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Community Arts Space


Find out how we’re building community using the transformational power of clay.

What’s On / Community Arts Space

Established in 2016, Community Arts Space (CAS) is the Gardiner’s incubator for arts-based community projects that build community through clay making. Each year, we partner with local community groups to host clay workshops, exhibitions, and community events.

Our current and past community partners include The 519, Akin, Angry Asian Feminist Gang, Asian Community AIDS Services, ArtHeart, Art Starts, Canada Nos Une Multicultural Organization, Connected North, Crazy Dames, FCJ Refugee Centre, Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Hyperallergic, Invisible Footprints, Madeleine Co., Margin of Eras Gallery, Nia Centre for the Arts, Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (Niiwin Wendaanimak (Four Winds) Indigenous Health and Wellness Program), Rice Roll Productions, Salon Noir, South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Titiesg Wîcinímintôwak // Bluejays Dancing Together Collective, The Truth & Dare Project, Turtle House Art/Play Centre, University of Waterloo School of Architecture, Unspun Theatre, VIBE Arts, and YYZ Artists Outlet, among others.

Discover some of our currant and past projects and stay tuned for upcoming events!

Lead Sponsor

TD Ready Commitment
Thanks To

A woman drawing on a white ceramic vessel

Mark Making: Narrating Our Histories with VIBE Arts. Community Arts Space 2023. Photo: Henry Chan

People in the gallery looking at a series of round portraits of young racialized women on the wall

Hair We Are with Art Starts and VIBE Arts. Community Arts Space 2019. Photo: Henry Chan

A dancer who uses a wheelchair leaning back toward another dancer who is reaching toward their toes

Live Choreography: jes sachse and Alice Sheppard. Community Arts Space 2018. Photo: Yuula Benivolski

A wall-mounted installation of red clay birds

Forever (Bird-Botanicals) by David Constantino Salazar with Workman Arts. Community Arts Space 2021. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

An older woman dressed as a butterfly

The Sin Fronteras Monarch Butterfly Project Exhibition Launch with Akin, Canada Nos Une Multicultural Organization, and the ROM. Community Arts Space 2019. Photo: Henry Chan

People outside tiling a mosaic wall

Outdoor Mosaic Making with Waterloo Architecture & PARTISANS Architects. Community Arts Space 2017. Photo: Dainesha Nugent-Palache

Ceramic sculptures on plinth with a large colourful mural in the background

Fragments and Fictions by Z’otz* Collective. Community Arts Space 2022. Photo: Brittany Carmichael

Community Arts Space Projects


Discover a selection of our current and past Community Arts Space projects.

Community Arts Space 2024: Fostering Connections

Community Arts Space: Fostering Connections


Aug 29 2024 – Sep 7 2024

Part of Community Arts Space 2024, this presentation at The Riverdale Hub Gallery features new ceramic work by VIBE Arts’ Emerging Artists.
Learn more
Hands of a young person working with clay

Radius Child and Youth Services: No Mud, No Lotus


December 7 2023 – December 11 2023

This exhibition features the work of participants from Radius Child and Youth Services and celebrates their journey of healing and empowerment.
Learn more
Two people looking at colourful ceramic sculptures on plinths

Mark Making: Narrating Our Histories


August 11 2023 – September 4 2023

This presentation features works created through a series of workshops led by multidisciplinary artist and mentor, Sharon Norwood, along with five members of VIBE Arts’ Emerging Artists program.
Learn more
A terracotta ceramic sculpture with hybrid animal forms

Fragments and Fictions


August 12 2022 – September 5 2022

Z’otz* Collective presents an interactive community exhibition of new ceramic works alongside objects from Gardiner’s Ancient Americas collection.
Learn more
A wall-mounted installation of red clay birds

Forever (Bird-Botanicals)


August 21 2023 – August 31 2021

Toronto-based sculptor David Constantino Salazar transforms the Exhibition Hall into a venue for collective feeling with a series of over 500 hand-sculpted pieces created during a month-long residency.
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A woman with long braids wearing a mask and glazing pottery

Community Arts Space: Community Is Essential


November 2020 – January 2021

When the Museum closed as a result of COVID-19, we reimagined CAS as a series of community activities that connected participants to one another through artistic production despite their physical isolation.
Learn more
An older woman dressed as a butterfly

Community Arts Space: What we long for


July 2019 – September 2019

Community Arts Space: What we long for showcases four public projects that engage with community healing, survival tools, transformative justice, and how craft creates opportunities for acknowledgment and action.
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A child on all fours looking into a large ceramic vessel

Community Arts Space: Recent Histories


July 2018 – September 2018

Presenting five public projects that examine how cultural knowledge is passed on or performed, and the role of a museum in cultivating so-called lived and living memory.
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A group of people outdoors tiling a mosaic bench

Community Arts Space: Art Is Change


July 2017 – August 2017

Six projects considers how the city’s unique and varied local histories of art and social activism can be re-mapped for the future.
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A room of people working with clay at tables in the exhibition hall

Gardiner Community Arts Space: The Make it Real Project


July 2016 – August 2016

Through an open call for proposals, the Gardiner selected five partners to explore four themes—interactivity, performance, community-engaged arts, and city building.
Learn more
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The Gardiner Museum will close at 6 pm on Wednesday May 22 for the International Ceramic Art Fair Preview Gala.