ABOUT SCARBRITE
We are a hyperlocal community arts organization.
We are dedicated to brightening the streets of Scarborough through co-creating visual works of art with members of the community that bring to light the stories of this suburb.
We do this through… making murals, leading workshops, and designing community-engaged art projects.
Our Core Values
Accessibility + Art with Purpose
We believe that art-making should be accessible to everyone regardless of their age, sexual orientation or background. We create art for wellness, healing, fun + to create social change.
Co-Creation + Collaboration
We believe that we learn best when we engage with one another and build on each other’s ideas. We are open to collaborations with people from all walks of life–from community members to small businesses, you name it!
Mentorship
We believe in sharing knowledge + resources. There’s already enough gate-keeping that happens in the art world… We want to change that! We offer mentorship + professional development opportunities for emerging artists as a way of giving back to the community.
How it all started…
*HINT: A whole lotta Scarborough Pride and LOVE for the arts.
In 2015, our co-founders, Frannie Potts and Sylvie Stojanovski met for the first time at a festival for emerging artists in Scarborough called the Start Youth Presenting Art Festival. Inspired by each other’s work, they stayed in touch over the years, until by complete chance they found themselves working on the same community mural project in late 2019.
Drawn together by a passion for community art-making + driven by the lack of public art opportunities for artists in the suburb they call home, the two Scarborough residents decided to come together to found Scarbrite and brighten the streets of Scarborough together.
To date, the team has brought a sense of hope, colour and positivity to over 5000 Scarborough residents through programs like Scarborough HERstory Expressions, Painting in the Park and #ChalkForChange.
Our Team
Frannie Potts
CO-FOUNDER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Born and raised in Malvern, Frannie Potts is a mural artist and workshop facilitator. Much of her public art meets at the intersection of whimsical and surreal, captivating viewers’ attention with brightly coloured figures and abstract backgrounds. Frannie has over 10 years of experience in creating murals of varying sizes that can be seen across the Greater Toronto Area. Through her experience, she has found that art and community have a relationship that brings out the best in each other, and this is something that she loves to foster through her work.
Sylvie Stojanovski
CO-FOUNDER, GENERAL MANAGER
From the 💛 of Scarborough, Sylvie Stojanovski is a multidisciplinary artist, creative facilitator and project manager with a love of community art-making. She believes that art has the power to heal, connect people across differences and create social change. Sylvie has over a decade of experience leading arts-based workshops in Toronto and abroad in a wide variety of disciplines including visual art, poetry and embodied movement. She holds a Masters degree in Art Education from Concordia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Arts & Media Management from the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Natalie Mikaelian
ARTIST ASSISTANT
Natalie Mikaelian is a multidisciplinary artist in mediums ranging from fashion design, to painting, to carpentry, to music production. She recently completed an artist residency at the ART-14 Residency in Patton, Pennsylvania, where she explored 3D printing, glass art, photography and more, and is now working on integrating those mediums into her regular practice. While still trying to find her footing as an artist with many diverse interests, she is currently studying Environmental and Interior Design at OCAD University, with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
PARTNERS
