Magicana Community Initiatives :: Canada Charity Guide

Magicana is an arts organization dedicated to the study, exploration and advancement of magic as a performing art. We stage productions exploring magic as a performing art and have presented several world-class international legends of magic.

We also have two community initiatives bringing magic to both children and seniors in our outreach programs, My Magic Hands and Senior Sorcery.

My Magic Hands uses the art of magic as a teaching vehicle to reach children in disadvantaged communities in order to build self-confidence and essential life skills such as communication, critical thinking and problem solving. Using the theatrical process involved in staging a magic trick, the program provides a cost-efficient and systematic way for children to learn about the arts in communities that do not normally have access to quality arts-related programming. This performing arts program is also staged at Holland Bloorview Rehab Hospital for Kids - specifically in occupational and speech therapy programs. The program is recognized and acknowledged by occupational therapists, staff and parents of clients as a unique, successful and motivating tool assisting clients to reach their therapeutic goals.

Senior Sorcery is designed to bring live theatre in the form of magic shows to the senior citizen community, particularly to isolated seniors in remote residences and/or community centres. The program engages seniors by breaking the "fourth wall" of theatre and involving their participation in the magic. The program also empowers by giving seniors the ability to invite their family and friends to a special event. The program also aims to bridge or connect generations by offering a group activity that all can participate in, enjoy together and to discuss afterwards.

We also produce conferences, seminars and workshops for other magicians, magic enthusiasts focusing on advancing the study and history of magic. Magicana produces and hosts the Magic Collectors Weekend a long-standing conference on magic history which has been produced annually since 1969. Magicana also presented and produced, in partnership with Allan Slaight, a four-day thinktank with thirty one of the world's foremost magicians, aptly called, 31 Faces North. The invitational conference was designed to bring sleight-of-hand experts, magic historians and magic experts together to network, share, discuss and witness magic by masters of the art.

Magicana has developed and hosts online exhibitions on magic and magicians of yesteryear to share, inspire and inform magicians, magic enthusiasts and researchers.

Magicana publishes books on magic, magicians; and publishes a quarterly journal, Magicol, on magic history and magic collectibles. The journal has been published since 1950 and Magicana took over publishing in 2010 with Issue No. 174.

Website:

Magicana Community Initiatives

Address:

Toronto, Ontario Canada

Social Media:

http://twitter.com/sharingwonder

http://www.facebook.com/magicana

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