Project Oasis Toronto

We bring art therapy activities and essential art supplies to those in-need in collaboration with local communities.

Canada welcomed more than 30,000 refugees in 2019 and a significant portion of the population settled in the Greater Toronto Area. Their experience of forced migration often copes with traumatic past experiences while facing the challenges of settlement in their new home in Canada, especially psychological and mental challenges that would make them feel disconnected to the Canadian society. These issues and experiences are exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to events such as school closures. 

According to a 2017 study published in Behavioural Sciences, creating drawings or paintings “can help refugees to retain their identity through art” and to create a safe environment for them to look forward and to regain control in their life. Whilst these activities are usually done in art therapy sessions in a physical space, they can no longer be hosted due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, thus hindering the refugee population’s access to essential art supplies and in-person guidance. In addition, online art therapy sessions are sometimes inefficient and are unable to reach a broad group of audiences due to issues such as lack of access to digital technologies and essential art supplies, unstable internet connections, and conflicting schedules.

We are proposing an alternative solution to both physical and online art therapy sessions in the form of At-Home Art Therapy Kit that include an art therapy guidebook, a set of colouring cards, and essential art supplies such as coloring pencils, erasers, crayons, etc. These kits will be distributed to refugee families in Toronto from October 25 to November 15, 2020, in collaboration with local community organizations.