Tanya Zbili credits Where Music Meets Art (WMMA), a networking event that showcases emerging musical talent and developing visual artists, with launching her career as an artist. 

She was invited to do a live painting at the inaugural WMMA in July 2013, while singer-songwriter Daniella Watters, who founded the event, performed. Zbili had never done a live painting before, nor had she ever posted her artwork on social media.

 “I was a very private person,” she said. That first live painting “was the start of my artistic career.” 

The experience gave her the confidence to post her artwork on Facebook and Instagram. Then people began contacting her, not necessarily to buy her work, she said, but for commissions such as portraits and to do live painting. “I got a studio space downtown after that and started working seriously on my career as an artist,” she said. 

Last May, Zbili did a live painting of a lion at JEDx (Jewish ethics defined), an event modelled after the TED talks, put on by The House. The painting was auctioned off there. Inspired by the Lion of Judah and the Torah’s references to the lions that roamed in the deserts and mountains of the ancient Middle East, Zbili is currently producing a series of works that feature images of lions and tigers.  

“Lions symbolize strength and bravery. They’re fearless,” she said. Zbili’s second painting of a lion was raffled off at a WMMA show held at The Gates, an event space in downtown Toronto in June, which she co-hosted along with Watters and Lea J. Hoffman.  

Lea J. Hoffman, left, Daniella Watters and Tanya Zbili co-chaired the spring edition of Where Music Meets Art.

Emceed with style by the witty ESPN journalist Ben Jacobs, the event was attended by an audience of some 200 people who were mainly in their 20s or early 30s. Eight singers, accompanied by musicians, and a solo guitarist performed. Five visual artists displayed their works, which included hand-made jewelry, and a makeup artist demonstrated her skills.  The event’s main sponsors were Josh Salmon, the owner of Planter Decor, and Abbey Road Entertainment, which provided a digital graffiti wall. 

Watters, the sole organizer of the first two WMMA events in July and August 2013, said her inspiration for creating the shows was Andy Warhol’s late 1960s travelling art show, which combined visual arts, the music of the Velvet Underground and lighting.  

Along with the entertainment value of WMMA, Watters said she wants to give local artists the opportunity to showcase their material in front of a supportive audience and to develop a community of artists for networking purposes. “Maybe one of the singers found someone to do their album art,” she said. 

Watters feels there’s a “disjoint in our community when it comes to artists meeting other artists,” and also that the community could offer emerging artists more support than it does. 

Hoffman, a political science and international studies student who used to work as Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s assistant, was thrilled when Zbili asked her to help organize the spring 2015 edition of WMMA. “I like the idea of socializing for a purpose,” Hoffman said.  

She recently starting working in development and operations for Chai Lifeline and helps to produce events for the organization.  

“Musicians and artists were a whole new world for me,” Hoffman said, adding that “for the most I know about politics. Our worlds collided and created a success.”  

Watters said she and her co-chairs, Hoffman and Zbili, intend to mount WMMA again. Her ideas for future events include teaming up with Toronto’s Fashion Week or the Toronto International Film Festival.  

For more information, visit WMMA on Facebook. WMMA’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook hashtag is #wmmato.