Free arts-based programming for government-assisted young refugees + newcomers
[Nu]Links was a series of free creative classes designed specifically for newcomers and refugees in the Hamilton area. It provided arts-based programming with workshops, courses, events, and local tours for participants to help them build community connections and engage creatively in their new hometown.
These clsases were about more than just learning a new skill – they were about building relationships, fostering self-expression, and cultivating a sense of community belonging through the arts.
[Nu]Links proudly delivered four full weeks of arts programming to newcomer refugee children and youth over the summer, as well as dozens of after-school and PA Day workshops throughout the school year.
The youth’s artistic experiences included printmaking, screen printing, tie-dying, sculpture, media arts, acting, dancing, painting and drawing. The ‘fananeen’ (artists, in Arabic) used art as a vehicle to communicate, connect, and express themselves in relation to their new hometown. They also gained a new appreciation and familiarity with Hamilton, as well as developing meaningful relationships with the art educators who were so incredibly dedicated to this program and its participants.
[Nu]Link‘s programming successfully helped newcomers to the city to build meaningful and inclusive connections through the experience of engaging in the arts with their new communities.
[Nu]Links was developed with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Hamilton Community Foundation, and in collaboration with Wesley Urban Ministries’ Resettlement Assistance Program.
