Again, as storytelling through art can be a powerful way to convey messages to an audience, it was important to make the connection between Carnival culture and TFC. Much like our TFC team, masqueraders are individuals of equal importance. They all serve a particular function within their bands. Bands are made up of sections and the participation of the masqueraders is required in each section to ensure that the band is able to perform optimally, as they cross the stage on parade day. 

Carnival is individuality. 

Carnival is teamwork. 

Carnival is community. 

And the same is true for our soccer club, Toronto FC.

A critical understanding of these interrelated elements is required if any team wishes to be successful in their pursuit towards a common goal. 

We also had the opportunity to attend the official launch of the Community Kit on game day! Oftentimes, as part of this process, once you submit your design, that’s it. It’s gone. You don’t have another opportunity to see what it looks like until it’s ready to be presented. Needless to say, we were ecstatic when it was unveiled and presented to us. 

This was a great experience for both Kwame and I because this was the first time we had an opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in merchandise design and storytelling our way—The Blak Brush way, and it was incredibly empowering. Our partners were thrilled with the design and we couldn’t have been happier!

And to be completely honest, something about this experience felt like déja vu, like we’ve done this before. We knew that this was only just the beginning.

A big thank you to all the folks at TFC for the opportunity!

— Claudia Appiateng 

Chaos with Claudz
A scatterbrained Gemini; welcome to my whirlwind. 

I never thought that I’d ever have an opportunity to do what I’m doing right now. Imagine me copywriting for a website? How? It’s around 11:30 pm on a Thursday and I’m sitting here snacking on some Tostitos chips (the hint of jalapeño flavour) with some spinach dip (if you haven’t tried it— thank me later). I’m trying to figure out what this whirlwind could pertain to. You see, when I write these things, I freestyle it. Sometimes, I think of something right off the top and random or sometimes I’m inspired by a project and end up going with it. And the latter is how I think I’ll proceed.

Now, since this project was about community and the importance of representation, I wanted to take a moment to share a little bit about the community I grew up in during my adolescent years. I grew up in the Northwest end of the city in the Rexdale community and I attended Thistletown Collegiate Institute. I remember taking the 37 bus, straight down Islington Ave everyday, excited as hell (not about school, of course) but to see all my friends. I didn’t know it then, but my peers at the time were some of the most charismatic, authentic and resilient people. Despite all of the adversities some of us experienced as a result of being plagued by poverty, economic disparities, anti-black racism, trauma, social isolation, and crime, somehow— we persevered. You would think that after over twenty years, things would have improved. It hasn’t. Systemic issues have continued to disproportionately impact the Rexdale community. 

The issue of gun-violence is a significant concern in the Rexdale community as it has one of the highest fire-arm related incidents in the city (City of Toronto, 2024). While I always knew this startling statistic, our team had an opportunity to learn so much more from current residents and community stakeholders while working on another project we had the privilege to be a part of. I will share more details at a later time. Being back on my old stomping grounds and connecting with youth, elders, youth justice professionals, grassroots groups, public health centers etc. was certainly bittersweet. Bitter, because the same challenges I experienced as a youth hadn’t been mitigated (in fact, seem to have worsened). Sweet, because despite it all, our community still perseveres, just like we did when I was growing up. 

I say all of this to say that representation matters. I want to continue changing the narrative about individuals who come from communities like mine and demonstrate that we have the power to defy the odds. Beautiful things are happening in Rexdale and in other communities across our city that are facing systemic issues. Those are the stories we need to continue to amplify to help empower the generations to come. Because your postal code doesn’t determine your destination.