Andrae Walsh

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT ANDRAE WALSH

I am Andrae Walsh a Community Advocate, Artist, Director, Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur & Father. I\'ve come from very humble beginnings as a boy growing up in Regent Park and navigating the intersecting oppressions and avoiding systemic traps designed to take the lives of young ppl growing up in poverty. I overcame the odds and founded 4Unity Productions, a not-for-profit audio/video studio designed to teach DJing/Audio Production and Video Production. While acting in several main stage plays in and around Toronto. I\'m also one of the creators of the annual Helping Young People Excel (HYPE) at the Art Gallery of Ontario which at its inception was the first time that the government of Ontario recognized “Hip Hop” as an Artform. I went on to be the “Assistant Director” as well as the lead role in Canada\'s first ever \"Hip Hopera\";\"Da Real Deal\" and the Sequel \"Reality Rules\" promoting safe sex and AIDS awareness at Young Peoples Theatre. I\'m very proud of my accomplishments tho small they represent resilience. I studied Film and African Studies at the University of Toronto, I also studied Community Arts Practice at York University. I helped develop sensitivity training for potential research students through \"Performed Ethnography\" which takes the academic approach of research and disseminating information through an artistic framework: be it Theatre, Film, Murals/Graffiti Spoken Word, along with Graphic Design and Podcast. I have over 20 years of experience in community development & entrepreneurship. I strive to make sure every space that I work, play or pray is safe for all ppls. As a Community worker all my workshops and courses begin with a pledge and an understanding of “the safe spaces act” as well as meaningful indigenous land acknowledgements.