The artsREACH project's mandate is to deliver high-quality visual and
performing arts training to young people in the Capital Region,
regardless of their financial means. We meet this mandate by providing
free arts workshops in public elementary schools, focusing on those
schools with a high percentage of children from low-income families. We
employ professional artists and actors who are trained and fully
equipped to teach drawing, painting and theatre workshops with
high-quality art materials, original stories and projects.

In a pilot program in 2005, we delivered twelve 90-minute workshops in
five elementary schools: Quadra; Cloverdale; Lake Hill; Braefoot; and
Doncaster. As a result of the pilot, 312 children had the opportunity
to:
- participate in either a drawing, painting or theatre workshop
- gain inspiration from profession artists and actors
- develop creative skills
- and, experience positive learning through the arts.

Our goal is to deliver 55 workshops in Capital Region schools in the
first half of 2006 and deliver 100 workshops in the 2006/07 school
year.

If you would like to support this program by volunteering or to help us
raise funds to expand our project, please contact :
The Octa Collective Society
250-383-7080

For more information on this project, you can download a PDF version of
our 2-page brochure.

Watch the video of our official launch January 10, 2006