welcome to youthLEADarts
Listen. Empathize. Act. Drive.
LEAD is a method to create change on 2 levels- within the individual participant themself, and in their communities. This set of values empowers young people, giving them the skills to become LEADers and effect meaningful and positive impact in their lives and their futures.
Become part of our growing initiative …
keep reading to learn how!
Become a LEAD Supporter- Invest in our Future
- Are you in a position that you can give back?
- In your past was there an initiative, a person, or a program that gave you that little extra support when you needed it?
- Do you believe in the transformative power of the arts?
If you answered YES to any of the above questions, please consider donating to create programming for unserved youth across Canada.
Our programs make a significant impact. The investment the students make is evident on their faces. We have much more coming in 2023.
All of our programming is currently funded through private donations. We thank all of our sponsors and supporters- past, present and future.
what does LEAD stand for?
Listen. Empathize. Act. Drive.
Listen
Listening is as important as speaking in communication.
What do you think is important when you listen?
Empathize
Empathize means imaging how someone else feels.
How does it make you feel when someone does that for you?
Act
Actions speak louder than words.
What is it that you want say?
Drive
Drive yourself and your idea to completion.
What gives you the power to keep going?
Watch this Space
Unleashing Inner Brilliance: Empowering Marginalized Children through Art and Performance Arts
To wrap up International Arts in Education Week, we are pleased to have a contribution by guest blogger and author Simone Pertuiset. Simone’s books are inspired by her own family’s stories: one about France (and travelling to Africa and South America) in...
Read MoreArt in and out of the Classroom
This year has offered the unique opportunity for youth to display their art outside of their classrooms and in their communities. In BC the self-portraits and poetry created by Britannia students graced the breezeway and public art space between the...
Read MoreyouthLEADarts Artist Educators: Creating for healing and resilience in uncertain times
“At a time when challenges related to climate, peace, education and the future of our societies are converging, our need for the power of art – and for it to be made accessible to all through arts education – is...
Read MoreIt’s International Arts Education Week! Celebrate our youth and our Arts Educators!
May 22-26, 2023 is International Arts Education Week! Designated by UNESCO in 2012, the week celebrates the arts, in their diversity, and arts educators who play a critical role in fostering and transforming humanity. International Arts Education Week aims at increasing the...
Read MoreInspiration Across the Nation
Last week, youth at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School in Quebec finished their youthLEADarts workshops with artist Deirdre Potash by completing 3D dioramas that capture the fragility of the ocean’s ecosystems and the importance of taking immediate action to maintain...
Read MoreA community that cooks together: youthLEADarts, Lismore
In April, youthLEADarts Lismore got together and explored leadership through cooking with Community Chef Lesley McDuff and youthLEADarts program mentor Melanie McDuff. Everyone had a role in baking cookies and making goulash. We had to listen to Chef Lesley, support...
Read More
The Mentoring Team
Our regional Artist/Educators conduct live, virtual artist workshops. These cross-Canada experiences connect the values and themes of LEAD with various artistic disciplines. They create opportunities to engage in activities such as drama, dance, literature/ spoken-word, music, drumming, visual arts, photography/ videography, Indigenous, and media arts. Our goal is to create hybrid online/in-person programs that will serve as a sustainable model for communities of like-minded youth to communicate even after the pandemic has run its course.
LEAD’s Artist Educators are experts in developing curriculum for all students. Whether virtually or in person; for elementary, junior, intermediate or senior students; as a facilitator in your classroom, youth group, extracurricular or community activity, we are specialists at empowering youth with the vocabulary and skills to become LEADers. Our forte is using the arts to increase the skills such as Group Work, Creative Problem Solving, Interpersonal Communication, Personal Responsibility and Self-Regulation. Through these skills the students also increase their Resilience, Self-esteem, and their ability to Self-Advocate.
Please contact us to schedule a consultation to meet your needs. We have resources across Canada. (info@youthLEADarts.com)
Marilyn Field
Founder/ National Coordinator
Visionary, Mentor, Teacher, Musician
Lori Sherritt-Fleming
West Coast Mentor
Shelley MacDonald
East Coast Mentor
Deirdre Potash
Central Canada Mentor
Artist Educator, Entrepreneur
Tina Tucker Bye
Central Canada Mentor
Artist-Educator, Visual Artist, Actor/ Director
Roy Mulder
East Coast Mentor
Find out More about Artist Educators and Collaboration Partners
Each youthLEADarts workshop or program is designed to assist the students discover their strengths, address their challenges and develop communication and leadership skills in short, invigorating and fruitful timeframes. With strong roots in communities across Canada youthLEADarts, as it evolves, will continue to empower youth by developing accessible programs that help them to find their voices as LEADers who drive the future.
Our Social Feeds
#youthLEADarts
See yourself and your friends featured on our website by using our hashtag #youthLEADarts in your arts and leadership posts.
Make sure it is OK with your adults first, and check its alright with the people in your pictures and videos too. And please make sure the content is “family friendly”. 😉
A Word from One of our Youth Ambassadors/ Graduates
Elijah, 25, is a recent graduate of Trent University in Math and Spanish. He joined Marilyn Field’s empowering arts education program as a 12-year-old who was living in a marginalized Toronto suburb. On program days, Marilyn would call him early in the morning to make sure he got on the bus for the daylong workshops in downtown Toronto.
Through the arts education program, he was able to see what was possible regardless of the odds. He pursued that vision without fear. Today, we are so proud of him for finding his inner leader; to stay in school and succeed, to find his passion for writing poetry, swimming, and for mentoring other young people.
