THE CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM

We now have an  new online registration form for the CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO program.

To register just click on the link below

http://www.veithstreetgallery.org/VCP.html

NEW CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM

The CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM is a ten - week - long visual arts open studio program developed specifically for youth who have experienced mental health issues or are presently experiencing a mental illness, between the ages of 17 and 21.

Through the CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM participants will decide what kinds of art materials and processes they want to explore such as drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed - media, graphic story - telling, zines, and more. Participants will be provided with one - on - one support from a Community Arts Educator. There is no cost for this program, and all art supplies are provided. At the end of the program we will celebrate the artworks created by the program participants, through an exhibition open to the public at the Pedway Picture Gallery. Program participants may also be eligible to become a member of the Creative Spirit East Artist Collective and exhibit their art works through Veith Street Gallery Studio Association’s exhibition venues, Veith Street Gallery and the Pedway Picture Gallery.

Please Note: There is a limit of ten participants for this program.

Dates: Friday, September 17th, 24th, October 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th (Other dates to be announced)

Times: 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Location: Alderney Library, Starr Room, Dartmouth

Arts Engage Symposium / World Studio

On June 20th I facilitated the World Studio at the Arts Engage Symposium. The World Studio is a variation of the World Cafe facilitation process. Some fourty five participants from the symposium took part in the process. The process enables the cross pollination of ideas and concepts around community arts.

Here are some images from the session.

Great News

We just received news from the Gordon Foundation of Halifax, that we were successful in receiving a grant to offer the Creative Start Open Studio program for youth who have been experiencing mental health issues and mental illness.

The dates and times for this ten week long program will be announced in the next couple of weeks.

CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM FINAL EXHIBITION

HERE ARE SOME IMAGES FROM THE FINAL EXHIBITION OF THE CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM.

CREATIVE START OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM FINAL EXHIBITION

Here are some more images of the exhibition of artworks by the participants in the Creative Start Open Studio Program.

CSOSP COY GALLERY

Here is a sample of artworks by the participants in the Creative Start Open Studio Program.

FIRST UPDATE OF THE YEAR

Well it has been some time since I have sent out an update on the Visual Connections Project activities.

Starting on Tuesday January 18th the Visual Connections Project will be offering an art program for youth from The Mulgrave Park community in Halifax.

Working with two other Community Arts Educators / Leaders I will be co - facilitating a Community Arts Based Training program through NSCAD University's School of Extended Learning starting in September 2010.

I will be sending more info as these programs progress.

CSOSP GALLERY

CSOSP GALLERY

Creative Start Open Studio Program is Growing

We just got the word that we have received a Cultural Opportunities for Youth grant from the NS Department of Tourism ,Culture and Heritage. This grant will allow us to offer another Creative Start Open Studio Program for youth with disabilities and related challenges. This open studio program will be offered in the Spyfield Area and will start in November 2009 for ten weeks. We will be posting the dates and location for the open studio program in the very near future

Creative Start Open Studio Program

The Creative Start Open Studio Program will be offered to youth with disabilities ages 17 - 21 years of age. In this program youth will decide what types of art materials and processes they would like to work with. So if a youth wants to explore drawing for five weeks and painting for another five then we will facilitate this request. At the end of the ten week open studio program we will celebrate the accomplishments of the participants through an exhibition of their art works at Veith Street Gallery

Dates: September 11, 2009 to November 13, 2009
Times: 12:30pm to 3:30pm
Location: Veith House Community Centre, Board Room
3115 Veith Street, Halifax

For information about registration contact Gerard McNeil by phone at
456 - 0861 or by email visualconnectionsproj@gmail.com

Some Great News

We received some great news this week from the Halifax Peninsula Community Health Board that we have been awarded a grant to offer the Creative Start Open Studio for youth with disabilities.

This program will be different from the Creative Start Workshop we have been offering in the past, in that the open studio program will be more self directed. Essentially the way it will work is each youth in the program will decide on a medium or mediums he/she wants to explore during the ten - week period of the program. We will then provide the art materials and any training required for the youth participants.

The program will start in September and run to November, and will be offered at Veith House were Veith Street Gallery is housed.

We will be sending out information on how to register for the program in June and July.

Creative Start Workshop Participant Exhibition

Here are some images from the final exhibition of the Creative Start Workshop participant exhibition at the Pedway Picture Gallery on March 14th.

Creative Start Workshop Winter 2009 Update

Here are some artworks created by participants in the Creative Start Workshop. We are only in week two so there will be more work to profile.

Youth on the Radar Project

Here is some exciting news, VSGSA - Visual Connections Project will be part of the Youth on the Radar Project (YOR). The YOR Project is a crime prevention program for youth 12 - 17 years of age that utilizes the creative arts. The youth participants will come from J.L.Illsley High School and its feeder schools in the Spryfield area (South West Halifax).

VSGSA - Visual Connections Project Education and Outreach Curator will function as the project manager, Blogger, as well as instructor for part of the media arts component. The other components of the project include street dance and mural/street.

There will be a new blog site developed for the project.

The Creative Start Workshop Fall 2008

The images below are from the Creative Start Workshop. This workshop is designed for youth with disabilities and is five weeks in length. We will offer the workshop again in the new year.

Update on In Our Voice: Visual Conversations

After trying to get the the In Our Voice: Visual Conversations workshop off the ground we had to cancel it because we could not get any youth participants. We were going to bring youth and elders who have mental illness or mental health issues together to address various issues each generation have or will experience. We were going to use the visual arts as a vehicle for dealing with these issues. We are now going to apply for funding from another source to work with just the elders.

Update

It has been quite awhile since a posting. In part because we have been procrastinating and also I have been very busy getting ready for learning programs coming up this fall. There is both the Creative Start Workshop and the In Our Voice: Visual Conversations program. We are also getting ready for number of arts festivals and the Tools for life conference. And finally we are also working with a number of other community arts educators to develop a proposal for community arts education program that will be submitted to a number of universities to see if this program is feasible.

Update

Just received news from the 4C's Foundation that the In Our Voice: Visual Conversations project has received funding. The In Our Voice: Visual Conversations workshop is a partnership between Veith Street Gallery Studio Association, Visual Connections Project and the Canadian Mental Health Association, Halifax - Dartmouth Branch.
The workshop will be eight weeks in length. Participants in the workshop will consist of youth who are dealing with mental health issues and people fifty years and over who are also dealing with mental health issues. The youth participants and the elders will pair up with each other. Each week the facilitators will pose a question dealing mental health issues. The pairings will then respond to this question using various art materials and processes. After the eight week workshop there will be an exhibition of the art works at Veith Street Gallery.