Centennial College held a celebration for the 20th anniversary of its Story Arts Centre campus Nov, 5.
The East York campus, which actually had its anniversary date pass during the summer, has seen major changes in its 20-year history.
The Story Arts Centre has its roots in Centennial College’s original Warden Woods campus. Warden Woods was a Second World War armoury located at Warden Avenue between St. Clair Avenue and Danforth Road before being repurposed.
The school moved to its current location at Pape and Mortimer in 1994 and was inaugurated as the Communication Arts Department. At the time, there were only 300 students under Dean Walter Steward.
15 years ago, Nate Horowitz, a former professor of the Warden Wood campus took over as dean, and has overseen many change at the school. He’d like to see the school continue to evolve.
“Our new three year music program is its second year now and is attracting a lot of students. Our two-year dance program was just approved and will be starting in September of 2015. We’re also currently waiting for ministry and government approval for our three year Theatre Arts and Performance program,” Horowitz said.
The Story Arts Centre has many programs in the proposal stages and in the future Horowitz would like to see the school grow into a multi-campus facility with multiple sites near its current location.
The long-time dean is also ready to embrace what the future has to offer.
“We see a lot more technology with storytelling, we’re going to be a much more high tech centre but will still focus on the story” Said Horowitz.
Centennial College’s Story Arts Centre is located at 951 Carlaw Ave. in the East York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario.