City of Toronto partners with new HXOUSE incubator and accelerator

Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Councillor Ward 18 Davenport) today announced the City of Toronto’s partnership with HXOUSE at the event launch for a new incubator and accelerator inside Artscape Daniels Launchpad.

“HXOUSE represents the type of entrepreneurial and civic spirit that makes Toronto exceptional,” said Mayor John Tory. “The City is proud to partner with HXOUSE to help creative entrepreneurs grow and prosper in Toronto.”

HXOUSE is a not-for-profit venture established by La Mar Taylor, the creative director behind The Weeknd/XO brand, and his business partner Ahmed Ismail, founder of Influencers PR. The first major project for HXOUSE is establishing a cutting-edge incubator and accelerator in Toronto with a mission to empower young creative entrepreneurs with the tools, programming, mentorship, networks, funds and freedom they need to activate their talent and translate it into a sustainable career.

“We are thankful to the City of Toronto and Mayor Tory for their leadership and commitment to investing in our youth and making a compelling reason for our talent to stay. Toronto produces some of the best talent the world has ever seen; we need to allow them the opportunity to build their legacy locally by giving them the support they need to flourish. We look forward to continuing to grow this platform and partnership with the city that both Lamar and I started our journey in to find more ways to inspire, impact and improve the lives of the youth in this city together,” said Ahmed Ismail.

“HXOUSE is a truly inspiring initiative that will help propel Toronto’s creative talent to new levels of success while driving innovation in Toronto’s creative sector overall,” said Deputy Mayor Bailão. “The City is pleased to support the HXOUSE vision with this new partnership.”

The City and HXOUSE have struck a Memorandum of Understanding covering such areas as funding, special events, public art and internships. HXOUSE will be an integral part of Toronto’s newest cultural hub, Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts. More information about HXOUSE and its programs is available at https://hxouse.com/.

The City’s partnership with HXOUSE supports a number of strategic objectives for the City, including developing, attracting and retaining creative talent, expanding affordable and accessible creative space, and creating economic opportunities for Toronto youth. 

This news release is also available on the City’s website: http://bit.ly/2Os0TyK