The New York-based One Club for Creativity has officially opened a chapter in Canada through a partnership with Miami Ad School Toronto.
The One Club is one of the leading industry organizations in the world and Toronto will be just its second international chapter after opening One Club-Cairo in Egypt last year.
“We are a chapter—it is not a full One Club for Creativity here, but it is part of it,” said Aman Gulati, founder of Miami Ad School Toronto and president of the One Club-Toronto. “Toronto has long been home to a vibrant creative community, and we are thrilled to work with Aman and his team as they have become an active and productive international chapter,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club for Creativity, in a release.
Perhaps best known for its One Show and ADC awards programs, the One Club offers extensive training and education and is an active champion of diversity and inclusion. The non-profit uses awards show revenue to fund its professional development and training offerings. The focus in Toronto will be on events, education, workshops and training. “Awards shows might be in the future,” said Gulati.
While still relying on local industry leadership to provide insights and instruction, One Club-Toronto will give the city’s creative community greater access and exposure to leading industry talent from the U.S. and around the world.
“I think Canada needs more thinking from outside of the market and One Club has a range of people and agencies behind it that can help achieve that goal here,” said Gulati.
Miami Ad School has experience hosting events already and One Club was looking to expand awareness for its training and education programs, said Gulati. By working together, Miami Ad School can help elevate the quality of education and training in Toronto, especially for junior and intermediate level talent, while expanding the reach for One Club.
Diversity in the creative industry will be a particular focus for One Club-Toronto, with the possible creation of new scholarships and mentorship programs to underrepresented groups in art, design and technology.
The first One Club-Toronto event is next week, focused on providing guidance and advice to help young creatives land an internship. Deloitte Digital’s executive creative director Elliott Smith and Rethink creative director Mike Dubrick will be among the panelists, while Alex Bogusky will host a webinar on ethics of the advertising industry.
