ELAN ArtEd

Youth Mental Health Initiative, ACE Initiative & ArtistsInspire Grants

Arts with Older Adults


The arts and creativity is for people of all ages! The arts offers Older Adults the opportunity to express themselves, learn something new, deepen their understanding of life experiences and form friendships with like-minded individuals. These qualities have positive impacts on self-esteem, cognitive fitness, community integration, as well as counteract isolation and loneliness.

For profiles of artists and examples of workshops, click on the Directory of Artists button below.  All workshops are adaptable to contexts such as Seniors’ Wellness Centres, community organizations, long-term care facilities, hospitalized settings and more.

For how the arts can benefit Older Adults, we are currently researching a guide to Supporting Older Adult Mental Health In And Through The Arts. Coming soon!

Please note that this directory is a separate and distinct resource from our ArtistsInspire Grants artists profiles and workshop catalogue, and Older Adults workshops are not eligible for ArtistsInspire Grants microgrants.

Apply for School Grants for Artist-Facilitated Workshops

Fantastic news! Schools can apply for their 2023-24 ArtistsInspire School Grant anytime throughout the school year! Consult our catalogues of ready-made virtual workshops and eligibility criteria.

Sonia performing North Indian Classical dance to students in Quebec
1300

workshop participants in total!

“It was really good, I really liked it. It was fun and a little complicated. I learned a lot.”

– Youth participant, ArtistsInspire online workshops, spring/summer 2020

76

online workshops thus far!

“My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. It really rekindled my 6 year old daughter’s interest in creating art. It introduced her to new ideas and creative ways. She was really excited to share her art with other people. When one of her pieces was shown amongst a slide show she shouted out, “Hey, that’s mine!” She thought that was really fun. The other day she asked, “When can I do more?”

– Parent participant, ArtistsInspire online workshops, spring/summer 2020

Cover Page for Supporting Youth through mental health initiatives report. Image features the title and watercolour paintings of orange and green leaves

Youth Mental Health Initiative

ELAN’s ArtEd program has been invited to participate in a 3-year Youth Mental Health Initiative funded by the Fondation Lucie & André Chagnon  and the Government of Quebec’s Secretariat à la Jeunesse. The overall goal of the project being managed by the Community Health & Social Services Network (CHSSN) is: “ to improve access to mental health resources and services for young English-speaking Quebecers ages 15 -29 in order to better meet their needs, especially those exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In January 2021, Dr. Tiina Kukkonen prepared a guide to Supporting Youth Mental Health in and Through the Arts outlining some of the important ways in which the Art Education can improve Youth Mental Health. Click here to read the guide.

All Artists who will be working with youth ages 15 – 29 before March 2023 are invited to participate in the learning communities that we will facilitate. Click here to read more about the current call for participants.

ACE Initiative

From 2018-20, ACE was providing facilitation and coaching to support school leaders, community partners, arts organizations and artists from 20 schools across Quebec to plan and implement ACE projects. ACE projects take place over an extended time period, are cross-curricular and achieve education program goals in multiple subject areas.

ArtistsInspire Grants

artistsinspiregrants@quebec-elan.org

In 2019, ELAN launched the ArtistsInspire Grants (AIG) program in collaboration with LEARN as a new source of funding for official-language minority schools to hire artists. The $1500 ArtistsInspire Grants will enable students and teachers to participate in hands-on creative experiences about and in the arts.

Arts and Education are natural partners. The benefits for students in developing identity, creativity, and self-expression are well documented. Arts-based projects positively impact self-esteem, community and school pride and participants’ connections with each other, across generations and cultures—outcomes that are vital to individual and community well-being.

Why Does ArtEd Matter?

Capacity Building

increasing autonomy and skill among project coordinators, educators, individual artists, and other stakeholders to collaboratively design and implement projects; developing knowledge and skills needed to leverage funding available from ACE/AIG.

Matchmaking

not only between artists and schools, but between school boards, community and non-profit organizations, government representatives, around shared goals.

Cross-sectoral Collaboration

strengthening connections between arts and education professionals, helping artists and educators understand each other’s terminology, needs, and perspectives.

Artist Profiles

90+

artist profiles created by August 2019

“The ultimate goal of the program is that through the hands-on creative experiences that artists facilitate, teachers, students and community members in the province are inspired to develop their creativity capacity in ways that lead to individual and community outcomes for learning, wellbeing and socio-economic development.”

– Lead Consultant, Christie Huff

Connect with us!

If you are an artist who is interested in our programs, please contact us through artistsinspiregrants@quebec-elan.org. We want to connect with every artist who identifies as a member of the English-speaking communities of Quebec and has experience working in school settings.

Latest News

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Project News Updates June 2023

ELAN's projects are working hard all year round to bring important services, creations, and resources to the Quebec Arts community. Once a quarter, we do a round-up of project news so you can take a peek at what's on the go. What We Choose…
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Project News Updates March 2023

ELAN's projects are working hard all year round to bring important services, creations, and resources to the Quebec Arts community. Once a quarter, we do a round-up of project news so you can take a peek at what's on the go. ArtistsInspire…
Banner reading: ArtistsInspire Grants, in person nd virtual arts and culture experiences
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ArtistsInspire $1500 School Grants: Help Us Spread The Word!

“I’ve been teaching drama for twenty years. I was in a funk. And so I thought, I need something new, something fresh. I was very, very, very pleased [with ArtistsInspire] . It got me motivated again. It was so dynamic, I wanted to participate,…
Banner reading: ArtistsInspire Grants, in person nd virtual arts and culture experiences
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Apply Now: ArtistsInspire $1500 School Grants

Calling on all Artists and allies to help us encourage all eligible Quebec schools to apply for year 4 of ArtistsInspire! “ArtistsInspire is a fantastic way to bring all facets of art into the classroom. It was easy to navigate and there…
Year 3 James Lyng High School Oracle Productions Image of Students in front of a mural shooting a video
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ELAN ArtEd’s Youth Mental Health Initiative

Supporting Students Through Supporting Teaching Artists As Teaching Artists, we are often alone, carrying deep emotional experiences the youth share with us or dealing with conflicts or complicated group dynamics. This is a very meaningful…
Jimmy Baptiste Mural
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Teaching Artists As Art Educators, Community Members And Role Models

Teaching Artists hold a special place in schools as guests who bring new and exciting ways of relating with students. When a Teaching Artist returns to the same school for multiple projects, they become members of the school community, developing…
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ArtistsInspire School Grants: Deadline Extension!

“How do we Stay Connected in a world pandemic? Bringing teachers, students and artists together virtually or in-person allows us to create unique and meaningful projects. These experiences connect, revive and inspire us!" Teaching Artist…
screen capture from video with title: How can we stay connected...
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ArtistsInspire School Grants: Supporting Youth Mental Health Through The Arts

  "[Spoken Word Artist Rachel McCrum] brought us each agency, by helping students discover the power of words to be able to shape one’s experience of struggle… [M]any students cite Rachel’s virtual visits and lessons as the most…