Art Engagement Project
Changing The Narrative Through The Arts
The Art Engagement Project embarked on its creative flow for school-aged children in Simcoe County through artistic expression, teaching students how to become allies in their schools to combat anti-Black racism and discrimination. We created the highly successful Art Engagement Project afterward, becoming the 2021 recipients of the TD Bank of Canada Ready Commitment program. We have been honoured to have had support from TD Bank over the past 3 years. This program would not have been possible without their community grant.
We want to recognize the funding contribution from United Way Simcoe Muskoka to power the Art Engagement Project. This exciting journey will extend all the way to 2027, promising a wealth of artistic experiences and opportunities for our community. We proudly acknowledge our collaborative partners: the Wasaga Society of the Arts, MacLaren Art Centre, Simcoe County District School Board, and the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic School Board, who have been instrumental in its success.
Over the past 3 years, our Making Change presenters and artists have worked with a diverse range of student participants, from grades K through 12, across Simcoe County District School Board and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board. This inclusive approach has allowed over 100 classes to explore and express their thoughts on diversity & inclusion through a variety of art forms, including visual, dramatic, music, and dance.
Meet Our Artist Mentors:
Jason George – Jason is a wildlife photographer, presenter and writer who explores ways to share his love and passion of nature with others. Jason’s goal for this project is to open up minds and help people see things in a new way by sharing some beautiful wildlife pictures while showing how black and white is beautiful in nature, together. His hope is that students will see how this can be a way of seeing our own lives when it comes to diversity & inclusion.
Rhiannon Hoover – Rhiannon is a multidisciplinary artist who’s background includes musical theatre, dance, writing and creative direction amongst others. All of their work as an artist, activist and educator has been centred around anti-racism and anti-oppression. They will be sharing their artistic approach in hopes of having a positive impact on our community by inspiring others to be their authentic self.
Laura LaChapelle – Laura is a 35 year community theatre veteran and has worked in all facets of stage both on and behind the scenes. She began her career as a youth actor and so her heart is drawn to guiding other youth who are finding their light to shine on stage. Laura uses drama and creative writing tools to help others find their voice in sharing their message and truths to others.
Angela Francis – Angela is a Canadian/Grenadian artist who has studied post-secondary visual arts in Trinidad and locally at Georgian College. She is active in female empowerment in the arts, creating avenues to do what she loves while teaching others to do the same.
Sheresha Mcintyre-
With over 10 years in the creative arts industry, Sheresha currently instructs Collage workshops around Simcoe County at organizations such as UPlift Black and The Maclaren Art Centre.
Damian Spaulding
The founder of Spaulding School of Arts, Damian Spaulding, is a top educator and nurturer of new talents who is known both domestically and internationally. He is a multi-award-winning music producer who owns a record label called Spaulding Canada and is passionate about empowering students of all ages and abilities.
Lisa Singh – Lisa is the owner of Kingdom Creations, providing creative art experiences for women, children and groups in Barrie. She has been empowering individuals of all ages for over 40 years in various educational settings and training environments. Her biggest passion is encouraging others to be all that they were designed to be as they develop their gifts, skills and abilities.
The Art Engagement Project 2025
The Art Engagement Project 2024
Art Engagement Project:
Changing the narrative through the arts by engaging Black artist mentors, sparking conversations and discussions, students will:
Explore the impact that anti-Black racism has on the world around us;
Reflect on how we can overcome racism and discrimination by making change;
Create their expressions of making positive change through art, dance, music, theatre; and,
Share their creations in the community as opportunities are available (social media, displays etc.)
These creations will engage your students in critical thinking about diversity, inclusion with an emphasis on Black people, Black cultures and issues around anti-Black racism. Their reflections will generate creative expressions in various forms visual, dance, music, theatre as part of the movement to drive positive change and inclusion in our community.
Implementation Overview:
- Pre-Teacher Meeting
There will be a pre-meeting between the teacher, artist and presenter to review the project, expectations, scheduling and planned outcomes. - Educational Presentation on Anti-Racism (one visit)
A professional Making Change presenter (with a Black-lived experience) will join in-person to your class for an interactive, age-appropriate 45-minute educational presentation with a 15-minute Q&A. The presentation will address anti-racism issues in a safe space and in a way that is engaging and thought-provoking for all ages. It will have the classroom looking at ways of becoming allies and what students and staff can do individually and collectively to become supportive allies. - Class mentorship (one visit)
A Making Change professional Black artist mentor will visit the class in person and work with the students on their art projects. The available art streams are visual arts, drama, music, photography, slam poetry, and dance classes. The mentorship will include a one-hour visit for High School students or a 1 ½ hour visit for elementary students. Each class will also have a half-hour, either pre or post-virtual session, to prepare for the in-person visit or as a follow-up to see how the final product has come together. - Art Display Opportunities
Classes can take the Art Engagement Project experience and share it with other peers, with the school as a whole and with the community at large. A showcase can be done as a live performance, art exhibit, or on social media and online channels. Making Change and the artist mentors can support these types of events.
MacLaren Art Centre Partnership: We have partnered with the MacLaren Art Centre for the past three years on the Art Engagement Project. During their Art Engagement journey, our students have been shown Virtual Art Tours created at the MacLaren of celebrated Black artists. Watch Erika DeFritas and Farihah Aliyah’s tours here and discover the interesting perspectives and challenges they have had as racialized artists and how anti-Black racism issues have shaped their art. A new virtual art tour will be available for 2025!
Available art streams to choose from:
Visual Arts – Students work with raw materials on individual projects that can be joined for a 1 unified piece or stay as individual expressions of art that stand on their own. These creations will reflect the message that has been learned over the past 4 weeks. The items needed for the project may include supplies such as paint brushes, paints, medium materials. Some examples of projects to be worked on are puzzle pieces to create an artistic mosaic, ink plot transformations and concepts around Afrofuturism.
Music – Students work with their mentor on creating either an original song or learning an existing song that shares the message of inclusion and diversity. This may include the use of instruments students have access to, body movement and their voice; as well wooden sticks to practice will be provided. The project may end with a ready to perform vocal production or something that could be filmed and shared on social media. Original songs will include an element of writing lyrics and creating beats and music editing.
Drama – Students will receive dramatic training to perform original skits they will write that helps to share the message from the art engagement project. This could be one large scene or a montage of short skits, stories, poetry, spoken word and monologues. Students will understand how to use emotion, their voice throughout scenarios that encourage allyship and empathy. Their end created production could be performed live to the other classes, the community at large or filmed and
Photography – Using photography as an artistic medium to showcase an appreciation of the beauty around us. They will work with the theme of how different things can be posed together harmoniously in a visual artistic piece to be photographic. Students will work individually or in small groups to create what their visual product will look like; it may be people, animals or objects as chosen focuses.
Dance – Students will work with a choreographer on dance styles that express emotion, learn how to showcase different dance styles and their significance. They will understand not only the history of dance in the Black culture but also how important dance has been in the history of oppression and expression. Their final dance piece will reflect the message of hope and can be performed to other classes, the community at large or filmed and shared on social media.
