KITCHENER, Ontario, Oct. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artshine and Arts4All are pleased to announce the most recent expansion of their programs to new markets.
Artshine, along with sister non-profit Arts4All, is an innovative mobile art social enterprise. Together, Artshine and Arts4All are devoted to creating a community where participation in the arts is available to people of all levels of income, ability or life circumstance. By expanding their program, the company hopes to empower people and contribute to creating a more beautiful world; enhancing the quality of life of at-risk and underprivileged individuals by improving their education, confidence, and self-expression through art.
Founded in 2015 by Paul Field, Artshine initially began running their programs only in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph but have expanded into several regions such as Toronto (GTA), Barrie and Ottawa, among others. This past year, the company expanded their reach outside of Ontario with the introduction of their first Montreal programs. And they are continuing to broaden their reach in cities like Brantford, Brampton, Oakville and Hamilton.
“We are thrilled to bring Artshine to new places and have the chance to impact the lives of more people through art. I firmly believe that the act of creating art can provide individuals with a healthy outlet to express their emotions, build self-confidence, and cope with the adversities that life may throw their way,” says Paul Field, founder of Artshine and Arts4All. In his previous career as a social worker, Paul was offering similar programming, but he became frustrated with cuts to funding. His experience in youth engagement, social work and arts education inspired him to create this innovative self-funding social-enterprise model.
Artshine’s programming, taught by instructors who are artists themselves, offers enriching and educational mobile art classes that help participants build knowledge, skills and confidence. The company’s original programming shadows the elementary school curriculum by teaching students about the creative process, critical analysis, and the principles and elements of design. Students use their imagination, practice a variety of techniques, and experiment with a variety of mediums. As they practice self-expression and reflection, students work through emotions, form opinions and analyze work as they learn about Canadian art, Indigenous art, and art from around the world.
While they do offer other programs such as corporate team building, birthday parties, and workshops, most of Artshine’s programming takes place during lunch breaks or after school, right on school property, so parents don’t need to transport their children to an off-site extracurricular activity.
With the social enterprise model, profits from Artshine’s paid programming are put back into the community through non-profit, Arts4All. In a class of 20 students, 2 children are fully sponsored with an Artshine Scholarship. Arts4All also runs programs for people living with disabilities in community organizations, senior communities, prisons, and centres for at-risk youth. The organization also flexes their prices, offering subsidized rates in communities that can’t afford to pay full price.
“We receive a lot of feedback from school Principals saying that our programming allows students to express their creativity in a setting that offers a balance of both inquiry learning and guided instruction,” says Elana Chand, General Manager of Artshine. “At the same time, we hear from parents who notice a positive change in their child’s attitude, confidence, and creativity. But the most rewarding feedback we receive is from students who express their own gratitude in having arts made accessible to them and hearing their pride when they’ve completed a project that is better than what they thought they could make. This is the most rewarding part about working at Artshine: knowing that we are inspiring individuals, helping them build their own self-confidence, and helping them shine.”
ABOUT ARTSHINE
Artshine is a fast-growing Canadian social enterprise, offering mobile art classes and visual arts subscription services. The primary focus of their program is in schools, with lunch-time and after-school programming, but also includes summer camps, birthday parties, corporate team building events, and adult-focused Artshine n’ Wine/Brew events. They are based in Kitchener, Ontario but in-school programs run throughout Ontario and Montreal. The enterprise has recently announced their new upcoming monthly subscription service, ‘Artshine in a Box’, allowing children across Canada to experience Artshine’s enriching art lessons in the comfort of their own home, throughout the year. For more information visit www.artshine.ca.
ABOUT ARTS4ALL
Arts4All is a Canadian non-profit arts organization. Together, Artshine and Arts4All are devoted to creating a community where participation in the arts is available to people of all levels of income, education, ability or life circumstances. Arts4All offers sponsorships, subsidized and free programming to provide inclusive arts experiences for seniors, underprivileged, incarcerated and at-risk individuals, and people living with disabilities. With their new ‘Artshine in a Box’ initiative’s “Get one, Give one” model, for every monthly subscription, the enterprise plans to donate one lesson to a child who would otherwise not have access to these types of opportunities. For more information visit www.arts4allunlimited.org.
To speak with a member of Artshine’s staff, or request additional information, contact gm@artshine.ca