Collective celebrates two years worth of success

It’s a two-year anniversary for collective Broken Arts and they are celebrating in their own unique style.
On Friday, July 15, Broken Arts’ third craft fair will hit the Oshawa Public Library McLaughlin Branch auditorium. On site from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. the fair will have zines, art, crafts, fashion, comics and a variety of delicious treats for sale from local independent artists. As an added bonus, there will be readings from Katie Ann, Tina Gagliardi, Harley R. Pageot, and Hopeless Romantic. Free admission makes this an accessible event for any art or craft lover.
“The turnout at our first Broken Arts Fair was great,” says Harley R. Pageot, a zinester and writer with Broken Arts. “The second struggled due to weather but we’ve got nearly a dozen new vendors each time. It’s quite exciting to discover so many new artists in our cities.”

The fun doesn’t stop there, though. Broken Arts’ two-year anniversary celebratory festival takes over Memorial Park downtown the following day. On Saturday, July 16 from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. the collective will be celebrating their accomplishments by throwing a great party.
“We’ve got a number of things lined up,” says Pageot. “15 bands from across Durham, Toronto, Waterloo, and Grimsby. Busking throughout the park from more musicians. Local vendors selling their homemade crafts. Food, magic, yoga, tarot readings, face painting, balloon animals, scavenger hunts and more.”
“It’s free, all-ages and accessible. Plus the weather forecast looks perfect!” he adds.
Pageot marks this occasion as a time to take pause and see how far the collective has come.
“Broken Arts today has come so far from where we started two years ago I’m still in
disbelief,” he says. “Back then it was just myself and two of my friends holding art jams at a local coffee shop every Sunday afternoon. Now we’re a team of eight and we’ve put
on 16 concerts, three craft fairs, seven zine workshops and a number of public games.”
“We ran Oshawa’s first buskerfest, started Oshawa’s first zine distro, helped the Oshawa
Generals run their first fan-fest, helped the city of Oshawa run their Canada Day
lake shore celebrations and have met dozens, if not hundreds, of terrific local artists.”

Looking forward, there’s plenty the collective has learned over its two-years in operation, including how easy Pageot now knows it is to run your own shows or how accessible active participation in the arts really was.
“We want people of all ages to know that there is an audience that wants to hear their music, see their art, and read their writing,” he says. “You don’t need to be of a certain age or skill level and you don’t need to toil away for years in solitude. You can make it happen for yourself right now.”
“Of course, if you want the help, we’re more than willing to assist.”
There might be no better reason to celebrate this weekend than to support and show appreciation for those helping further the arts and their cause.
For more info visit the Broken Arts website or the anniversary Facebook event page.
Story by Amanda Allison