ArtEd Initiatives Celebrate New School Partnerships this Winter
“I wish I’d been affiliated with an Artist’s organization like [ELAN ArtEd] 20 years ago.”
cj feury, ArtistsInspire Artist, CityLife interview with host Linton Garner
2019 was an incredible year of growth and learning for ELAN’s ArtEd Initiatives! We are thankful for everyone who collaborated with us throughout the year as we worked to realize the potential for the Arts to connect and inspire people in Quebec’s English schools and communities. These programs would not exist without support from Canadian Heritage, Quebec’s Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers, and our many Arts, Community and Education sector partners and champions!
ELAN’s ArtEd Initiatives were recently featured on CityLife Outaouais!
Jimmy Baptiste and cj fleury described how the ArtEd Program’s approach to connecting with Artists is supporting them as they share their artistic gifts with students and teachers. Jimmy Baptiste reflected what the majority of our Artists express, “It’s always fun to be able to share your passion and help kids build self confidence through creativity and art.” cj praised ELAN’s “integrity and intelligence” in bringing “Artists of all walks” together in a valuable and grounded network. Watch the interview here.
ArtistsInspire at Central Quebec’s Dollard-des-Ormeaux School: Students created a 3D mobile representing Perseverance with Artist cj fleury. Photo by Julie Carpentier.
Our plans for 2020 include continuing to facilitate connection among our Artists through virtual and in-person Learning Community gatherings and new professional development opportunities that respond to Artists’ expressed needs.
Many schools will benefit from the training our Artists received to support youth mental health, thanks to funding received from our community and health sector partner, the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN). In early January, we will be allocating $30,000 of new funding from the CHSSN for trained Artists to facilitate creative experiences that explore how to be supportive of youth mental health.
ArtistsInspire Grants: Offering Arts & Culture Experiences to every English public school!
Our outreach efforts to promote the ArtistsInspire Grants are working! In the first two weeks of December, 25 new schools registered for grants. We will continue accepting applications until January 31st to enable as many schools as possible to benefit from their first $1500 grant.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (#artistsinspire) to see new stories about the hands-on creative experiences taking place in schools across the province.
ACE Schools are ready to Create together this Winter!
Ten new schools Connected and Collaborated this fall with the guidance of ACE facilitator Paula Knowles, developing their project’s vision, identifying themes to explore, and selecting Artists to collaborate with teachers as they began planning the project’s creative process. The schools will make use of their ACE funding and their ArtistsInspire Grants, enabling them to either explore two or more Arts disciplines on the same theme or to extend their experience with one Artist for more in-depth projects. Our ten new ACE Initiative schools include:
- Jimmy Sandy Memorial School of the Kawawachikamach, Naskapi Nation in Northern Quebec
- PortNeuf Elementary in the Quebec City Region
- Kegaska School will be joining experienced Lower North Shore ACE schools, Netagamiou, and Harrington Harbor
- Hemmingford & Franklin Elementary Schools in the Chateauguay Valley
- Good Shepherd Elementary serving Brossard area students on the South Shore
- Cookshire Elementary in the Eastern Townships
- Sainte Agathe Academy High School in the Laurentians
- John’s High School in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu
- St. Michael’s High School in the Western Quebec town of Low
The school’s projects, themes and Artists will be highlighted in our upcoming blog post.
We begin 2020 with excitement for another year of connecting the Arts, Communities and Education! Please contact us for more information: ace-initiative@quebec-elan.org, or artistsinspiregrants@quebec-elan.org.
