Profile: Ross Creek Centre for the Arts (Canning, NS)

Profile: Ross Creek Centre for the Arts
Status: Non-Profit Charity
Community Served: Youth, Adults, professional Artists, Aboriginals, Outreach
Arts Focus: Multidisciplinary
Language(s): English, with occasional French
Location: Canning, NS
Mandate: To give voice to Canadians through the Arts
Main Arts Activities/Projects: The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts is a multi disciplinary arts education and development centre based on 186 acres of farm and forest in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Our facilities and programs are designed to serve the artistic and cultural communities of Nova Scotia, of Canada, and of the world, with a focus on professional artist development, youth education and Aboriginal arts programming.
Contact: Ms. Chris O’Neill
Phone Number: (902) 582-3842
E-mail: mail@artscentre.ca
Website: www.artscentre.ca
Address: Box 190, 555 Ross Creek Road, Canning, NS B0P 1H0

Submitted by Ms. Chris O’Neill, Ross Creek Centre for the Arts

Please see ArtBridge’s Google Map for contact information.

All photos used with permission from Ms. Chris O’Neill, Ross Creek Centre for the Arts

Profile: ArtsCan Circle (Northern Canada)

Profile: ArtsCan Circle
Status: Registered Charity / Incorporated Non-profit
Community Served: Indigenous Youth – remote First Nations
Arts Focus: All arts – music, songwriting, traditional indigenous art/craft, visual arts, drama, media, crafts
Language(s): English
Location: Northern Canada for programs, head office in Newmarket, ON
Mandate: ArtsCan Circle is a charitable organization with a mission to encourage the self-esteem of Indigenous youth in isolated Canadian communities through a cooperative exploration of the arts.
Main Arts Activities/Projects: Interactive Workshops in various aspects of art, music, drama. Youth engaged in hands-on programming in the arts – singing, songwriting, writing plays, puppetry, visual arts, learning to play musical instruments. Musical instruments are donated to each participating community to ensure youth have access to instruments.
Contact: Carol Teal, Executive Director
Phone Number: (905) 836-9117
E-mail: info@artscancircle.ca
Website: www.artscancircle.ca
Address: ArtsCan Circle, P.O. Box 95557, Newmarket, ON  L3Y 8J8

Submitted by Carol Teal, Executive Director
ArtsCan Circle

Please see ArtBridge’s Google Map for contact information.

All above photos posted with permission from ArtsCan Circle.

Sommaire: les arts communautaires au Nouveau-Brunswick/ Summary: Francophone community arts in New Brunswick

“New Brunswick Landscape”, ca. 1879-1889, watercolour and gouache with gum arabic by William G. R. Hind. Credit: National Gallery of Canada/No. 30195.

Sommaire: les arts communautaires au Nouveau-Brunswick

le 20 octobre 2011

Sur le bord ouest des maritimes, le Nouveau-Brunswick est la province qui fait rêver aux plages d’eau chaude, à la belle culture acadienne, et aux vastes forêts surtout recouverts de confières. En complétant ma recherche sur les arts communautaires francophones en cette province, je rajoute que le Nouveau-Brunswick, la seule province bilingue au Canada, compte beaucoup de galleries communautaires, de groupes de théâtre, et de musique.

D’une liste de presque 40 sources, nous avons identifié six organismes, projets, programmes, et resources qui facilitent l’accès aux arts.

Situé à Edmunston, le Festival de films pour et par les jeunes vient de passer son sixième anniversaire. Ce festival comprend uniquement des films fait par des jeunes entre 6 et 18 ans! L’inscription est gratuit et non-discriminatoire, l’équipement de vidéo peut être louée, et il y a de nombreux ateliers qui assistent en la production vidéo. Ainsi qu’en étant une façon intéressante de donner une voix aux jeunes, ce festival facilite beaucoup l’accès aux arts médiatiques.

À Moncton, Sistema, un programme crée par l’Orchestre des jeunes du Nouveau-Brunswick et influencé par un programme du Venezuela concentrant sur la musique. Ses objectifs sont d’impliquer les enfants de façon non-discriminatoire en la création de musique, débutant avec des simples exercises de rhythme et continuant avec l’instrument de leur choix. Ce programme est très complet en son engagement et accessibilité: il est gratuit, bilingue, se tient cinq jours par semaine, et le transport et la collation sont fournis. Wow!

Nous aimerons aussi souligner quelques autres organismes, dont le Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, qui offre un festival pour les jeunes et des ateliers en les arts du cirque à Caraquet. Les fous de la scène concentrent plutôt sur les adultes, mettant en scène une pièce de théâtre par année. Sur le côté des arts visuels, la Galerie Sans Nom et le Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne offrent une variété de cours et d’ateliers.

Ces modèles ne manquent pas de créativité! J’ai hâte à partager nos profils sur ces organismes avec vous.

À la prochaine!

Alexa de Repentigny-MacAulay, Assistante de recherche, ToileDesArts

Summary: francophone community arts in New Brunswick

October 20th, 2011

On the western border of the maritimes, the province of New Brunswick conjures up dreams of warm saltwater beaches, beautiful acadian culture, and vast forests covered in conifers. While researching on Francophone community arts in this province, I found that New Brunswick, the only bilingual province in Canada, also offers many community art galleries, theatre groups, and music. From our list of almost 40 sources, we’ve identified six organizations, projects, programs, and resources that increase access to the arts in francophone communities.

Located in Edmunston, le Festival de films par et pour les jeunes just celebrated their sixth year. This festival exclusively screens films made by youth between six and eighteen years old! Participation is free and non-discriminatory, video equipment can be rented out, and there are many workshops teaching about video production. This is an interesting way of giving youth a voice, and definitely increases access to video arts.

In Moncton, Sistema is a unique program created by the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and influenced by a music program in Venezuela. Sistema strives to engage youth in musical creation, beginning with simple rhythm exercises and continuing on with the instrument of their choice. This program is very comprehensive in its capacity for engagement and its accessibility: it’s free, bilingual, held five days a week, and transportation and snacks are provided. Wow!

We’d also like to highlight a few other organizations, such as le Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, a theatre organization offering a festival in Caraquet for youth, including circus arts workshops. For adults, Les fous de la scène is a community theatre company putting on one show a year. As for visual arts, la Galerie Sans Nom and le Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne both offer a variety of classes and workshops.

These models do not lack in creativity! I’m excited to share our profiles of these organizations with you all.

Until next time!

Alexa de Repentigny-MacAulay, Francophone Research Assistant, ArtBridges/ToileDesArts

Aboriginal Artists Are Invited To Take Part In A Discussion by Nations In A Circle, Nov. 5 (Truro, NS)

Submitted by Anna Nibby-Woods, Executive Director, Nations In A Circle and
Terri Whetstone, Executive Director, 4Cs Foundation

Upcoming: ArtsSmarts 2011 Knowledge Exchange (Toronto)

MaRS Discovery District | 101 College Street | Toronto
Monday, October 31, 2011 | 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 | 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.

Tickets available online at 21c.eventbrite.com

“ArtsSmarts and Social Innovation Generation at the MaRS Discovery District (SiG@MaRS) are pleased to announce the programming for their 2011 knowledge eXchange, entitled ART, SCIENCE & THE BRAIN: NEW MODELS OF LEARNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. This fall’s eXchange will take place at the MaRS Discovery District, 101 College Street, Toronto, on Monday, October 31 and Tuesday, November 1, 2011

ART, SCIENCE & THE BRAIN: NEW MODELS OF LEARNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY will feature some of the most innovative educational thinkers and entrepreneurs in Canada and the US, and will create a space where art and science-based learning collide to produce new modes of collaborative thinking. By eXchanging ideas with leaders in the field of public education, attendees will create a new synthesis of project-based education.

Of the event, ArtsSmarts Chair Colin Jackson says: “The capacity of Canadians to innovate fuels our nation’s ability to adapt, to create prosperity and to be a positive presence for itself and for the world. Education, the arts, sciences, humanities, business, civil society – all components of our community need to weigh in on this quest at this innovative event. “

Teachers, administrators and Ministry consultants will be joined by educational entrepreneurs, education foundations and publishing companies to discuss how to reimagine our education system for the 21st century. “There’s so much potential to reinvigorate the education system,” said Joseph Wilson, Education Specialist at the MaRS Discovery District. “Ontario has so many talented education entrepreneurs eager to share their innovations with the rest of the country and with education professionals overseas.”

Dr. Daniel Levitin (James McGill Professor of Psychology, Music & Computer Science, McGill University, and author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs) will join us for a Special Evening Event on November 1, in one of only four public speaking engagements this year. The evening will also include a live performance of Surface Tension (2009), by pianist Eve Egoyan and multimedia artist David Rokeby. A collaborative work for disklavier piano and interactive video, Surface Tension and was first commissioned by the Open Ears Festival through the Canada Council for the Arts.

Other highlights of this two-day event include Keynote Speakers:

• Mariale Hardiman (Assistant Dean, Urban Schools Partnership; Chair, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, Johns Hopkins University School of Education) will discuss Brain-Targeted Teaching and the Arts.
• Stan Kutcher (Professor, Dalhousie University Department of Psychiatry; Sunlife Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health Director, WHO Collaborating Centre) will explore ArtsSmarts and Adolescent Mental Health.
• Stephen Huddart (The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation’s President & CEO) will talk about Change for Good: The Arts, Learning and Creative Communities.” (from news release)”

To find out more, please visit the website and register now!

- posted with permission from Lindsay Archibald, Project Coordinator, Art, Science and the Brain: New Models of Learning for the 21st Century

Read our profile on ArtsSmarts here.

Call for Conference Speakers/Demonstrators: Art For All Canada (AFAC)

“Art For All Canada (AFAC) is a not-for-profit social enterprise,
run by artists, to help visual artists develop, show and sell their work commission-free.

Call for Conference Speakers / Demonstrators: RSVP by October 31st.

Plans for our 4th annual Conference and Art Show are under way to help visual artists – painters, sculptors, photographers – to develop, show and sell their work. See www.artforallcanada.org for information about previous conferences.

RSVP this month about anyone who you think is a good communicator and a successful painter, sculptor, photographer or art expert and who would make a compelling conference speaker at Art For All Canada’s 4th annual Conference and Art Show is to be held in March 2011 in Metro Hall, Toronto.

Please email me the name(s) and a short biography about your nominee(s) – or yourself if you are interested in participating.

Also, please pass this along to any artists you know who could be interested, or ask them to join our e-mail list(at our web site) or get in touch with me. Thank you in advance.”

- submitted by  Sheila J. Mitchell , Executive Director, Art For All Canada
(416)-756-3221,  sheila@artforallcanada.org

Please see ArtBridges’ Google Map for contact information.
Read our profile on Art For All Canada here.

Profile: Community Arts & Heritage Education Project (Thunder Bay, ON)

Above photos courtesy of CAHEP.

Profile: Community Arts & Heritage Education Project (CAHEP)
Status: Not-for-Profit, Charitable Arts Education Organization
Community Served: CAHEP serves children and youth within the school system. We also work with various health and social service partner organizations serving at risk children, youth, adults, seniors and families of Thunder Bay. We offer inclusive high-quality multi-disciplinary arts and heritage programming to all cultures within our community.
Arts Focus: All arts forms – visual arts, media arts, literary, performance, dance, drama, music, heritage
Language(s): English/French
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario
Mission/Mandate: CAHEP is a grass-roots community-based arts and heritage education organization created to develop and implement multi-disciplinary arts and heritage programming and resources for the benefit of the Thunder Bay community. CAHEP empowers children and youth in the community of Thunder Bay by creating and implementing accessible multi-disciplinary arts and heritage programming and resources so that people will discover the joy of arts and heritage within their own lives and create a legacy by fostering a commitment to culture. We create programming that is student/child/youth centered in that they are the leaders in the creative process facilitated by the artists/arts educators in collaboration with educators/community leaders.
Current Projects:
Artists in the 5th – Arts Fiesta
Professional artists work with educators and learners in grades 4, 5 and 6, in encouraging them to be leaders in their own creative process. Students’ work in the arts (written word, play creation, dance, drama, music, new media arts, heritage and visual art) stems from a different theme each year. More than 3500 students across the city have participated in this program over the last eight years! All projects done through Artists in the 5th are showcased at the CAHEP Arts Fiesta – a one day, multidisciplinary festival at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. Visual art projects are displayed in various locations throughout Thunder Bay in the month following the Arts Fiesta.
Aboriginal Arts Program
Aboriginal artists deliver presentations in traditional and contemporary Aboriginal Art, Storytelling and Creation, Music and Dance, Traditional Crafts, and Artisan Techniques to students in grades 1-6 within the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board. This program has been developed in collaboration with the Thunder Bay Aboriginal Arts & Heritage Group, Elders, and the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
What About the Books
This program collaborates with literary artists, literary organizations, and community and school libraries to create opportunities for the public and the school community to participate in literary arts to develop their relationships and increase engagement with the literary arts. Artists will engage the community in exploring literature – poetry, prose, drama, oral literature, narrative forms including memoirs, digital literature, films and videos and graphic novels and comics as well as literary genres and techniques.
Contact: Pam Cain, Executive Director
Phone Number: (807)475-6526
E-mail: cahep@confederationc.on.ca
Website: www.cahep.ca
Address: Community Arts & Heritage Education Project
c/o Confederation College
1450 Nakina Drive, Shuniah Building, Room 261A
PO Box 398
Thunder Bay, ON P7C 4W1

Submitted by Alana Forslund, CAHEP

Please see ArtBridge’s Google Map for contact information.

Above photo courtesy of Alana Forslund.

Above photo courtesy of Stan Keesic.

Ongoing Interactive Project: (official denial) trade value in progress (Hamilton, ON)

‘(official denial) trade value in progress’

“An ongoing interactive project initiated by artist Leah Decter and curated by Jaimie Isaac, ‘(official denial) trade value in progress’ enacts exchange and elicits dialogue about contemporary conditions of settler colonialism and processes of decolonization and reconciliation in Canada.

UPCOMING PUBLIC EVENTS

Oct 21 McMaster University Indigenous Studies Program office, Hamilton HallPublic event: sewing action, noon-2 pm

We are always looking for individuals, communities and/or organizations to host events/actions for the project. To find out about hosting a sewing action or providing a venue for exhibition or response collection go to: http://www.leahdecter.com/official_denial/how_to_participate.html

To find the ‘official denial’ project travel schedule go to: http://www.leahdecter.com/official_denial/upcoming_events.html

For more information about this project go to the project website or email leahdecter@gmail.com or Isaac.jaimie@gmail.com”

- submitted by Leah Decter

Interview: 4Cs Foundation in Arts East Magazine (Nova Scotia)

Arts East profiled Terri Whetstone, Executive Director of the 4Cs Foundation in the Fall Edition of Arts East. To read the rest of the article (on page 13), please click here. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

“CB: What was the inspiration for the foundation?

TW: Opportunities for young people to get to know others in their

communities and neighbourhoods were disappearing as small schools were being closed and more children were being bused

outside their communities, and as contemporary life became more complicated for families. The founders wanted to create opportunities for children/youth to connect with other people in a creative way where relationships might flourish, understanding would befostered and a sense of being connected to one another would develop. The idea of focusing on the creative arts as the vehicle for these goals came from their passion for the arts and their own experiences at their children’s school.

CB: What do 4Cs funded projects offer students/youth that they might not find in regular curriculum or other sources?

TW: 4Cs projects bring students together with other members of

their community to work side-by-side in a collaborative group led by a professional artist to create artworks. It is unusual for schools to create opportunities for community members – neighbours, caregivers, parents, the person who owns the corner store, students from another school, seniors – to come into the classroom. An exciting recent example was Music 4 Life. It brought together the Sackville High School Band and Sackville Community Band to learn and play music together. Sackville High School Music teacher Lara MacKenzie was the visionary and leader. Many of the students had been unaware – until this project – of the Sackville Community Band or opportunities for mentorship/friendship/ encouragement from their neighbors, or of the possibility of their own future involvement in a band in their community. Students learned valued skills, made friends with older professional musicians who encouraged them and fostered aspirations that had been flagging for some of the students.

The place of the Sackville Community band became more integrated in the community, increasing its recognition but also the community’s sense of pride in its musicians.

CB: What do the adults involved get out of it?

TW: One actually gets to be involved with young people! There are enormous issues of mistrust between youth and adults and therefore a lot of misunderstandings. Being able to work side-by-side with young people through these creative activities is a safe way to spend time getting to know each other. And because these are art-based projects the adult participants are no more skilled – often less – than the youth. So they get to be learners too. This allows youth to share their knowledge and skills with adults, which is empowering. The trust that develops, the breaking down of myths and stereotypes about each other, are important things both groups get out of the projects.”

Click here for read the rest of the article.

- posted with permission from Stephen Patrick Clare, Arts East & Terri Whetstone, Executive Director of 4Cs Foundation

Please see ArtBridges’ Google Map for more  information.

Read Artbridges’ profile on 4Cs Foundation here

Update from ArtHouse (Oakville)

Lately at ArtBridges/ToileDesArts I have been getting in contact with community arts programs projects, resources, organizations and services that we have already profiled to see what is new with them! Our goal is to keep in contact and spread the word about new events, training opportunities, workshops, interesting new project information, as well as needs/questions/issues; so that other community arts projects, programs, organizations, resources and services can possibly learn and benefit. So, please feel free to email us and let us know about anything new that is going on. I’d love to post about it! – Ania, ArtBridging Ontario Coordinator                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        “I know our template can work in other cities – so happy to share our story…

ArtHouse is going magnificently – we implemented 4 cost-free after-school programs in late September – 2 NEW ArtHouse Junior Chef’s Ethnic Cooking Programs (in partnership with ActiveChefs.ca) and 2 ArtHouse Red Fish Blue Fish Visual Arts Programs (in partnership with Oakville Galleries)….each is fully subscribed with 20 children and each of the 4 programs is located in 4 different areas of Oakville – our mission is to take the programs into the community and make it easy for our participants to get to them (many may not have proper transportation, or are in families where both members are still working). This summer we had a hugely successful Camp ArtHouse (in partnership with Sheridan College) – 2 two-week Summer Camp programs which ran all day, with a theme of Music, Theatre Arts and Dance – for each camp the children under the leadership of two fantastic instructors (Randoff Academy of Dance Alumnae) prepared the children for their production of Little Shop of Horrors and Seussical all on the Theatre Sheridan Stage and in front of parents, siblings and grandparents – close to 80 children participated (approximately 40 per 2-week camp), along with the help of 13 volunteers.

This fall we are excited to launch ArtHouse at the Y – a 5-week Saturday Afternoon program entitled “ArtHouse off Broadway” – it will be a combination of Music, Theatre Arts and Enriched Fitness (effectively dance and lots of motion). This theme speaks to what the Y in Oakville wishes to incorporate into its programs – healthy programs but also the arts – we are flattered to be the organizing partner in this project. Once again,ArtHouse has some fantastic instructors lined up to make this happen. We also add that we will be focusing much of our attention on families that simply could not afford these wonderful programs if they were fee-related.

Finally, we have a wonderful event series (which used to be called Festival Quattro) called ArtHouse Festival Series – 4 events per year with invitations to performers from around the world to more local. On October 20th, I am delighted that we will be presenting Sheridan in Motion – a Glee type evening with the exceptional students from Sheridan’s Music Theatre Performance Program – music and dance that will take us back to the 60′s – it is also the first ever production off the Sheridan Campus and will be held at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts in Downtown Oakville.

So lots going on – and so many willing partners – including the Ontario Trillium Foundation tht presented us with a $95,000 2-year grant in July – what a huge anchor this is for sustainability – we also have RBC solidly behind us.”

- submitted by Don Pangman, Founder and Artistic Director of ArtHouse

To read ArtHouse’s profile and get their contact information click here.
Visit www.arthouseonline.org for more information!
Find ArtHouse on ArtBridges Google map.