Community Writing and Community Arts

Community writing, arts and theatre happen when ordinary people who may not think of themselves as authors or performers meet in groups to share their creativity; to listen, respect, respond and revise, and to sometimes self-publish their work. It happens in libraries, community centres, church basements, housing projects - and is usually unconnected to credentials or other formal rewards. It happens because people have something to say, and because recording their ideas validates their lives or allows them to come to terms with personal demons. 

Writers in the Community, a collaboration between The Centre for Literacy and the Quebec Writers’ Federation, brings the literary arts to young people who are left out of the artistic mainstream. Partners in the program have included Jeunesse 2000, Head & Hands, Mountainview High School, Batshaw Youth and Family Services. Leave Out ViolencE, Tyndale St-Georges Community Centre, the Jewish General Hospital, and VOYCE (Voices of Youth in Care).

In 1999 The Centre for Literacy began hosting an annual Grassroots Community Writing workshop as part of Montreal's Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival. The event evolved to include other community arts, such as theatre, photography, film and painting. The aim has remained consistent: to give a public voice to those who create at the margins of our society - in community- based groups, literacy programs and support services - based on the belief that the arts can be therapeutic and can help build community. To learn more about the event, or to view participants' works, click on one of the links below.

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