Fredericton Arts and Learning (FAL) provides workshops in the arts for children, including the underprivileged, for at-risk youth, and the homeless. During the 2006-07 fiscal year, FAL delivered more than 130 workshops to more than 1,300 participants. FAL operates the Charlotte Street Arts Centre where some of the workshops are offered, giving the participants the added benefit of exposure to the many exhibitions and arts activities housed at the centre.

	Young people from the Doone and Hawkins street housing developments enjoy a dance camp at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre's auditorium in July, 2007, one of many outreach programs run by Fredericton Arts and Learning.

FAL works with several community groups and social service agencies including Youth in Transition’s Chrysalis House (a residence for at-risk high school girls), the Fredericton Emergency Shelter, John Howard Society’s Youth Options Program, and Liberty Lane (a residence and programming for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence). FAL designs its workshops in consultation with the partner agency to ensure that the program suits the needs of the participants. For example, since the Youth Options Program of the John Howard Society emphasizes job-readiness, FAL chose workshops in arts disciplines that with further study can provide viable careers: sound recording, photography, and filmmaking.

For Liberty Lane, FAL prepared a series of 20 workshops designed to ensure immediate results and build self confidence. The first five workshops provided introductions to photography, film, drama, textiles, and jewellery making. At the end of the introductory workshops, the women chose to pursue in-depth workshops in photography, jewellery-making and textiles. They were very enthusiastic, often taking materials home to create during the week between workshops. Textiles from the Liberty Lane group and photographs by the girls from Transition House were included in an exhibition of emerging artists that the Charlotte Street Arts Centre featured during the summer months of 2006.

Children from low-income families participate in FAL’s workshops for Fredericton’s three public housing developments. The number of children wanting to enrol usually exceeds the spaces available. FAL also delivers workshops at the three locations of the Fredericton Boys’ and Girls’ Club in Devon, Skyline and Estey’s Bridge. About 120 children take part in the weekly workshops, getting exposure to 12 different activities. The workshop instructors find the children to be extraordinarily enthusiastic and ready to take risks in learning something new in the arts because they are in familiar surroundings at their own Club with staff they know.

FAL delivers the workshops at no charge to the agencies or participants. FAL contracts only qualified professional artists and arts educators to lead the workshops. Many prominent Fredericton artists are involved: Sue Lambropolous (dance), Trudy Gallagher, Brigitte Clavette (jewellery), Tony Merzetti, Jon Collicott, Rodrigo Gutierez (filmmaking), Caleb Marshall (drama), Whitefeather, Denise Richard, Amber Friedman (textiles), Alexandra Flood, Sarah Petite (painting), Darren Emenau (sculpture), Pam Nelson (photography), Andrew Miller (sound), Kelly Waterhouse (music), and Carlos Gomes (drumming).

All of the workshops and materials are free to the participants and the agencies thanks to funding from the City of Fredericton, the Province’s Arts Development Branch and the Department of Family and Social Services, the Harold Crabtree Foundation, the F.K. Morrow Foundation, and the federal National Homelessness Initiative.

FAL’s outreach programming is gratifying. We receive many letters of thanks from the agencies with comments such as the following.

• From Family and Community Services: “Usually children living in low income situations would never have the opportunity to become involved with dance because of the cost. This program helped to break the barrier. One girl showed enough potential that she was offered a bursary for further study this fall. Her instructor from this summer saw both her natural ability and passion for dance.”

• From Liberty Lane: “It was a very positive experience for all of them. Not only was it fun, but they learned some exciting new things. In fact one of the women is pursuing photography and film making. She is busy researching the best schools and doing what she needs to do to be accepted. She is excited about it and is a new woman.”

• From the Youth Options Program of the John Howard Society: “The main theme that many of these students are faced with is not having a passion in life. The workshop in photography has not only provided our students with a sense of pride in their pictures, but also a sense of accomplishment.”

• From the Fredericton Boys’ and Girls’ Club: “We have experienced first hand the incredible difference the arts can make to a child. Self expression through art offers many children an outlet to release tension and frustration, which helps them to concentrate on their studies and improves overall behaviour levels.” 

See programming offered by various organizations at CSAC.