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 valuable learning they did this year.” – Chateauguay Valley Regional High School’s English generalist Kimberly Hardy

Supporting Youth Mental Health is of particular concern to the ELAN ArtEd team. Click here to read this ArtistsInspire Stories & News article for teachers’ observations of the ways in which art-making helped their students develop resilience and support their mental health.

From the Artist’s perspective, Visual Artist Emily Read, says of her ArtistsInspire project with Carlyle Elementary School ‘Stay Connected’,

“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!”

In other news, are you on LinkedIn? We are too! Connect with us HERE for the latest news on ELAN ArtEd.

Land Acknowledgement

ELAN is an official minority language organization within a country that recognizes two languages as official. ELAN is located in Tiohtià:ke, the original name for Montreal in Kanien’kéha, the language of the Mohawk—also known as Mooniyang, which is the Anishinaabeg name given to the city by the Algonquin. While we are based in this city, our projects have also taken place in many regions across Quebec.

We acknowledge the colonial origin of English and French in Canada, and recognize that both languages benefit from official status throughout the land. The province that we know as Quebec is an amalgamation of the traditional territories of the Innu and Inuit nations, Algonquian nations, as well as the Mohawk nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Kanien’kéha and Anishinaabemowin are but two of the original languages of this province; Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, and Innu-aimun are also among the many Indigenous languages spoken across Quebec as majority languages, all well before French and English.

ELAN acknowledges the important work being done by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to revive the traditional languages of these territories, and their advocacy for the official status of Indigenous languages.