Participatory arts experiences create important opportunities for artists and communities to connect, express ideas, create art works, and make personal and social change. These benefits are realized when artists deepen their relationships with the public in innovative ways that include co-creation, co-learning and collaboration throughout all stages of a project.
Arts engagement with people of all ages, abilities, and identities contributes to building healthy, vibrant and connected communities. To achieve this goal, OAC has developed a new funding stream to support activities that increase, broaden and diversify arts participation.
OAC’s key objectives in Engaging Communities and Schools are to:
- Support opportunities for the public to experience and engage with the arts in meaningful ways throughout the province.
- Provide opportunities to artists and communities to co-create through their combined knowledge, skills and experience.
- Support artists with the appropriate skills, knowledge and cultural competency to respectfully and effectively develop and deliver process-driven arts activities.
- Reduce barriers to public participation in the arts.
- Build public awareness about social issues and facilitate change through the arts.
- Strengthen connections while dissolving divisions between art, society and life.