History
Thank you Beatrice Minden for Clinton's Art Room!
Beatrice Minden (née Spiegel) was born in Toronto in 1910. Her parents were young immigrants from Galicia and Austria.
She started school at Clinton Street. She always wanted to go to university, but to help her family make ends meet, after high school, Beatrice went to night school to learn shorthand and typing. She married Arthur Minden in 1934.
Beatrice shared her husband's exuberance for life, the arts and community involvement. After Arthur's passing in 1966, and inspired by his enthusiasm for philanthropy, she created the Beatrice & Arthur Minden Foundation. In this way, she offered support to many cultural and medical organizations in Toronto, as well as creating scholarships in Toronto and Israel.
Friends of Clinton (FOC) was formed in 1989 through an endowment Beatrice Minden made to the Clinton School for the provision of visual arts enrichment. This program provides students with opportunities to work with local artists from the community. Each May, Clinton hosts an annual ART NIGHT to showcase student artwork that is compiled over the course of the school both during the ART SMART sessions as well as during class time with their teachers.
Introducing Our 2025/26 Board
Our new ART SMART board is now in place, and we’re excited for the year ahead. There are still meaningful ways to get involved, and we’re always happy to connect with community members who want to contribute their time, ideas, or support.
Executive Team
Chair: Joanna Rodrigues
Treasurer: Sarah Murphy
Secretary: Jahnavee Sinh
Board Members
Educator Liaison: Jessica Hartrick
Brand & Communications: Franzi Erlebach
ART NIGHT Committee: Martina Steiner (Chair), Jahnavee Sinh, Sarah Murphy, Ateqah Khani, Catherine Galea
Fundraising & Volunteer Committee: Cecilia Tagliavia (Chair), Liz Zur, Tuğçe Ellialtı-Köse, Robyn Bigue
Programming Committee: Joanna Rodrigues (Chair), Jessica Hartrick, Franzi Erlebach, Patricia Lee, Erin Chan, Catherine Galea
Board Members
Volunteers
ART SMART is always looking for extra hands to help make the magic happen! Whether it’s supporting ART NIGHT, prepping workshops, or lending a hand at one of our fundraisers, there are lots of ways to get involved. If you're interested, send us a quick note!
