* To develop a multi-layered, community-supported art and culture-based crime prevention strategy addressing youth crime (with emphasis on illegal graffiti)
* To create an art and culture-based environment which lays the foundation for youth personal development, empowerment and direction and provides positive training opportunities aimed at developing a stronger sense of self esteem and community ownership within the youth and "at-risk" youth of our city
* To provide youth and "at-risk" youth with the information, knowledge, and real-life experiences required in furthering their exploration of educational and career opportunities
* To educate and inspire, through art and culture, "at-risk" youth to become positive, contributing citizens and to dispel the myth that the larger world is forever closed to them
* To furnish a place for urban young people to explore and express their creative abilities, to provide entry into the possibilities for continuing education and career options within and beyond the arts and culture industry
* To partner with other youth agencies and programs in a single window delivery model to better coordinate and expand the range of services offered to youth and "at-risk" youth in our communities
Saskatoon Community Youth Arts Programming Inc. (SCYAP) is a not-for-profit organization established to address the social, educational and economic needs of youth and "at-risk" youth. SCYAP offers street-level, youth-oriented solutions to prevent youth crime and youth unemployment and utilizes our youth's artistic interest and inclination as the basis for personal development and redirection towards a healthier, happier and more productive life.
* Over $500,000 was spent on graffiti cleanup in 2007 and there are more than 200 youth graffiti vandals in Saskatoon
* Over 1000 youth between the ages of fifteen and eighteen are 'inactive' students (they could, but are not, attending school); 48% of Aboriginal youth between the ages of 20-24 do not have a high school diploma
* Youth crime and graffiti are two of the top three safety-related concerns on a neighborhood level
* Gangs in Saskatchewan are an emerging problem described as "serious" and of "crisis proportions"
* The unemployment rate in Saskatoon among Aboriginal people is 22.3%, 3.3 times higher than the general population
SCYAP offers street-level, youth-oriented solutions to prevent youth crime and uses art as the foundation of a skill-building set to provide sustainable employment opportunities.
Art Skills Training and Development for At-Risk Youth
* Over 2500 youth have benefited from SCYAP’s programs
* Six 35-week & one 39– week Urban Canvas Projects benefiting over 70 youth facing multiple barriers to employment and education
* Program provides 9 months of counselling; mentoring; life, work and art skills training; on-the-job experience, community development, and work placement
* 50% of past participants found immediate employment; an additional 40% returned to school
* Around the clock crisis intervention and counseling
* 6-month Jr. Urban Canvas Program for youth with mental Illness
Youth Arts Programming
* After-school and weekends drop-in centre for young people of all ages
* Mural development and preparation at Caroline Robins School
* Art classes at Westmount, King George, Caroline Robbins, Dundonald, W.P. Bate, City Park and Queen Elizabeth schools
* Summer drop-in arts program
* Numerous Saturday afternoon workshops including “Colours and Symbols in Aboriginal Art”, “Cartooning” and “Chinese Brush Painting”
* Youth art classes to meet public demand
* Youth art programs at Radius, the Saskatoon Zoo and Omega Project
* Professional development workshops for Saskatoon Public Schools, U. of S. College of Education and Frontier College on “Using Art to Break Down Barriers”
* Private art classes for clients of the Dept. of Community Resources and Employment
* Summer art classes at three City-run community recreation centres
* Planned and delivered a 5-week community art workshop in Ashworth Holmes Park
* Planned and participated in the Mendel Art Gallery’s Arts Caravan providing youth arts programming at summertime festivals
Cooperative Community Art Projects
* Over 25 major wall murals, including:
o Two native cultural murals at White Buffalo Youth Lodge (80’) and the Saskatoon Tribal Council/Creeway
o Three Cree Style 20’ murals for the Saskatoon Children’s Festival
o Education mural (70’) at City Park Collegiate
o Anti-graffiti murals at Mayfair Lawn Bowling and Boychuk Pump House
o Mayfair Swimming Pool mural (80’)
o Mural and outdoor art gallery at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan
o Mural for the Saskatoon Fringe Festival
o Anti-violence mural at the Saskatoon Community Village
o Murals at the Circle @ Eight Mall, CRU Teen Wellness Center, Westside Community Clinic and Provincial Family Support Centre
* Muralized 30 traffic control boxes on a heritage and jazz theme for Saskatoon’s downtown core
* Muralized 43 large waste receptacles for the City to use at special events such as the Children’s Festival and Saskatoon Air Show
* Over 200 4’x8’ paintings for City of Saskatoon Infrastructure which have also been used as street art at various festivals and events including the Saskatoon Fringe & Jazz Festivals, and the Broadway Street Fair
* 10-day art-in-progress exhibit at the Saskatoon Exhibition
* Art in progress at Safeway, Spadina Freehouse, YWCA and Mayfair Lawn Bowling Club
* Assisted in the development of a Calligraphy exhibition by “Kristina” in Blaine Lake
* Participated in SPASM Public Art Festival organized by AKA Gallery
* Partnership with Common Weal Community Arts to present hip hop workshops
Outreach Art Services: Paintings, Illustrations & Creative Artworks
* Illustrations for Blueprints for Change: Building Partnership-Based Education, Saskatchewan Children’s Advocate Office
* Illustrations for the Saskatoon Street Survival Guide
* Cover illustration and knowledge for the university textbook Marginality & Condemnation: An Introduction to Critical Criminology
* Posters for National Teen Pregnancy Awareness through Saskatoon District Health
* Loan of paintings to Restorative Circles Initiative, The Basement and a provincial judge’s office
* Donation of paintings to numerous non-profit and social service organizations (e.g. Friendship Inn, CRU Teen Wellness Center) to assist with their fundraising
* Muralized table tops for the Spadina Freehouse restaurant
* Creative signage for Saskatoon businesses and non-profits (Saskatoon Farmer’s Market, Westside Community Clinic, Quint Tool Co-op, Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op and Habitat for Humanity)
* Designed & built Anne Frank Secret Annex and held tours & journal workshops in SCYAP gallery as satellite venue and host for the “Anne Frank in the World” tour
Art Exhibits
* Over 25 public youth art exhibitions at public locations including Frances Morrison Gallery, three 4-week shows at the Mendel Art Gallery, two shows at Wanuskewin, Saskatchewan Legislature and two 4-week exhibits at the Circle @ Eight Mall
* “Memories of Jazz” exhibit at the SCYAP Gallery with the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
* SCYAP Gallery host to the Her-I-cane Art Festival
* Exhibit at the Oakwood Village Library and Arts Centre in Toronto in conjunction with First Nations Public Library Week, February 2004
Community-Building Activities
* Hosted a musical event and photographic display on Women’s Perspectives of Poverty as part of Poverty Awareness Week
* Assisted in the development and production of READ Saskatoon’s drop-in literacy program, writing and reading workshops and Word Travels newsletter
* Partners with Kids Not In School to produce a video documentary on why youth drop out of school
* Board or committee member of Saskatoon Tribal Council Youth Detox Centre, Alcohol & Drug Prevention & Education Committees, Sask Communities for Children, CUISR, IICUSP and more.
* Active member of the municipal committee organizing the Anne Frank exhibit
* Presentations on “Strategies for Connecting & Engaging Aboriginal “and “Youth and poverty”
Positive Media Attention
* Over 200 minutes of television coverage through news features and talk shows.
* Over 100 published print features in various publications including MacLean's News Magazine, the Canadian Press news service line of dailies, London Times, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader Post, Eagle Feather News, Saskatoon Sun and many others.