“It’s amazing what can happen when you put 400 creative kids together,” says Julie Hartley who runs Centauri Arts Academy with her husband, Craig. “It’s not just how they flourish creatively, but seeing them enjoying themselves amongst friends. They realise they’re not alone in their love of the arts.”
Julie and Craig opened Centauri Arts Academy in the Bloor West Village area in 2011, along with winter offices for the successful Centauri Summer Arts Camp, an overnight camp they have been running in Niagara since 1994. In her years of experience working with gifted children, Julie has noticed that many are given the message that it is not realistic to follow a path in the arts, except for pleasure. This is a message she seeks to debunk. “We provide hands-on training in film, writing, acting, art, photography and music to give them the chance to express and accept themselves and to learn about the practical side of the arts,” says Julie.
