The text below is from the second Living a Creative Life tactical plan, current to March 2015. Please refer to the Tactical Plan section for background on what tactical plans contain and how they will be used.
The outcomes and visions of Living a Creative Life will be realized through the work of signatories. Calgary Arts Development will continue to engage signatories throughout the life of the strategy and will support them in aligning their current and future activities to the tactics below. Calgary Arts Development will also be responsible for collecting data and reporting back on success indicators annually.
Vision: Calgary’s youth become highly engaged and innovative citizens as they connect with their communities through the arts.
Outcome One: Calgarians recognize the value of the arts in developing creative thinking, and seek out authentic arts experiences for youth.
Driver: Increase awareness of the programs and events offered for youth by freelance arts educators, artists and arts organizations.
Tactics:
- Support Calgary artists, freelance arts educators and arts organizations in communicating with educators and navigating education systems.
- Create a city-wide event that provides free access to educational arts opportunities for one day or weekend per year.
- Create a centralized roster that connects artists, freelance arts educators, arts organizations, teachers, families and community groups to ease the process of incorporating the arts into education.
Driver: Emphasize the value of the arts through their inclusion in a wide variety of youth programs.
Tactics:
- Support the development and implementation of K-12 curriculum that emphasizes the arts as a way of developing creative competencies.
- Incorporate the arts into existing community programs for youth.
- Provide volunteer opportunities for youth that help connect them with arts experiences throughout the city.
- Empower youth to take a leadership role in creating authentic arts experiences for themselves and their peers.
- Research the relationship between arts experiences and youth development.
Success Indicators
- Youth arts participation, measured by:
- Number of youth attending arts events.
- Number of enrollments in arts classes.
- Number of youth volunteering in the arts
- Perceptions of the value of arts experience for youth, measured by:
- Perception survey of youth and adults about the value of arts experiences during education and upbringing.
Outcome Two: A strong base of resources facilitates authentic arts experiences for youth.
Driver: Sustain a healthy baseline of funding dedicated to arts programs in schools and communities.
Tactics:
- Continue to offer subsidies for youth admission to arts events and increase awareness of these programs.
- Advocate for the preservation or improvement of arts funding for schools.
- Work with the private, public and arts sectors to create and maintain funding opportunities for authentic arts experiences for youth, both inside about outside the school.
Driver: Optimize the use of resources already present in school and community settings to increase access to authentic arts experiences.
Tactics:
- Increase the comfort and knowledge levels of educators in all artistic disciplines through effective professional development.
- Foster equitable access to arts experiences and learning by sharing knowledge and resources among schools, school boards and communities.
- Optimize the use of school facilities as community hubs for the arts.
- Increase the use of digital infrastructure and develop digital platforms to deliver authentic arts experiences online.
Success Indicators
- Quantity of arts experiences available to youth, measured by:
- Number of arts experiences in schools and outside of schools.
- Number of arts experiences available online.
- Equitable access to arts experiences for all youth, measured by:
- Percentage of arts engagement across school districts compared to population demographics.
The following signatories are currently contributing to tactics in the Youth and Education focus area:
- 4th Street BRZ
- 4th Street Festival Society
- Alberta Music Industry Association
- Alberta Theatre Projects
- Antyx Community Arts
- Beakerhead
- Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary
- Cab City
- Calgary Animated Objects Society
- Calgary Arts Academy
- Calgary Arts Development
- Calgary Board of Education
- Calgary Boys’ Choir
- Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
- Calgary Catholic School District
- Calgary Downtown Association
- Calgary Men’s Chorus
- Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
- Calgary Public Library
- City Repair Calgary
- Design Talks Institute
- Foothills Brass
- Fort Calgary
- Honens
- Intercultural Dialogue Institute, Calgary Chapter
- International Avenue BRZ
- International Avenue Arts and Culture Centre
- Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta
- Land’s End Ensemble
- Loft112
- LoveCraft Gallery
- Mount Royal Conservatory
- National Music Centre
- New Urban Development
- Southern Alberta Heritage Language Association
- Springboard Performance
- Strategic Group
- Structured Abstraction
- Studio C, Prospect Human Services
- TELUS Spark
- Theatre Calgary
- Wordfest
- YMCA Calgary
- Youth Central