited about the Library Square project is it is aligned with everything that we stand for as an organization: it is a place that is for the community by the community and, for us, we believe in starting locally and being engaged on a grassroots level within our community of creative industries. Our key objectives for this proposal [were] really driven by community and engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a really big project for the Town. For me, at least in my lifetime in the Town, this is probably one of the biggest projects I have seen come to life and we know that it is really important for us to be able to create awareness for this incredible project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work of Arts Help, he said, is guided by 17 goals outlined by the United Nations, including eliminating poverty, taking climate action, and promoting health and education. Their goal is to \u201creally align Aurora as a resourceful and innovative Town through Arts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their vision for an \u201cinteractive digital network\u201d would see digital screens permanently installed within Library Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe eliminate having limitations around what we can do when we go digital,\u201d he continued. \u201cFor example, we could have programming where we showcase local community members. If you\u2019re a non-traditional artist, say a graphic designer, you can exhibit your work through these digital screens. You\u2019re able to bring people out to your exhibit and show them your work, so maybe there is an interest for them to hire you as a graphic freelancer in Aurora. Or, if you\u2019re a professional artist, the sky is the limit being able to program them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeading up to the development of Library Square, we would be working on building an online community that is very grassroots for the Town of Aurora and integrating this online community with the digital network. Think of as art in Aurora, for example, on social media\u2026that would be something we would be working with local artists and creating a portal for them to be able to upload, submit, vote on what kind of programming they want to see. It is not just artists but anybody who has a passion for art or is interested. We would use this social media platform to really be the driving force for how we basically program for the interactive digital network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the fine details of the proposal, and the Town\u2019s involvement, still need to be hammered out, their idea was received warmly by most members of Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to last week\u2019s General Committee meeting, the principals of Arts Help met with the majority of local lawmakers. Following their presentation to the entire complement of elected members, those who had met with the creatives reiterated their support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I saw in the display really blew me away. I am not known to be an artistic or creative person, but the juices were flowing as the presentation was going on,\u201d said Councillor Harold Kim. \u201cThis opens up a lot of options. This is not just one room that is going to be stagnant with the novelty of it wearing off \u2013 but each year you evolve into something bigger and better and it is going to be different each and every year. That type of vision\u2026makes Library Square an exciting place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Councillor Rachel Gilliland: \u201c[Art] really does elevate our spirits, our creativity and\u2026art is one of those neutral places where everyone can feel together and included.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Tom Mrakas also expressed his support, stating this will help put Aurora on \u201cthe international stage when it comes to arts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArt is subjective, everyone looks at it in their own way, and sees it their own way,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I see what is being presented, I think of all the goals we have for Library Square and I think it meets many of those goals of creating a gathering space and bringing people back continuously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillors John Gallo and Wendy Gaertner, however, were more tempered in their support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Councillor Gallo said it was \u201ca great idea,\u201d he said he was \u201ca bit of a traditionalist\u201d and would prefer to see art installed within the Square itself rather than digital media throughout the indoor components of the redevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo me, a lot of thought should be put on this and we certainly shouldn\u2019t knee-jerk and make a decision,\u201d he said. \u201cThere should be some thought as to how to best promote the Square as far as the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Gaertner had a similar view, and expressed some pause over the budget should this come to pass. Arts Help says that in the first year, they would be looking at a budget of $256,000 and additional fees would be required should programming continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what you\u2019re doing is fascinating and far-reaching, and certainly would involve a lot of people in the community and I congratulate you on your vision, but\u2026hopefully we can figure out a little mix and match here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mo Ghoneim believes in the simple principle of \u201cfor the community, by the community.\u201d As an Aurora native, it is a philosophy that guides his work as co-founder and managing director of Arts Help, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping groups develop \u201cprojects and programming for social change.\u201d And it is a philosophy he and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-7lh","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-04 23:17:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}