“Over the years I have come to recognize that Voice of Purpose is a leader in the field of community arts education. They consistently demonstrate a dedication to honour and champion youth voices – inspiring and supporting them to channel their stories, experiences and challenges into meaningful and thought provoking artistic expression. Through this groundbreaking work, Voice of Purpose continues to contribute to a vibrant community arts field, making transformative impacts on the participants they work closely with.”

Allyson Adley – Art Gallery of York University

“I’ve been collaborating with Voice of Purpose for over three years now. In each of our collaborations I have learned a mix of theoretical and practical tools to enhance my community arts practise and understanding of program design. Voice of Purpose brings a unique perspective to arts education that is deeply embedded in social justice. The Voice of Purpose curriculum is clear, concise and adaptable to all audiences while remaining authentically true to it’s vision of a holistic model of creative education and training.”

Melissa Foster – Program and Outreach Director, North York Art

“StreetARToronto (StART) has worked closely with Voice of Purpose to consult on street art projects that foster community engagement, inclusion, skills development and civic pride. They provided our team with valuable recommendations to support diversity, equity, and inclusion when working on projects that bring together artists, multiple community members and stakeholders. Our team looks forward to future collaborations with Voice of Purpose.”

StreetARToronto Team
Transportation Services, City of Toronto

“I have worked with Voice of Purpose from the days of its inception. To see the vision come to life has been nothing but inspiring. The projects we did in collaboration gave me nothing but respect for the quality and integrity in their leadership. Grounding the work in principles of social justice, they created spaces that truly modeled equity and inclusion. I saw participants grow in their own expression and grounding, for their own work moving forward.”

Lorna Schwartzentruber, Associate Director Access and Community Engagement, York University, Toronto Canada.

“The best thing about Voice of Purpose’s professional development training for me was integrating my core values into my methodology. Because of VOP’s embodied approach I was able to make connections that I wouldn’t have been able to by just thinking or talking about them. I really appreciated their deep care and concern for how things were sitting, allowing us time and space to just breathe, a gift I don’t normally receive from professional development.”

Barb Danielewski – Artist-Educator

“Voice of Purpose was able to invoke meaningful change in our young participants within a short time. The students I work with had glowing responses such as “I think the workshop really helped me look into myself and do some internal searching,” and “they made us feel that it was ok to be vulnerable to the group, it helped to make us closer.” These learning moments formed the basis of an invaluable dialogue about who the students were and how they could become changemakers.”

Jodi Mason – Education & Outreach Associate, The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall