Local artists inspire Sandy Hill youth

Gerald Dragon

Another successful Awesome Arts en Folie Festival was held this past October at Viscount Alexander Public School. The festival is the conclusion of six weeks of artistic workshops held in partnership with Multicultural Arts in Schools and Communities, or MASC. The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre has been partnering with MASC since 2012 to hold the series of workshops and the celebratory closing festival. This year’s festival brought together groups from the Strathcona Heights after-school program, grades 4 and 6 students from York Street Public School, as well as the grades 5/6 and 3/4 classes from Viscount Alexander Public School. Makhena Rankin Guérin opened with an Indigenous teaching followed by a Hoop Dance performance which captivated the audience and set the stage for the rest of the evening.

Each group worked with a selected MASC artist for their workshop: Luciano Lu (Brazilian Beats Carnival), Just Jamaal the Poet (Song and Video), MOOV Ottawa Dancers Regis Ochi and Zomi Tombing (Afro-Beat and Hip Hop dance), Junkyard Jonny (Rhythm Workshop) and Emily Rose Michaud (Murals).

A big thank you to all the supporting staff who welcomed Awesome Arts into their classrooms and programs: Kristi Fulford, Joyce Contant, Carol Devine, Rowena MacKeen, Celia, Glory, Abdirahim, and Lia. A very special thanks to the program coordinator, Valerie Fenske from MASC.

The music video created by the Strathcona Heights senior after-school group. They were responsible for the words, music selection and helped to produce the video.