ArtStarts Gallery Mandate

The ArtStarts Gallery is the only free, public gallery in Canada exclusively dedicated to young people's art. Since the gallery opened in 2006, our exhibitions have celebrated the exciting possibilities that emerge when students, educators, and professional artists work together to learn, create, and build connections.

The ArtStarts Gallery is pedagogical – we’re here to showcase how students, artists, and educators are facilitating learning through the arts across the province.

We believe that a focus on young people in a gallery space can be transformative and that art is essential for every body. We achieve this mandate through our gallery space and programs. Our exhibits and programming aim to:

• support students who face barriers to accessing arts in education
• build capacity for artists who face barriers to the presentation of their work
• challenge colonial, Eurocentric definitions of “art,” and beliefs about who gets to be an artist
• inspire adult stakeholders to advocate for arts integration in their communities & schools
• promote arts integration as a solution to the current status of the arts in our province and society
• empower teachers to facilitate arts-integrated learning experiences for K-12 students

What is arts integration?

Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both. (Definition developed by the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., USA.)