Community Partnerships

Kitigan Zibi Art & Culture Camp 2024

From July 16 to 25, twenty children and youth participated in a series of enriching art and culture workshops at the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe Cultural Centre. The first week featured Indigenous art and culture workshops led by the Brascoupe family and talented local artists Tammy Pizendewatch Twashi, Mariah Miigwans, and Nodz Wawatie. Participants had the unique opportunity to learn traditional practices like birchbark biting, birchbark basket making, hide tanning, hoop dancing, and grass dancing. This year, the camp also introduced a traditional language component led by Ryder Cote, a passionate young community member fluent in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Algonquin Nation.

The second week introduced participants to the vibrant world of Hip-Hop, guided by three MASC artists, who invited the participants to discover correlations between traditional culture and the four pillars of Hip-Hop. JustJamaal ThePoet set the tone, opening the week with his captivating presentation on the History of Hip-Hop. The creative journey continued with Tyler Proulx's workshops on street art techniques, including spray paint, stencils, stickers, and button pin designs. And if that wasn’t enough, the campers got their groove on with electrifying street dance workshops led by Mr. Fresh from Bboyizm Dance Company.

We extend our gratitude to the City of Ottawa Rural Initiative fund and to our partners, the Brascoupe Family, the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe Cultural Centre, and the Maniwaki Native Friendship Centre. Together, we’ve created a vibrant tapestry of art and culture that will inspire these young minds for years to come!

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the City of Ottawa (Rural Initiative) and the Ottawa Community Foundation.

From July 16 to 25, twenty children and youth participated in a series of enriching art and culture workshops at the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe Cultural Centre. The first week featured Indigenous art and culture workshops led by the Brascoupe family and talented local artists Tammy Pizendewatch Twashi, Mariah Miigwans, and Nodz Wawatie. Participants had the unique opportunity to learn traditional practices like birchbark biting, birchbark basket making, hide tanning, hoop dancing, and grass dancing. This year, the camp also introduced a traditional language component led by Ryder Cote, a passionate young community member fluent in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Algonquin Nation.

The second week introduced participants to the vibrant world of Hip-Hop, guided by three MASC artists, who invited the participants to discover correlations between traditional culture and the four pillars of Hip-Hop. JustJamaal ThePoet set the tone, opening the week with his captivating presentation on the History of Hip-Hop. The creative journey continued with Tyler Proulx's workshops on street art techniques, including spray paint, stencils, stickers, and button pin designs. And if that wasn’t enough, the campers got their groove on with electrifying street dance workshops led by Mr. Fresh from Bboyizm Dance Company.

We extend our gratitude to the City of Ottawa Rural Initiative fund and to our partners, the Brascoupe Family, the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe Cultural Centre, and the Maniwaki Native Friendship Centre. Together, we’ve created a vibrant tapestry of art and culture that will inspire these young minds for years to come!

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the City of Ottawa (Rural Initiative) and the Ottawa Community Foundation.

Awesome Arts is a community engaged program that allows participants of all ages to explore issues important to their community through the arts. Held in partnership with community organizations, Awesome Arts offers an exciting series of workshops in all artistic disciplines that culminate in a public celebration. The Awesome Arts Festival brings the community together for an evening of celebration during which the participants share their creations. The Festival also features professional artists, inspiring the entire community to remain connected with the arts and the issues.

In November 2017, the MASC Awesome Arts program was awarded the International Spotlight Award presented by the American National Arts and Humanities Youth program, the United States' highest honour for after-school arts and humanities programs that reach underserved youth.

Awesome Arts has been run in a number of communities around Ottawa with a variety of partners. Awesome Arts has provided 814 individual workshops to 1942 children, youth and seniors. Awesome Arts Festivals have featured performances from over 1600 children, youth and seniors and 80 local professional artists to over 7519 Ottawa residents.

MASC has been offering programming in the rural region of Ottawa for more than a decade. We are proud to bring engaging, professional, diverse arts experiences to the beautiful rural areas of our region.

We are proud to have partnered with many community organizations such as library branches, seniors venues, museums, community resource centres and more! We have organized hundreds of workshops and performances, created murals and brought additional colour and life to a vibrant part of the Ottawa community.

Contact jessicaruano@masconline.ca to discuss your rural art project today!

MASC has had great success engaging participants of different age groups, bridging differences and finding commonalities through arts. Participants have co-created murals, poetry, videos and more! Come explore the possibilities of intergenerational programming with a MASC artist today!

Creating a mural in a community is an incredibly engaging activity. Participants of all ages can be involved. Issued can be explored creatively and explored in positive ways. The final art piece beautifies a space, bringing a new view to a neighbourhood from neighbours to people passing through. Connect your community and beautify your community with a MASC mural.