Registration now open for fall classes starting September 2023!

Weekly after-school and weekend classes for kids and teens in Creative Writing, Acting, Film-Making and Fine Art. Registration now open! Film Classes in Bloor West Village Film Production and Performance: Starting September! Ages 12-17, In our Bloor West Village Studio: Thursdays, 5pm – 6.30pm AND 7.30pm-9.00pm Discover the art of film-making – and act in front of the camera, too, if you wish! Learn – or review – the basics of film making: storyboarding, directing, camera operation, audio, lighting and production design. Each hands-on film course begins with a sequence of short film projects; by rising to challenges set by the instructor and critiquing the results, students further the skills they need to create their own short film. Discover how to tell a story [...]

Fine Art Programs at Centauri Arts This Fall!

Centauri Arts has TWO Fine Art programs available this coming academic year – an in-person studio art program on Wednesday evenings and a virtual Digital Art class on Mondays. Fine Art Classes for ages 11-16 in our Bloor West Studio, Toronto Our Fine Art classes take place in our Bloor West Village Studio, which is an easy 5-minute walk from Runnymede subway station. Young artists attend from Swansea, High Park, The Junction and Bloor West neighbourhoods, and from all over Toronto. Our fine art classes include projects in sketching, cartoon creation, acrylics, watercolour, sculpture and more, all led by a professional artist. Why take a fine art class? It’s a great way for young people to explore their creativity at a time when cut-backs to [...]

Congratulations to our Senior Acting Troupe!

We are thrilled to announce that our Semester 2 Senior Acting Workshop received a  DISTINCTION from Trinity College for their production of a self-devised show entitled, The Clouds. Congratulations to all our actors, and a special thank you to Marina Gomes, our wonderful Acting Instructor, who guided them through this process. Our Senior Acting Workshop was entered for the Performance Arts category at the Grade 4 level. The certification required them to demonstrate 4 distinct acting skills and they chose: Shakespeare Text, Mask, Creative Movement and Devised Theatre. They created and rehearsed the performance throughout the 15 weeks of semester 2, filming the final show for submission to the examination board, and also performing it for their family and friends. The Trinity College Drama certifications [...]

Acting Classes for Teens in Toronto, starting September 2023

Centauri Arts is Offering TWO Acting Classes in Bloor West Village this fall! Acting Classes for ages 9-14: Exploring Drama Explore improvisation, comedy and mime. Develop characters, rehearse scenes and create your own performance! Our acting classes for kids aged 9-14 are a ton of fun, and a great way to develop self-confidence. There are other reasons to take an acting class, too – acting develops communication skills, helps with public speaking and encourages the growth of social skills. Click here to read more about the exploring drama classes in Bloor West Village Acting Classes for ages 13-17: An Actor’s Workshop Our acting classes for teenagers include devised theatre, scene study, and performance skills such as stage presence, monologue creation and the rehearsal of [...]

Summer Intensives for Teens: Creative Writing Camps, Fine Art Camps, Acting Camps and More!

Summer Intensives for Teens: Creative Writing Camps, Fine Art Camps, Film Camps, Acting Camps and More! Summer is a special time at Centauri Arts –  young writers, artists, actors and filmmakers from all over the city come together to build community around a shared interest, as they take part in Acting Camps, Creative Writing Camps, Fine Art Camps, Film Camps and more. If you have a child aged 11-18 who loves creative writing, painting, drawing, cartoon creation, acting, web comics or film, there is something for them at our Toronto studio – or virtually – this summer. You can read about our summer programs here: https://www.centauriarts.com/summer Our Creative Writing Camps in Bloor West Village, Toronto – and Virtually Our creative writing campers explore poetry, short [...]

Digital Art & Animation

Offered hybrid; join virtually, or in-person at our Toronto studio. Mondays, 7pm-8.30pm (ET), Ages 11-17, Semester 2 (14 weeks) Monday 27 January-Monday 12 May Instructor: Aaron Alviano Develop your digital art  skills as you work on fabulous original art in our weekly after-school digital art classes. Become proficient with open-source sketching and painting programs. Explore digital painting, illustration and even digital cartooning as you create your own dossier of work. Create fantastical and futuristic characters, landscapes and stories… and bring them to life using animation techniques. Explore real-world applications for digital art as you design a product, create a marketing campaign, and create everything from carousels to cars, clothing to condos! Whether you’re a beginner, or looking to create a digital art portfolio, we’ll [...]

Fine Art: From Monet to Matisse

In our Bloor West Village Studio: Mondays, 5.00pm-6.30pm Ages 10-15 **8 Weeks, Starting Jan 27 2025 (no workshop on Family Day) Instructor: Aaron Alviano Get inspired by some of the world’s greatest artists as you paint, draw, collage, sculpt and make fabulous original art. Each week we’ll explore a new artist or art movement, experimenting with their use of colour, texture, space, form and shape. You’ll use a range of art materials as you complete fine art projects designed to help you unlock your inner artist. Whether you already love making art or you want to try something new, this workshop will encourage you to push your creativity in new and exciting ways. Our instructors are industry professionals with extensive teaching experience. For instructor [...]

Best FREE Animation Software

With most modern animations being created digitally, there is a continual growth in demand for easy-to-use software allowing anyone to make their own animation creations. If you are taking our summer animation or digital art programs, or our year-round virtual classes in digital art and animation, you may be interested in this list of the top 5 FREE animation programs. Top 5 FREE animation software programs 1. Pixilart This is an easy to use web-based program. With a simple layout and easy to understand functions, it is ideal for anyone of any age to use for their first attempt at animation. https://www.pixilart.com/draw 2. Pencil2D Similar to Pixilart, Pencil2D is an animation program that focuses solely on 2D animation. However, since Pencil2D is downloadable, there are [...]

Best FREE Photo Editing Software

If you love photography, or taking photography workshops such as the ones offered through Centauri Arts, you will be aware of some of the great FREE and open source photo editing software options. Whether you are a teenager looking for photography camps, or a student hoping to take our photography and digital art classes, check out our  list of  the top 5 FREE photo editing programs: Top 5 FREE photo editing software programs 1. Fotor A very simple, easy to use web-based photo editing program. Iif you are looking to do simple edits for social media, or create  a photo album, and you don’t want anything too complex, Fotor may be the best software choice for you. https://www.fotor.com/ 2. Photoscape Photoscape is an easy-to-use [...]

Top Five FREE and Open Source Software Tools for Creative Writing

Google Docs! Tech Radar voted Google Docs the BEST free software for authors and poets – which is great news, since this writing software is likely the one most of us already use! https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/ Focus Writer is a great software tool for creative writers because it is designed to take away the distractions you do not need – all the traditional features of word processing software that you do not need if you are writing a novel, poetry or short stories. You see no tools or windows – just your text. If you’re easily distracted when you write fiction, this might be just the thing for you: https://focuswriter.en.softonic.com/?ex=DINS-635.2 Write Monkey also allows you to remove screen distractions and is terrific for creative writing (novels, poetry, [...]

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