The Land where we live and work
The AMY Project’s activities take place in Tkaronto, which is subject to the Dish With One Spoon Covenant, a precolonial treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe to share and care for the land. We are grateful to all who have cared for this land for generations: the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee, the Wendant, and most recently the Mississaugas of the Credit, and many other Indigenous peoples and communities. AMY is committed to fostering artistic work that acknowledges and explores our relationships to the land, in creative communities that build and strengthen our relationships to each other.
Mission Statement
The Artists Mentoring Youth (AMY) Project is committed to transforming the arts landscape by providing accessible, affirming performing arts training & creation programs for women and non-binary youth from equity-seeking communities. With the mentorship of professional artists, AMY participants learn to tell their stories with honesty, integrity, and artistic rigour.
AMY understands that inequity in the performing arts industry is rooted in the inequitable systems that shape society: some young people have the privilege of private lessons, outings to the theatre, and regularly seeing people who look like them in starring roles on the screen and the stage; others do not. We aim to interrupt the inequities in performing arts industries by creating supportive, dynamic, anti-racist, trans-positive, queer-positive, artistically excellent communities with women and non-binary people of diverse experiences, from a young age. AMY’s programming is artistically and socially engaging for participants, lead artists, and audiences alike.
The AMY Project operates on four core VALUES:
- INCLUSIVITY: All of AMY’s programs operate within an anti-oppression framework. We work to identify and eliminate boundaries to participation.
- ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE: AMY has an illustrious roster of artists and strives for artistic excellence at each stage of the program
- MENTORSHIP: AMY is committed to integrating mentorship into all levels and divisions of the organization whenever possible
- BUILDING COMMUNITY: AMY strives to create connections and strengthen networks: we connect youth to other youth, artists to the young people in their communities, and artists of divergent disciplines. Through gathering and storytelling, AMY connects to a larger community.
Mandate
The AMY Project offers free performing arts training programs serving young women and non-binary youth. AMY breaks down barriers to participation by providing meals and transportation; accessible, queer and trans inclusive and anti-racist environments; one-on-one mentorship; and more.
AMY’s regular programming includes: Spring Theatre Creation Program, Summer Performance Intensive, Film Training Program, Performance Creation Program for Trans Women and Trans Femmes, Write On Residency for emerging playwrights, and the AMY Community Program. AMY creates and develops program in response to the artistic and social needs of our community and the greater Toronto community. AMY engages lead artists, program directors, and artistic mentors who come from similar backgrounds – artistically, culturally, and otherwise – as our participants.
AMY creates and delivers programming in partnership with individuals and organizations across the Greater Toronto Area, including arts organizations, community organizations, and individual community-minded professional artists, social workers, teachers, and others invested in AMY’s goals and work.