The ArtistsInpsire 2021-22 Year Has Begun!
Maquatua Eeyou School, Wemindji Residency 1 – ELAN Local Artist Charly Gilpin
“You have to help people belong to make you belong.”
Gr. 8 student on what they learned through the art-making process.
I Belong! 2020-21, an ArtistsInspire-LEARN collaboration.
ArtistsInspire is off to a great start to the 2021-22 year, having launched this year’s $1500 School Grants program, and with it, multiple partnerships.
Over the last five years, ELAN ArtEd has been thrilled to collaborate with inPath and the Cree School Board’s Mikw Chiyâm Program. The Mikw Chiyâm program is a Cree School Board program designed and implemented in collaboration with inPath, a passionate team of pedagogy and logistics experts who work to create connections between schools, communities, and the creative sector through responsively designed music and arts-based programming.
This full-year, credit-bearing program includes three 4 or 6-week teaching-residencies integrated into the school’s curriculum. In collaboration with the Mikw Chiyâm teacher, residencies are led by inPath artists, often with the support of local artists and knowledge keepers who guide students in developing individual and collective creative works. Read more on last year’s 2020-21 projects in the Stories & News article Collaboration with with inPath and the Cree School Board’s Mikw Chiyâm Program. We’re excited to see what happens this year!
In another thrilling partnership, ArtistsInspire and LEARN joined forces with ‘I Belong!’, a project designed to empower students across Quebec to explore their identity and sense of belonging to Quebec society through the arts. The inaugural season in 2020-2021 reached 46 English language schools, 100 classrooms and 1780 students and employed 12 ELAN ArtEd artists. One of these artists, Jason Selman, said the creative process “held up a mirror to how we’re living and how we’re doing”. When asked what they learn through this project, one Gr. 8 student said, “You have to help people belong to make you belong.” Read more in the Stories & News article I Belong: What does it mean to belong? and watch the the 2020-21 Student Highlights Reel. For details on this year’s offerings, see the I Belong! website.
On a broader level, ELAN ArtEd connects professional Artists working in every discipline with English public schools across Quebec. Teaching Artists interested in working with ArtistsInspire, particularly those identifying as BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+ and Regional Artists, are welcome to connect with us at any time, as are schools. Help us to ensure every eligible school uses their $1500 ArtistsInspire grant for 2021-22 by sharing the following Workshop Catalogues with educators you know:
We love to speak with artists and educators! When sharing this information with your contacts, please include an invitation to email us at artistsinspiregrants@quebec-elan.org and/or phone us at 438-979-1171.
