Partnerships

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"The 'Art room' is one of the few creative safe spaces left where a child cannot be judged or be wrong, especially today where the pressure of “perfection ” is demanded in our technological world.  The Art room is a place where a papier-mâché bird can have 3 legs and one eye or where the sun can set in the east. This is why the Rennie Foundation was there as the founding financial partner of AIRS and continues to support AIRS in many ways."   Bob Rennie, Rennie Foundation

The AIRS program is made possible through the shared vision, support and  encouragement of many partners. It is through the collective commitment  and generosity of teachers, artists, administrators, local arts  organizations and financial patrons all working together, that seemingly  impossible dreams become possible. All of our partners together are  instrumental in realizing our shared vision of creating equitable,  on-going and life transforming access to the visual arts for all  children.

Each year our existing studios are sustained through the contributions  of our many financial supporters. Our vision is to extend the program to  more schools as additional funding becomes available to create greater  equity and opportunity of access to the arts for elementary children in  Vancouver.

AIRS is made possible through the financial commitment of our ongoing partners. These partners share a deep commitment to the value of authentic art education for elementary children in their formative years as a fundamental right within public education. Together we are bringing the transformative power of the arts back into public education.

AIRS financial partners sponsor a studio residency in part or in whole for a particular Vancouver neighbourhood school.   This ensures continuity of access to the visual arts at the school for one or more years.

Our ongoing collaborative research with teachers reveals that students participating in the AIRS program over multiple years demonstrate observable growth in terms of confidence of self-expression, creative freedom and resilience.   Sustained participation in the arts not only supports the wellbeing of students, enabling them to develop and value their own creative capacities, it also embeds the arts into the very heart of a school community, fostering a sense of belonging and inclusivity within the community through shared creative experience.

*A donation of:

$2,000 supports one community-engaged artist in a five week mentorship residency opportunity

$3,300 supports an 8 week pilot or media arts residency at a Vancouver elementary school

$6,600 supports an extended studio residency of 16 weeks at a Vancouver elementary school

$9,900 support a full year studio residency of 24 weeks in a Vancouver elementary school for students across the whole school

The VSB honours all financial donations with additional matching funds.

*residency costs are CARFAC-RAAV compliant for 2021/22

If you would like to become a financial partner with AIRS and support an  AIRS studio residency at a school in part or in whole for 2021/22 or  interested in finding out more, please contact  Celia Jong VSB District Arts Coordinator at cjong@vsb.bc.ca