We are currently closed for the holiday season and will reopen on January 6th. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to serving you in the new year! Happy Holidays from all of us!
Holiday Closure Notice
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News
H’art Centre Receives Ontario Arts Council Operating Grant
H'art Centre Receives Ontario Arts Council Operating Grant to Support Inclusive Arts Workshops, Training and More [Kingston, Ontario] — H’art Centre, Kingston’s award-winning inclusive arts hub and dedicated non profit charity, is excited to announce that it has...
H’art to Relocate to Providence Village
Providence Village Inc. (Providence Village) and H'art Centre of Smiles Inc. (H’art) are thrilled to announce their new partnership that will see H'art relocate to Providence Village inside the historic Providence Motherhouse building. This move strengthens both...
H’art Receives Funding from the Community Services Recovery Fund
Government of Canada's Community Services Recovery Fund supports EDI training at H’art [Kingston, Ontario ] H’art Centre, a leading charitable, non-profit inclusive arts organization was selected for funding from the Government of Canada's Community Services Recovery...
H’art Centre Receives Support from artsvest Mentorship and Training Program
H’art Centre, a Kingston non-profit, charitable inclusive arts organization, is thrilled to announce support from the artsvest Ontario program. artsvest is Business / Arts’ signature mentorship and training program, with a strong history and demonstrated success in...
OAC supports H’art in 2023
The Ontario Arts Council provided timely support for H’art in its 25th anniversary year H’art Centre is pleased to share that the Ontario Arts Council has provided $35,000 in operational funding to the organization in 2023. The investment will help support the...
Remembering Karen
It is with sadness that we share news of the passing of a long-time friend and brilliant artist, Karen Olivier. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family. Karen was one of the originals here at H’art Centre. She loved music, especially drumming, writing, and visual...
A tribute to Former Ontario Lieutenant-Governor David Onley
David Onley lived a life of advocacy for continually raising the bar on what better can be Guest post | Contributed by Board Member Julie Ann Wolfe May The Hon. David C. Onley championed "Accessibility for All" in Ontario and everywhere. More than a physical issue...
First workshops in H’art Centre’s new outreach space to benefit Kingston seniors
This month, H'art Centre unveiled the first community workshops ever to be offered in its new outreach space, THE MIX. The much-anticipated fall workshops feature a line-up of four different mediums, all led by trained professional artists who combine inclusive...
New partnership with the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston
On April 15, H'art Centre and the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston announced a new partnership to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (15 April 1972) between Canada and the US. This partnership is an opportunity for...
Mix It Up campaign exceeds its objective
H’art Centre has announced the successful completion of its Mix It Up campaign. The group set a modest goal to raise $30,000 toward an expansion into a new space and outreach workshops. By the end, the Mix It Up! campaign raised more than $61,785, making it the most...
Big changes for MixAbilities in 2022
H'art's MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Training Program is evolving again! The six-module program, designed to enhance access to the arts by ensuring artists and educators are trained to effectively and empathetically support artist-participants who are Deaf and those...
$42,300 OTF Grant Supports Virtual and On-Site Programming
Kingston, ON - In 2021, H’art Centre received a $42,300 grant from the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund - Operating stream. This grant, delivered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, will allow H’art Centre to hire staff, continue operating its facility,...
Executive Director receives Arts Champion Award
H'art Centre's Executive Director Katherine Porter was awarded the Arts Champion Award at a Mayor’s Arts Award ceremony in December. The Mayor's Arts Awards is an annual recognition program that celebrates high artistic achievement and recognizes extraordinary...
H’art kicks off Mix It Up! campaign
The public phase of a $30,000 campaign to expand already benefiting from community support Yesterday, H’art Centre and some early supporters launched the public phase of a fundraising campaign that will see the organization expand into a neighbouring space. The Mix...
OAEA Awards MixAbilities Facilitator
H’art Centre is pleased to announce Karen Dolan, its MixAbilities Inclusive Arts Training Program Facilitator, received a 2021 Community Art Educator of the Year from the Ontario Arts Education Association at a virtual ceremony held last night. The Community Art...
Go Wireless: A lifeline for seniors
Seniors at Fairmount Home were already preparing to use technology to stay engaged and active before the pandemic hit thanks to a pilot project launched by H’art Centre’s outreach program in December 2018 and implemented in 2019. “Little did we know that our Go...
Remembering Shirley
Our sincere condolences go to the family and friends of Shirley Ballantyne. We know there are many. Shirley was a true community champion. She was a volunteer and then a member of H’art’s board of directors for three years. Even after she finished her term on the...
When the world shuts down, Artists Connect!
From January to March, the "Artist Connect" project brought artists from across Canada together to talk about making art in the digital world. Artist Connect was presented by Ottawa’s BEING Studio, in partnership with H'art Centre (Kingston), The Space (Ottawa),...
Memo to H’art Families & Staff: Update about local immunization roll-out
H’art Participants, Families, Caregivers, and Staff: This is a quick note to keep you informed about the province’s immunization rollout. Based on information from the KFL&A Public Health website, the KFL&A region is currently vaccinating: Staff and essential...
Memo to H’art Families & Staff: Ontario’s Phase 2 announcement
Update to Participants, Families, and Staff of H’art Centre: Ontario has announced its updated vaccination plan which details the specific people who are eligible to receive their COVID-19 vaccines. Phase 2 lists people with intellectual or developmental disabilities...
CURRENT PROJECT: Finding Good
H'art Centre is launching a new season and plans for monthly art projects under the slogan, “Finding Good”. “People have been isolated, missing friends and loved ones, feeling bored, tired, stuck, and out of shape,” said Katherine Porter, Executive Director of H’art...
H’art presents 2020 Doseger Award
This week at a virtual ceremony, Urooj Salar, a Bachelor of Health Sciences Queen's University student, received the 2020 Brook Catherine Doseger Endowment Fund Award. Urooj, who was the unanimous winner of this year’s award, hopes to pursue a career in health, as she...
Welcome to our new website
Our shiny new site is live! ✨ With this launch, the last piece of our refreshed brand identity falls into place. We think it captures the energy and enthusiasm of our organization. Check out the new features: A NEW featured...
New Inclusivity Guide tool launches
H'art launched a new tool last week. The Inclusivity Guide is a one-stop resource for community arts leaders and event organizers. It will help them consider the accessibility of their next art event and encourage the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. This...
2020 Celebrating Accessibility Awards
The City of Kingston informed us we will receive the Celebrating Accessibility Award at a virtual ceremony this year. We will receive the award for developing virtual inclusive arts programming best practices in response to the pandemic. Our main goal was to maintain...
CFKA supports H’art
This week, H'art Centre received a boost. The Community Foundation for Kingston and Area announced they will provide a one-time $15,000 operational grant. The funds will support our H'art Studio program in 2021. "We look forward to the possibility of moving back to a...
How your City will support the arts through 2020 Arts Fund
The Kingston Arts Council and the City of Kingston announced the recipients of the 2020 City of Kingston Arts Fund grants recently. H'art Centre was among only 11 local arts organizations that received an operating grant. Take a moment to read an article in the...
H’art receives support through the Emergency Community Support Fund
It was recently announced, H'art Centre will receive funding through the Emergency Community Support Fund to continue to deliver online programming to H’art Studio participants who are not yet able to return to the Centre through March 2021. This support will go far...
Harry E. Foster Foundation supports virtual program
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, H'art artists were dealing with the disappointment of the postponed performance of Small Things and the uncomfortable experience of being isolated at home away from their regular routine and friends. We reached out to the...
Coronavirus Information for Visitors, Participants, Caregivers and Families
LATEST INFORMATION April 9, 2020 With the continuing uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, H’art Centre will remain closed until further notice. We will be monitoring COVID-19 developments as they happen and will be updating our website and phone message to keep...
Meet our 2019 Doseger Award recipient
Congratulations go to Lauren Goulet who was awarded the 2019 Brook Catherine Doseger Award. The award is given to an outstanding post-secondary field placement student each year. With the assistance of the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area, this fund was set...
A Message from Our Founder: Let’s Dance!
According to diversity and inclusion expert Verna Myers, “While diversity is about identifying differences and making sure everyone is invited to the party, inclusion is about extending a hand and asking everyone to dance”. That's exactly what we are doing this...
Zena Bernstein Film, Festival Update
The short film we produced on the life and work of artist Zena Bernstein for our recent Able Artist event hit the big screen at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival on Saturday, March 2nd before a sold out crowd as part of Local Shorts, a collection of seven short...
Able Artists film to be part of Kingston Canadian Film Festival
We are pleased to announce that a short film we produced with Spot On Media for our recent Able Artist event, EXHIBITION: Zena Bernstein will be included in the 2019 Kingston Canadian Film Festival in the category "Local Shorts: NEW VOICES". The film takes a close...
H’art and Fairmount Home Go Wireless
On December 13, representatives from H’art Centre, Rotary Club of Kingston and Empire Life gathered at Fairmount Home to celebrate the "Go Wireless" pilot project with Fairmount Home’s leaders, recreation staff and residents. Five Smart TV monitors, multiple...
St. Lawrence student receives 2018 Brook Catherine Doseger Award
On Sunday, December 9th, at the finale performance of "The Wishing Tree", H’art Centre announced Olivia Breton, a third-year Child and Youth Care student from St. Lawrence College, is the 2018 recipient of the Brook Catherine Doseger Endowment Fund Award. “This...
OTF Funds Intergenerational Arts Mixer
OTF Grant to Help H’art Pilot a New Intergenerational Arts Mixer On Sunday, the Ontario Trillium Foundation gave audience members at the finale performance of H’art Centre’s The Wishing Tree something to sing about when it was announced a weekend intergenerational...
H’art Receives 2018 Celebrating Accessibility Award
H’art Centre is pleased to announce it a recipient of the City of Kingston 2018 Celebrating Accessibility Award in the category of Education for our MixAbilities Artist/Educator Training program. H’art was awarded this honour yesterday at a ceremony held in Memorial...
Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston supports seating improvements
At an event held on Tuesday, November 28th at Renaissance Hall in downtown Kingston, H'art Centre was honoured to be one of the recipients of a community grant from the Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston. With this grant, H'art Centre will upgrade the seating...
Brook Catherine Doseger Endowment Fund Award
The Brook Catherine Doseger Endowment Fund is a permanent fund initiated by Catherine and Greg Bell, and supported by several donors, in memory of Brook Catherine Doseger (1992 – 2016) Brook Doseger's passion for life and adventure knew no bounds and this spirit...
H’art to train more artists and educators with new blueprint
Over the last year, friends and former board members Peter Wolf and Bonnie Henderson and graduate student Sarah Carroll prepared a six-module training course, called MixAbilities. The modules formalize H'art Centre's current practices and will ensure a standard for...
Senator Bovey makes a statement of friendship
A note of sincere, and H’art-felt gratitude, to Senator Patricia Bovey in response to her wonderful statement in the Senate in May. We applaud her words and leadership. Read the Senator's statement
Able Artists paired with CATR 2018
H'art Centre's Able Artists series sponsored a talk and film screening by Menka Nagrani, founder and choreographer of Montreal's Les Productions des pieds des mains at the Canadian Association of Theatre Research 2018 conference that was held at the Isabel Bader...
More to Give: Anniversary Message
An anniversary message from our Founder Dear Friends, H’art started 20 years ago with the understanding that people with developmental disabilities from our community had more to give and that the Arts could be an incredible vehicle to encourage them to do just that....
CFKA supports first BOX Residency
This month, H'art Centre will launch its first BOX Residency project. The ground-breaking project will provide two artists who are Deaf, living with disabilities, or experiencing barriers with the time, space, and resources to pursue a creative project of their choice...
H’art invited to pursue possibility of Providence Village
At a press conference held by the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul on Monday, H’art Centre was named as one of several organizations to be invited to pursue the possibility of locating services on-site to the future Providence Village. "H'art Centre...
H’art offers new “Story Signing!” workshop
H'art Centre is thrilled to welcome ASL translator Theresa Upton for Story Signing! on Thursdays this term. Theresa will be offering the American Sign Language Story Signing! workshop as part of a larger project that will support the development and writing of a...
Ontario Trillium Foundation extends Young at H’art
Ontario Trillium Foundation helps H’art Centre expand and extend new program for seniors with disabilities H’art Centre is is delighted to announce generous funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation will allow it to expand and extend its new Young at H’art arts...
Young at H’art appeal a success
H’art Centre To Launch New Program for Older Adults with Disabilities Today, H’art Centre announced its Young at H’art fundraising appeal would come to a close thanks to overwhelming support from the community. H’art Centre will now be able to start a new program for...