Jumblies is adapting and navigating through COVID-19 times. Our work concerns the 'art of gathering', and the value of doing so in the real world is hard to replace. Nonetheless, people still need social and creative connections. And so we have entered into remote and virtual activities to respond to these desires:

- Thanks to MABELLEarts, the Gather Round Singers were included in month of Virtual Iftar Nights. Weekly Zoom community choir rehearsals were held, and voices were individually recorded and mixed into 8 original musical works, composed by Hussein Janmohamed. 

- Ruth and Jumblies designed and co-facilitated a series of participatory activities for Virtual Iftar Nights, with about 150 participants and a concluding Virtual Gallery which opened May 28th. 

- The Gather Round Singers continue with weekly gatherings on Thursdays from 6 to 8 pm throughout the summer. We are adding some dance and interdisciplinary activities with guest artists. New members (from any location) very welcome!

- We've been delivering quilt pieces to be embroidered and beaded for a new Talking Treaties quilt, designed by Ange Loft. We are also are holding bi-weekly virtual sewing circles on Tuesday evenings (July 14, 28, August 11, 25). Get in touch if you'd like to join (info@jumbliestheatre.org).

- We're working remotely with Northern Ontario partners (Thinking Rock Community Arts, Aanmitaagzi, Ottawa Valley Open Arts Creative Studio) to continue with some collaborative projects, including our Grounds for Goodness project and Community Arts Exchange.

- Our Talking Treaties team (Ange Loft, Victoria Freeman, Martha Stiegman) are designing and writing an artful book - Treaty Guide for Toronto - in partnership with the Toronto Biennial of Art.

- And we're sharing approaches and ideas with Toronto, Ontario and Canadian community arts networks, for navigating through and recovering from the situation   

There will be more to come, as we continue to discover and build paths and bridges through these strange times. On the other side, what we have learned may allow us to make art in new inclusive, accessible and exciting ways. 

Heartfelt thanks to very generous funders who have allowed us to adapt our projects and time-lines and/or contributed new funding for COVID survival and recovery, including: the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Toronto Foundation, Hal Jackman Foundation and Metcalf Foundation! 

Please contact us if you're interested in any of this, to find out what else is coming up, or just to say hello: at info@jumbliestheatre.org.