The AMY Project: Artists Mentoring Youth

About AMY

The AMY Project is a free, barrier-free performing arts training program 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; and more. With the mentorship of professional artists, AMY participants learn to tell their stories with honesty, integrity, and artistic rigour. The AMY Project is the winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation's 2017 Arts for Youth Award.

AMY is an incorporated, not-for-profit charitable organization

What AMY does

Spring Theatre Creation Program

A 15-week performance creation program offered to young women and non-binary young people. Each participant is paired with a professional mentor who specializes in an artistic discipline. The group works together to create a performance that receives public workshop readings at Canadian Stage. The group also shares a weekly meal, and takes part in other group activities.

Summer Theatre Performance Program

A 3-week summer intensive offered to graduates of the Spring program. Working with the draft of the Spring performance, the summer session focuses on honing performance skills, exploring staging, and developing a production design. The program culminates in a full series of performances at the SummerWorks Performance Festival.

Film Program

The Film Training Program teaches participants the basics of on-camera acting, creation for film, and film literacy. Once these basics have been established, participants adapt their own writing into on-camera scenes, using the camera as a tool to aid them in discovering and developing the emotional truth and subtlety of their own writing.

Performance Poetry Program

A 6-workshop program for young trans women and trans femmes aged 16-29. Under the mentorship of accomplished artists, participants learn to tell stories from their lives & imaginations through poetry, and develop their writing and performance skills in a group setting. The program culminates in a public workshop performance.

AMY Alumni Program

Created, developed, and managed by AMY Alumni, the Graduate Program offers advanced mentorships, professional skill-building workshops, social outings, and leadership opportunities.

JRG Grant for Artists with Disabilities

In partnership with the JRG Society for the Arts, The AMY Project presents the 2018 JRG Grant for Artists with Disabilities. This grant aims to sponsor artists with disabilities in preparing and presenting artwork, across a variety of disciplines. The motivation for the award is the life of Justin R Grant, a Halifax filmmaker who died of ALS too early in his life. The maximum value of grant to be awarded for 2018 is $4000, which will be distributed to one successful applicant.

The Artists Mentoring Youth Project Inc. (The AMY Project)

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