About the Arts Network for Children and Youth

National Youth Arts Week is being coordinated nationally by the Arts Network for Children and Youth (ANCY), a national non-profit community arts service organization.

ANCY was established in 1999 by a group of arts practitioners with a vision of sustainable arts programming for children and youth in communities across Canada.

The organization’s vision is for all children and youth in Canada to have access to creative activities in creative spaces. This includes well-equipped spaces for performing and visual arts, both in schools and in communities. The Network has been working toward this vision for over a decade through a number of initiatives ranging from grassroots community development projects to meeting with members of local municipalities, provincial government and federal ministries.

What ANCY does:

Links artists and organizations working with children and youth across Canada
Supports existing arts programs while facilitating the establishment of exciting new initiatives
Connects the arts to diverse sectors such as justice, social services, health and education
Gathers and disseminates research material and information to support the value of the arts in the lives of children and youth across Canada
Mentors communities to develop innovative programs and best practices
Develops and distributes tool kits for communities, with information and guidelines for funding, infrastructure and programming
Enhances public awareness of the children and youth arts sector and the benefits of including the arts in the lives of children and youth