Team
Host Organizations
The project is developed and delivered by Art Not Shame, with outreach and participation supported through partnerships with the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition and Guelph Community Health Centre.
A not-for-profit, community-engaged arts organization, Art Not Shame serves youth and adults ages 16 and up across Ontario. Founded in 2017, ANS generates opportunities for community connection through facilitated, multi-disciplinary, art-making workshops and co-learning opportunities. Speaking back to systemic forces that perpetuate cycles of shame and undermine self-worth, ANS aims to build supportive, inclusive, and transformative social spaces to facilitate community-building. Since its founding, ANS has engaged approximately 2,000 people in Ontario through its workshops and events.
“Witnessing our need to connect across distance in ways that do not exacerbate existing inequalities, we were looking for an innovative way to increase access to creative expression, and build understanding between individuals affected by this crisis in vastly different ways”
Michelle Peek,
Founder and Executive Director
of Art Not Shame.
Art Buddies
Social Artist Lead
Melanie Schambach​
"Societies and the environment are facing extraordinary challenges while the speed of change is faster than ever. New methods of engaging people, radical collaborating, and courageous processes that uplift the spirit through self-discovery, are some of the ways to contribute to positive change. I aim to challenge and re-discover the narratives of who we are, how we belong in the earth, and what is our shared responsibility."
For more on Melanie's work, visit HERE.
Partner Organizations
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Guelph Community Health Centre
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Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition
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Art Not Shame
Outreach Support
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ARCH
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Art Not Shame
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Community of Hearts
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Family & Child Services
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Guelph Black Heritage Society
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Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition
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Immigrant Services
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Canadian Mental Health Association, Wellington Waterloo
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Welcoming Streets Initiative
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Guelph PRIDE, Guelph Arts Council
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Youth Engagement Working Group of the Integrated
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Youth Services Network initiative lead by the Rotary Club of Guelph