What is AIRS?

The Artist in Residence Studio program, or AIRS, is an artist-led charity for providing equitable access to high-quality and socially relevant visual arts education for children in public elementary schools through long-term artist residencies. AIRS works in collaboration with the Vancouver School Board to create a studio space within a school and supports local, professional artists to design and facilitate dynamic, process based visual and interdisciplinary arts engagements for children across the whole school. AIRS awakens the creative and compassionate capacities of children empowering them to become transformers of their world.

"I feel like whenever I do art, I can always have a smile on my face. I feel like I crawl out my shell." -

- Grade 5 Student

Giving Tuesday: we raised $9,702

Thanks to You!

We are extremely grateful for your support and generosity in making our Giving Tuesday campaign a success. We raised $9,702—more than double last year’s total. These funds directly help us bring transformative art programs to students and empowering them to become transformers of their world.

Your Donation will:

provide art programming for approx 138 children.
provides art programming for approx 5 classes.

We are continuing to seek further donations for the 2026/7 school year.

Every Gift Makes a Difference. Your donation, big or small, will make a huge impact!

We change the world through the sum of generous gifts.
Together, we can make art accessible to every child.

Donate Now

who am i between sound and silence

AIRS program hosted a 3 day pop up exhibition at ARTspeak Gallery, a public gallery in downtown Vancouver from April 23-26, 2025 featuring masks, poetry, abstract works, collage animations and soundscapes created by intermediate students at Pierre Elliot Trudeau, John Henderson and Chief Maquinna Elementary. Led by artists Kelsie Grazier, Monica Cheema and fanny Kearse, students worked with diverse media (sound, light, colour, shadow, gesture, words, archival photography, and found ephemera) to explore the space where image and language intersect This is the spaces between silence and sound, seeing and speaking, where intimations and expressions of our authentic self and our being in the world can emerge. The opening was an inspiring celebration for students and their parents, featuring student poetry performances and a panel of student artists. This powerful exhibition, opened up space for intergenerational exchange where young people model the practice of being true to ourselves, and vulnerable to the possibilities of our creative transformation through art.

This residency and exhibition is funded through a City of Vancouver CASC grant and made possible through the generosity of ARTspeak Gallery.