Community Arts and Creative Leadership Program enters fourth year
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA — Building on the innovative and inclusive potential of arts in community recreation explored in Part 3, this instalment focuses on developing robust youth leadership pipelines through the arts. The Framework for Recreation in Canada (2024 Update) underscores the critical importance of capacity building and ensuring the recreation and parks sector remains dynamic and responsive to future needs. Arts-based recreation programs provide a uniquely effective mechanism for cultivating the next generation of community leaders and skilled recreation professionals, safeguarding the sector’s long-term vitality and relevance.
In communities like Melgund Township and across Far North Ontario, the need for youth leadership is particularly acute. An aging population, as noted in consultations, coupled with limited youth engagement outside of summer, creates a demographic gap. Jamie Bell, of Art Borups Corners, observes, “For the recreation sector in regions like the Far North to thrive, we need to intentionally cultivate youth leadership pipelines. Otherwise, we risk losing valuable local knowledge and future leadership capacity.” Data from Ontario Arts Council (OAC) funding (2021-2024) reveals the limited resources available to the Far North arts sector – highlighting the importance of strategically investing in youth to build sustainable local capacity for both arts and recreation leadership.
Arts in recreation programs serve as an exceptional catalyst for developing these crucial youth leadership pipelines:
- Skills-Based Leadership Development: Arts programs inherently foster essential leadership skills in youth. Participation in collaborative artistic projects, whether theatre productions, musical ensembles, or community murals, cultivates teamwork, communication, creative problem-solving, responsibility, and project management abilities – all highly transferable to leadership roles in any sector, including recreation.
- Experiential Learning and Mentorship: Arts-based recreation provides rich opportunities for experiential learning. Youth can take on progressively challenging roles within programs, from junior instructors and peer mentors to youth program coordinators. Mentorship from experienced artists and recreation professionals further enhances youth leadership development, providing guidance and real-world insights into the sector.
- Fostering Innovation and Creativity: Youth are natural innovators. When empowered to lead arts-based recreation initiatives, they bring fresh perspectives, creative energy, and digital fluency to program design and delivery. This youth-led innovation is vital for keeping recreation programs relevant and engaging for younger generations and adapting to evolving community needs.
- Building Community Connections and Civic Engagement: Arts-based youth leadership projects often directly address local issues, fostering a sense of civic engagement and community ownership among young participants. Youth leading community mural projects, for example, learn to collaborate with local stakeholders, navigate community dynamics, and advocate for positive change through art, building crucial skills for future community leadership roles.
- Pathways to Recreation Careers: Youth leadership pipelines through the arts can create direct pathways into careers within the recreation and parks sector. By providing youth with valuable skills, experience, and mentorship within recreation settings, these programs can inspire the next generation of recreation professionals, ensuring a continued influx of talent and passion into the sector.
The Framework for Recreation in Canada emphasizes capacity building as a key strategy for a thriving sector. Investing in youth leadership pipelines through arts in recreation directly addresses this priority. Furthermore, by leveraging digital technologies, as suggested in the Far North Ontario discussion document, recreation programs can expand the reach and impact of youth leadership initiatives, creating virtual platforms for youth collaboration, online arts exhibitions, and digital skills development, particularly beneficial in remote regions facing accessibility challenges.
“The arts offer a uniquely engaging and effective training ground for future leaders,” states Jamie Bell, one of the Winnipeg-based artists behind the initiative. “By intentionally building youth leadership pipelines within arts-based recreation programs, we’re not just enriching young lives; we’re investing in the future of our communities and the recreation sector itself. These youth are the innovators and leaders we need to navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Long-term strategic planning and sustainable program delivery are crucial for maximizing the impact of these youth leadership pipelines. Recreation departments and arts organizations need to develop multi-year plans that offer progressive leadership opportunities for youth, track program outcomes, and advocate for sustained funding to ensure these vital initiatives can thrive and contribute to the long-term vitality of the recreation and parks sector and the communities they serve.
Part 5, the concluding article in this series, will explore the crucial elements of sustainability, funding, and collaboration needed to ensure the long-term success of arts-based recreation and youth leadership initiatives in rejuvenating communities across Canada.
This year’s winter arts programming is supported by the Manitoba Arts Council, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program.