AIRS Studios

“There is the joy of beautiful stuff coming out of the studio and the buzz about what is happening. Students know that in their school, there is room to observe, examine, think in big ways, to notice, to create.

The space tells them that it is valued.”

Carrie Gelson, Gr 4/5 teacher

At the heart of the AIRS program is the studio. The designation of a permanent studio space for the visual arts within a school makes possible an ongoing commitment to the fundamental importance of the visual arts for learning, and establishes a shared, creative space of belonging and transformative possibility for both individual students and the school community.

Through the shared studio space, and the showcasing of student work across the school, students are enlivened to the possibilities for visual expression inspired by other student work and level of achievement through practice and over time. This motivates students to work on their skills and move beyond stereotype to find their own authentic voice.

The studio is a space that invites children to slow down, and attend with felt perception, to the aesthetic subtleties of the world around them and their lived experience of it. For many children who have difficulties with classroom work, the studio provides a safe place where they can experience greater freedom and success through visual expression and in an atmosphere of non-judgement.

Every studio has its own identity, reflecting the needs and culture of the school and the expertise and vision of the artist.

Land Acknowledgement

The Artist In Residence Studio program is honoured to be working together on the unceded, unsurrendered and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm|Musqueam, Sḵwxwú7mesh|Squamish & səlilwətaɬ |Tsleil-Waututh people, where we learn, live and work. We humbly acknowledge that we are unlearning and relearning and with this acknowledgement comes the commitment to engage in ongoing acts of reconciliation.

PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION: xʷməθkʷəy̓əm - Musqueam (pronounced Mus-kwee-um) Sḵwxwú7mesh - Squamish Nation (pronounced Skwa-mish) səlilwətaɬ - Tsleil-Waututh (pronounced Slay-wah-tuth) Please do not capitalize x in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm & s in səlilwətaɬ Do capitalize S in Skwxwú7mesh *The above has been shared by Chas Desjarlais- District Principal of Indigenous Education.

Artist in residence studio program (AIRS)

AIRS Studios

Land Acknowledgement