Angie Geiss - Executive Director
Angie, an artist who moved to Pelham from Vancouver, has a degree in Fine Arts and a background in Graphic Design. She began as a screen print designer where she designed, screen printed, and marketed clothing for 10 years. Her garments were “printed and painted by happy hands” and were meant to provide positive thought. After moving back to Niagara in 2003, Angie set up The Happy Place Art Studio where her intention was to continue to manufacture the wholesale original garments.
While Angie was busy designing and silk screening at the Pelham studio, local youth started to approach the studio, coming in to see all the clothes she had been designing. Angie started teaching screen printing workshops where the youth came to socialize, enjoy the space, and volunteer. The experience changed Angie and her focus shifted; her energy was redirected. This was Angie’s first swoop into the community arts realm – a truly organic process.
Between 2004 and 2008, the Happy Place Art Studio programming grew and a variety of summer art camps and after-school art camps along with gallery showings were organized. However, it became increasingly clear that Pelham and the surrounding communities had particular pressing needs for support programs for youth. As discussed frequently in the local media, the Niagara peninsula was an especially difficult area for youth (as reflected in problems with youth vandalism and loitering) given the complete lack of inter-municipal public transportation and the relative lack of youth-oriented facilities.
Angie decided that her studio and expertise provided an important avenue for addressing these issues. With the development of a committed board of directors, in August 2008, The Happy Place moved to non-profit status and adopted the label, In the Orchard. In 2009 we partnered with The Salvation Army Great Lakes Division to research and develop Niagara’s first recycled art collective ART², funded through the Ontario Arts Council. This innovative program has been deployed in local schools, in our holiday gallery as well as through art camps to encourage young people to explore the use of recycled materials in the arts. Between 2007 and 2009, Angie broadened her expertise in community oriented arts programs when she completed a 2 year mentorship with a very successful community-based arts organization in Toronto: Art Starts. This program has served as a model for ITO’s development.
Between 2008 and 2010, ITO has dramatically expanded its community involvement and developed a variety of offerings targeting both children and youth. Although long-term funding remains a persistent issue, ITO was particularly fortunate in 2010 in terms of in-kind and other support. We were the recipients of The Many Hands Project grant through Niagara College, which provided extensive renovations and updating of the two stories that constitute the gallery and program space. Many Hands allowed us to rebuild and design our building as a space that will allow us to facilitate various art programs and initiatives throughout Niagara.
While Angie was busy designing and silk screening at the Pelham studio, local youth started to approach the studio, coming in to see all the clothes she had been designing. Angie started teaching screen printing workshops where the youth came to socialize, enjoy the space, and volunteer. The experience changed Angie and her focus shifted; her energy was redirected. This was Angie’s first swoop into the community arts realm – a truly organic process.
Between 2004 and 2008, the Happy Place Art Studio programming grew and a variety of summer art camps and after-school art camps along with gallery showings were organized. However, it became increasingly clear that Pelham and the surrounding communities had particular pressing needs for support programs for youth. As discussed frequently in the local media, the Niagara peninsula was an especially difficult area for youth (as reflected in problems with youth vandalism and loitering) given the complete lack of inter-municipal public transportation and the relative lack of youth-oriented facilities.
Angie decided that her studio and expertise provided an important avenue for addressing these issues. With the development of a committed board of directors, in August 2008, The Happy Place moved to non-profit status and adopted the label, In the Orchard. In 2009 we partnered with The Salvation Army Great Lakes Division to research and develop Niagara’s first recycled art collective ART², funded through the Ontario Arts Council. This innovative program has been deployed in local schools, in our holiday gallery as well as through art camps to encourage young people to explore the use of recycled materials in the arts. Between 2007 and 2009, Angie broadened her expertise in community oriented arts programs when she completed a 2 year mentorship with a very successful community-based arts organization in Toronto: Art Starts. This program has served as a model for ITO’s development.
Between 2008 and 2010, ITO has dramatically expanded its community involvement and developed a variety of offerings targeting both children and youth. Although long-term funding remains a persistent issue, ITO was particularly fortunate in 2010 in terms of in-kind and other support. We were the recipients of The Many Hands Project grant through Niagara College, which provided extensive renovations and updating of the two stories that constitute the gallery and program space. Many Hands allowed us to rebuild and design our building as a space that will allow us to facilitate various art programs and initiatives throughout Niagara.
