SIOUX LOOKOUT – TORONTO – DAREarts are applauding the success of the Sioux Lookout Literacy Festival. The film Zero to Hero would not have been possible without the invitation from Barb Matousek, NNEC Sioux Lookout Literacy Coordinator and Wahsa DEC Teacher. “I am sure that the thirty one youths from Pelican Falls First Nations High School and Queen Elizabeth District High School will always be grateful for the opportunity to participate, stated Marilyn Field, Founder and President, DAREarts.
“Barb demonstrated the core vision of DAREarts, discipline, accountability, responsibility and excellence, with the amazing facilitation and coordination of this full three weeks of diverse programming,” continued Field.
Founded in 1996 by teacher and pianist, Marilyn Field, under the mentorship of Sir Yehudi Menuhin, DAREarts is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that uses arts education to empower children to become leaders. DAREarts exposes 10,000 children yearly to diverse cultural experiences that they would not have otherwise. Guided by local arts professionals, the children paint, sculpt, sing, dance, compose, design, act, write, etc. – all the arts. They gain leadership skills by returning from out-of-school workshops to their own schools and teaching their classmates what they have learned.
Thirty community high school youths participated in a week of artistic sessions with a focus on film-making. The DAREarts team of arts professionals participated with our Sioux Lookout Literacy Festival partners. In a program lasting five days the youth were presented with a challenging and rewarding program that will grow the students in self-awareness and esteem building.
The excitement of the final result is still evident and so is the strong desire to participate in future Literacy Weeks. DAREarts looks forward to an invitation to return.
The next stop for the DAREarts team will be in Ogoki First Nation in about a month.
By sharing their passion for the arts with young people across Northwestern Ontario, DAREarts are empowering those youth with the confidence in their abilities to make a difference in our world.
For more information visit www.darearts.com