URBAN ARTS PROGRAM
The GlobalFest Urban Arts Program uses the foundations of Hip-Hop culture to improve the lives of young Canadians. This specialized arts curriculum helps youth build mental wellness and confidence while developing artistic skillsets. Our mission is committed to building the understanding of diversity by enriching students’ experiences in addition to the arts, culture and heritage programs delivered in Calgary schools.
Since 2010, over 10,000 students have participated in GlobalFest’s various programs. These students were all enrolled while being a part of in-school and after-school programs.
Our Approaches:
- Literacy Program: Using the versatility of spoken word poetry to teach diction, expression, storytelling and public speaking.
- Artistic Expression: Spoken word poetry, rapping, breaking, DJing and beat making.
School-Based Programs
This year, GlobalFest launched a literacy/poetry program for junior high students at Bob Edwards School. Students and teachers worked alongside our artists to explore the student theme “We Walk as One.” Our Urban Arts Team challenged participants to express what the theme meant to them in written form.
This proved to be especially challenging for some of the students who were working on their English-language skills. To aid in this process, we brought in an urban artist with competency in the Arabic language. The inclusion of this artist allowed the students to have the ability to create their own poetic creations.
On the final day, we joined many of the students for celebration and live presentations of their poetry.
Annual Summer Camp
In the summer of 2019, GlobalFest’s Urban Arts Team launched a new summer program – MySummerJourneyYYC. This day camp was designed specifically for children of immigrant and refugee families who are still working to find their place in their new communities. The summer camp returns for its fifth year!
The program, tailored for 10-17 year olds, is packed full of art, music, poetry, recreational activities, excursions, and learning about the city’s history. Operating hand in hand with local artists, organizations, and an amazing team, the program builds self-confidence, independence, language and literacy skills, and social engagement.
A few of the programmed activities included:
- Stop motion videos through QuickDraw Animation, where participants develop their own mini-movie;
- Beatboxing and using specialized programs to make digital sounds, to producing music, learning the basics of sound engineering and how to set up sound with best practices, with YYC Records;
- Drum circles providing a fun and exciting outlet of energy with Circles of Rhythm – a phenomenal organization and program for any age, at any time.
Some incredible humans come in to share their artistic skills including poetry, hip-hop dance, painting, perspective, and shadows using pens and pencils.
In addition to these in-house programs, fantastic excursions include Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park and Museum, Bar U Ranch, Heritage Park, and Telus Spark, to provide context about the city and region’s remarkable history, art and a little science.
All this intensive programming wraps up with group games and recreational fun to develop teamwork and communication skills – including sports, card, and board games, art exploration, and a community project with Sunalta Community Hall – the camp’s home base for the summer – where the youth designed and painted the community hall’s tables and benches.
The team looks forward to building on this success year after year!
Want to know more?
We believe that flexibility is key and that effective education requires versatile deployment. This is why we aim to tailor our programs so that they best suit individual student bodies and youth.
URBAN ARTS PROGRAM:
