ArtBridges is a hub and forum for connection for anyone interested in or active in community-engaged arts and arts for social change in Canada. And this year, because of COVID-19, more than ever, connection and community-engagement matters.
In recent months, we have seen an explosion of arts activities that community-engaged arts initiatives are providing for their communities across Canada. We post and circulate these ideas on the ArtBridges platform.
Your Membership support will help ArtBridges continue to gather and share about innovative community-engaged arts activities that people can safely do from home and online, and about how initiatives are adapting their programs to be able to operate safely during the pandemic.
The benefits to communities include:
Sustained connections, fostering of community, and participation with community arts programs
Improved health and wellness, and reduced feelings of social isolation
Lifting of spirits – through art making – and enjoying peopleâs art (music, visual arts, theatre, poetry, spoken word, dance, etcâŠ)
Digital access and participation in new projects & programs, educational workshops and opportunities that previously may not have been accessible because they were only offered in person at a fixed location.
Membership fees help support the work of ArtBridges all year!
As a Member you will be a vital partner in ArtBridgesâ important work by helping us to raise awareness, connect people to community-engaged art initiatives, gather and share resources, and highlight whatâs going on in the practice and field.
For almost two years now, ArtBridges has been operating as a new charitable organization, not-for-profit, and registered National Arts Service Organization (NASO). (ArtBridges was previously a project of Tides Canada for 10 years.) Like numerous arts organizations across Canada, ArtBridges has navigated through the challenges of working through the pandemic and adapted to new ways of working to continue to be relevant, viable and sustainable. It has not been easy, and we feel for the organizations which have gone into hibernation, or had to close.
We have worked hard to keep the information flowing about whatâs going on in the field via artbridges.ca, with blog posts, Facebook & Twitter, Learning and Resources, and helped people with special requestsâassisting with finding mentorship, connections, supplies, and resources, and writing letters of support, all year. This year we focused on how many in the community-engaged arts field pivoted their programming as a result of the pandemic. We also focused on new BIPOC-led projects, programs and opportunities.
We connected with over 390 (and growing!) community-engaged arts initiatives across Canada. (Learn more about these amazing initiatives from coast to coast to coast on the Map and Profile Directory and update your initiativeâs organization profile any time.)
ArtBridges recently held its call for nominations for its 6thth Annual Recognition Awards for Remarkable Community-Engaged Arts! Categories are Remarkable Creativity, Remarkable Resiliency and Remarkable Innovation. The awards are sponsored by the Ruth Mandel â WHO GIVES Fund and are pending.
As an ArtBridges Member, you or your arts initiative can:
Have your website reviewed for accessibility, mobile responsiveness, and clarity in a one-hour professional consultation.
Recognition Awards: Nominate your own community arts initiative, or another for ArtBridgesâ Annual Recognition Awards based on remarkable innovation, resiliency, and creativity. Each of the three winning initiatives receive a donation of $300.
Member Spotlight: Have your community-engaged arts initiative featured on ArtBridgesâ Canada-wide Community Blog
Receive consideration for a letter of support for your initiative from us.
Be listed under Membership Recognition on the ArtBridges website.
Receive a Membership card: become a card-carrying member!
Join our Membership today!Please fill out the Membership registration form included or find it online at artbridges.ca. Your membership fee will cover from now through to the end of 2021.
ArtBridges is a hub and forum for connection for anyone interested in or active in community-engaged arts and arts for social change in Canada. And this year, because of COVID-19, more than ever, connection and community-engagement matters.
In recent months, we have seen an explosion of arts activities that community-engaged arts initiatives are providing for their communities across Canada. We post and circulate these ideas on the ArtBridges platform.
Your Membership support will help ArtBridges continue to gather and share about innovative community-engaged arts activities that people can safely do from home and online, and about how initiatives are adapting their programs to be able to operate safely during the pandemic.
The benefits to communities include:
Sustained connections, fostering of community, and participation with community arts programs
Improved health and wellness, and reduced feelings of social isolation
Lifting of spirits – through art making – and enjoying peopleâs art (music, visual arts, theatre, poetry, spoken word, dance, etcâŠ)
Digital access and participation in new projects & programs, educational workshops and opportunities that previously may not have been accessible because they were only offered in person at a fixed location.
Membership fees help support the work of ArtBridges all year!
As a Member you will be a vital partner in ArtBridgesâ important work by helping us to raise awareness, connect people to community-engaged art initiatives, gather and share resources, and highlight whatâs going on in the practice and field.
For almost two years now, ArtBridges has been operating as a new charitable organization, not-for-profit, and registered National Arts Service Organization (NASO). (ArtBridges was previously a project of Tides Canada for 10 years.) Like numerous arts organizations across Canada, ArtBridges has navigated through the challenges of working through the pandemic and adapted to new ways of working to continue to be relevant, viable and sustainable. It has not been easy, and we feel for the organizations which have gone into hibernation, or had to close.
We have worked hard to keep the information flowing about whatâs going on in the field via artbridges.ca, with blog posts, Facebook & Twitter, Learning and Resources, and helped people with special requestsâassisting with finding mentorship, connections, supplies, and resources, and writing letters of support, all year. This year we focused on how many in the community-engaged arts field pivoted their programming as a result of the pandemic. We also focused on new BIPOC-led projects, programs and opportunities.
We connected with over 390 (and growing!) community-engaged arts initiatives across Canada. (Learn more about these amazing initiatives from coast to coast to coast on the Map and Profile Directory and update your initiativeâs organization profile any time.)
ArtBridges recently held its call for nominations for its 6thth Annual Recognition Awards for Remarkable Community-Engaged Arts! Categories are Remarkable Creativity, Remarkable Resiliency and Remarkable Innovation. The awards are sponsored by the Ruth Mandel â WHO GIVES Fund and are pending.
As an ArtBridges Member, you or your arts initiative can:
Have your website reviewed for accessibility, mobile responsiveness, and clarity in a one-hour professional consultation.
Recognition Awards: Nominate your own community arts initiative, or another for ArtBridgesâ Annual Recognition Awards based on remarkable innovation, resiliency, and creativity. Each of the three winning initiatives receive a donation of $300.
Member Spotlight: Have your community-engaged arts initiative featured on ArtBridgesâ Canada-wide Community Blog
Receive consideration for a letter of support for your initiative from us.
Be listed under Membership Recognition on the ArtBridges website.
Receive a Membership card: become a card-carrying member!
Join our Membership today!Please fill out the Membership registration form included or find it online at artbridges.ca. Your membership fee will cover from now through to the end of 2021.
Thank you for believing in this work!
Wishing you good health and joy, and lots of creativity during this holiday season and into the new year!
We are pleased to announce the award winners for ArtBridges Fifth Annual Recognition Awards!
The awards showcase remarkable work in community-engaged arts in Canada in three categories: Innovation!, Resiliency! and Creativity!
The award process: In mid-2019 we did a call for community-engaged arts initiatives, community partners and ArtBridges Member initiatives to participate in award nominations. All of the entrees were compelling and demonstrated amazing work. The awards jury was comprised of three active leaders in community arts in Canada from St. John’s, Guelph, and Vancouver. The recipients will each receive a certificate and an award of $250. We will be calling for nominations for our Sixth Annual Recognition Awards this Winter!
“Otahpiaaki is a project of Indigenous Mount Royal University. As a part of delivering an exceptional undergraduate experience, meeting the educational needs of all Indigenous Peoples, and in delivering on the universityâs commitment to recognizing, valuing and applying Indigenous knowledge through culturally responsive pedagogies and practices, Otahpiaaki has worked in partnership with Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous student teams, and alliances of faculty and staff to build an arts- and creatives-focused project these past three years.
Otahpiaakiâs mandate is embodied in Mount Royal Universityâs Indigenous Strategic Plan 2016-2021, including the cultivation of respectful and welcoming environments; working with our communities to enhance the academic, personal and cultural experience of Indigenous learners; and fostering respect for Indigenous ways of knowing, knowledge-production and creative practice, and increasing capacity for Indigenous scholarship.
Next, Otahpiaaki partners with other organizations on âpractice and issuesâ workshops during and beyond Showcase Week, typically held in November. This educational programming ensures that contemporary and historical knowledge is shared through intergenerational exchange. We also host critical discourse events, for example, on creative issues and impacts facing LGBTQ+ and racialized creatives; concerned with dismantling colonial research/educational structures impacting creative research, practice, and the pursuit of prosperity; and an artistic collaboration and curation of Robert Joseph’s 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.
Finally, our project is uniquely designed with a scholarship of engagement strategy. Since 2016, we’ve gathered new knowledge by asking three key questions, âHow can Indigenous creative renewal and maintenance of practices be articulated and protected? What are the obstacles to creative, artistic, and economic prosperity for Indigenous artists? How are creative works being utilized for healing intergenerational harms and traumas and helping discoveries of giftedness?
Using Indigenous scholarship and practice, we have achieved new understanding about these questions. We have participated in academic conferences and events as far away as France and Germany, and as close as Tsuut’ina. We also support Otahpiaaki and other creatives with practical knowledge and tools, and we utilize popular press. We have even grown natural dye crops to resource design and artistic practice, and have transferred this knowledge to Kainai K-12 arts educators, Elders and artists to introduce Pooâmiikapi â experiencing unity, balance, and harmony through regalia and other creative action.
We listen carefully to our creatives and contribute our knowledge and skills to serve their expressed needs.”
“Social circus, an innovative approach use in 17 communities in Canada. The circus has rightly been characterized as an art of solidarity because it relies heavily on mutual help and collective work. This is why social circus intervention, by the nature of the activities used, relies heavily on collective participation. To act in a group by carrying out common activities is a formidable tool to develop trust towards others which makes it possible to develop fundamental social values such as solidarity, empathy, mutual help, sense of belonging, listening, respect and friendship. The notions of leadership and respect for common rules are also promoted, which leads participants to consider themselves not only as individuals, but also as full members of a community. In fact, participants become aware not only of what others can bring them, but also of what they themselves can bring to others, essential elements in the construction of esteem. The circus tool thus becomes a pretext for promoting social inclusion, developing life skills and fostering an active place in one’s community.
The big event closing National Social Circus Gathering will last 3 days, The first day (January 17, 2020) will invite the 150 young people to join forces for a collective creation that will be presented publicly at Tohu and broadcast live in all participating communities. The objective of this public day is both to promote the diversity of young participants, to give them a voice, while raising awareness among the general public about the use of the arts and more specifically the circus as a vector of social change. The next two days will be devoted to activities by and for young people: exchange workshops, open-stage, discussions, opening and closing rituals, informal moments of exchange.”
“Since its foundation in 2013, Thinking Rock Community Arts (TRCA) has established itself as a well-respected community-engaged arts organization, the only one of its kind based in the Central Algoma District of Northern Ontario. With the support of three staff members, a seven-member Board of Directors (including a non-voting youth member), a caring group of volunteers and formidable organizational mentors (Jumblies Theatre and SKETCH Working Arts, to name a few) this provincially-incorporated nonprofit has become known as a vital, resilient organization that produces large-scale, multi-year projects of high artistic quality and impact. The five-year process of design, production and evaluation of the Rivers Speak Community Play – Thinking Rockâs well-received inaugural project – engaged 4,000 people between 2013 to 2018. Thinking Rock has demonstrated remarkable resiliency in its operations and programming, while also showing remarkable creativity and innovation in building its resilience.
Despite its recent establishment, small staff size and location in the under-resourced, rural Northern Ontario context, Thinking Rockâs team has worked creatively and diligently to secure the resources (funding, staffing, organizational systems, community support and otherwise) necessary for its survival and sustainability. A fee-for-service consultancy revenue stream supplements funder contributions and connects the organization to community groups and initiatives. Relationships with local partners, donors and sponsors (individual, organizational and corporate) are carefully cultivated. At times, endurance has necessitated the adoption of austerity measures, leading to shifts in plans, but the organization has survived and thrived. The organizational culture embraces opportunities for learning that emerge in challenging times, recognizing that such knowledge informs forward motion while it builds resiliency. Within the last year, Thinking Rock has applied for and secured operating funding from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts – achieving a goal, and a big step towards sustainability, 6 years in the making. This will enable Thinking Rock to continue its various projects and initiatives, including Social Fabric, its current multi-year, community-engaged project.
Thinking Rock has learned much about the resiliency of the people of the Central Algoma region – knowledge it aims to respect, reflect and model. These communities, from Spanish to Sault Ste. Marie and all points between, continue to weather the storms of economic uncertainty, isolation (social & geographic), entrenched racism, the ongoing impacts of colonialism and more. An intensive, careful process of relationship building at the beginning of each project connects Thinking Rock with community members and organizations, to better know each communityâs past, present, and hopes for the future. Sitting with Elders and Knowledge Keepers increases Thinking Rockâs awareness of local protocols, as well as their respectful observance and incorporation into this work. Access supports – such as childcare, food, transportation support, free admission, self-care resources and more – help to address needs in the community and ensure diverse participation. Making personal, trusting connections truly counts; the moving stories of life and resilience shared with Thinking Rock by community members inspire, inform, and increase the resiliency of its work in turn, in myriad ways.
Thinking Rock will further examine, amplify and model resiliency in the two-year Stories of our Stories community-engaged research project, by recognizing and nurturing it. Supported by research partners and funders including NORDIK Institute, Mass Culture, the Northern Lights Collaborative, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts, this project will connect community-engaged artists and arts organizations in the rural and First Nation contexts of Northern Ontario to collectively explore the impacts and learnings of this field of practice, in this context; surface the challenges and barriers of this work; investigate current supports and those that are needed to continue it; build a collegial network of practitioners; and underscore the many positive impacts of community-engaged arts in this context which include, among others, building community resilience.
For more information about Thinking Rock’s work, please visit www.thinkingrock.ca, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, or contact Acting Artistic Director, Miranda Bouchard (miranda[at]thinkingrock.ca).”
We would like to give honourable mentions to Home 2.0 (SarasvĂ ti Productions) in the Remarkable Creativity! Award category and to Music From Hope in the Remarkable Resiliency! Award category.
From October to December 2018, SarasvĂ ti Productions produced “”Home 2.0″”, a new play about the experiences of newcomer youth. It toured to schools throughout Manitoba, being seen by over 4,700 youth. Using a Forum Theatre style created a unique interactive experience and allowed students to creatively explore solutions, by acting them out on stage. SarasvĂ ti was able to share the show with many newcomer students, who would then rush the stage after the show to thank the actors for telling their stories in such a vibrant way. Music, song, and dance were all used. There was a free performance for the after-school program at Peaceful Village. They also targeted youth organizations that so often do not have access to the arts, by offering free previews at Graffiti Gallery and the Millennium Library. Just as important were the many performances at schools where a majority of students were not new Canadians. Here the students had little interaction with or understanding of the challenges faced by immigrant and refugees. Through seeing it played out before their eyes, they were able to experience what it is like to be forced to leave your home and start all over halfway across the world. In the debrief after each performance, students shared how it helped them to have more empathy and to be more accepting. The students also had extremely insightful suggestions about what needs to change in order to help make the transition easier for new Canadians.
There were so many rewarding moments. In order to include first person perspectives, SarasvĂ ti utilized video in the play. A Yazidi refugee who participated in the creation of the play and who shared his story on video, attended at his high school with his peers. He spoke afterwards and was so proud to be able to help others to understand. The cast also often heard students translate for each other from the audience, with those who have been in the country longer supporting the newer arrivals. Doing post-show workshops with students we also heard their passion for promoting human rights, greater acceptance and tolerance. Allowing students to use storytelling and tap in to their own creativity, kept the project engaging for all youth.
For this project, SarasvĂ ti Productions traveled to new communities and particularly rural communities who have less access to both theatre and human rights advocacy. This allowed the company to expand their reach and build relationships beyond the city limits for future projects, thereby reducing isolation and demonstrating that arts are for everyone no matter where they live or what their life experience has been. There were also requests from multiple middle schools so the tour expanded the age range of the audience with great success. In fact, the cast often felt the middle school students jumped in to participate more actively as it was such a unique experience for them. Sharing the stories with younger students was extremely effective in having the conversation begin at an earlier age.
The tour also included talkbacks, a resource toolkit for teachers and opportunities for facilitators to continue the conversation post-show. Now that the tour is complete SarasvĂ ti Productions is finalizing the script for publishing and dissemination for use by other theatre companies as well as school drama programs across the country. They have also received requests to facilitate workshops at additional schools in order to share their process and allow students to create their own work sharing stories to increase human understanding.
“Facilitators of the Music From Hope project been working with children in refugee camps since 2012 (Syria and Lebanon). They have been using music as therapeutic activity with children in camps since 2016. As refugees themselves, they found refuge and healing for themselves and the kids at the same time in music.
During trainings, we integrate the knowledge, experience and questions of the participants, to help customize towards the needs of the participants and the children we work with. In combination with our exercises, theory and stories, we facilitate a process in which people will learn from each other and learn by doing: action-based learning. We believe music can change people â and by changing people, you can change communities.
As you know, ArtBridges is a hub and forum for connection for anyone interested in or active in community-engaged arts and arts for social change in Canada.
Membership fees help to support the work of ArtBridges all year!
As a Member, you will be a vital partner in ArtBridgesâ important work by helping us to raise awareness, connect people to community-engaged art initiatives, gather and share resources, and highlight whatâs going on in the practice and field.
For almost one year now, ArtBridges has been operating as a new charitable organization, not-for-profit, and registered National Arts Service Organization (NASO). Weâve successfully laid down the foundation of a new organization: setting up payroll, HR, contracts, bookkeeping, financial reporting, Board meetings, complying with CRA and Corporations Canada, issuing charitable tax receipts, banking, setting up Paypal & CanadaHelps, sent out numerous proposals to foundations, and have started to apply for Arts Service grants with government granting programs. With the building of strong organizational foundation, we can slowly build up programming and projects again!
Hereâs an article by Kate Rowswell on the Tides Canada blog about ArtBridgesâ new beginnings after 10 great years with Tides.
We connected with over 390 (and growing!) community-engaged arts initiatives across Canada. Learn more about these amazing initiatives from coast to coast to coast on the Map and Profile Directory and update your initiativeâs organization profile any time.
We worked hard to keep the information flowing about whatâs going on in the field via artbridges.ca with blog posts, Facebook & Twitter, Learning and Resources, and helped people with special requestsâassisting with finding mentorship, connections, supplies, resources, and writing letters of support, all year!
As a community partner over the past six years, ArtBridges assisted the ASC! Project (Arts for Social Change) with research about community-engaged arts across Canada. This year marks the conclusion of the research project. Please read their final report which presents a brief overview: https://icasc.ca/resources/asc-project-final-report
ArtBridges held its 5th Annual Recognition Awards for Remarkable Community-Engaged Arts! There were 32 submissions for this juried award. The outcomes were: Remarkable Creativity: 1st place – Cirque Hors Piste National Social Circus Gathering, 2nd place – Home2.0; Remarkable Resiliency: 1st place – Thinking Rock Community Arts, 2nd place – Music From Hope; Remarkable Innovation: 1st place – Otahpiaaki. The awards were sponsored by the Ruth Mandel â WHO GIVES Fund.
As an ArtBridges Member, you or your arts initiative can:
Have your website reviewed for accessibility, mobile responsiveness and clarity in a one-hour professional consultation
Recognition Awards: Nominate your own community arts initiative, or another for ArtBridgesâ Annual Recognition Awards based on remarkable innovation, resiliency, and creativity. Each of the three winning initiatives receive a donation of $250.
Member Spotlight: Have your community-engaged arts initiative featured on ArtBridgesâ Canada-wide Community Blog
Receive consideration for a letter of support for your initiative from us.
Take advantage of the Events and Classifieds sections of our website by having announcements and opportunities featured at the top of the pages for up to 3 times a year.
Be listed under Membership Recognition on the ArtBridges website.
Receive a Membership card: become a card-carrying member!
Join our Membership today! Please fill out the Membership registration form online at artbridges.ca. Your membership fee will cover from now through to the end of 2020.
