Ongoing and Recurring Programs
Open Art Circle
ONGOING | Thursdays, 3-7pm
Drop into Art Not Shame with your own art project or use our free materials!
All ages are welcome, those 12 and under must have a guardian present.
Songbird: An Unconventional Choir
Runs every Fall | Wednesdays, 7-9pm
Join local musician, song-writer, and producer, Joni NehRita for a 4-week community choir.
Community members (16+) are invited to participate in the art of choral singing, regardless of past choral experience, musical skill or ability.
Art For Social Change
Runs every Spring/Summer
Generously supported by OPIRG Guelph, the Art for Social Change workshop series explores art-making as a tool for activism. Led by artists, activists, and facilitators, this series explores the power of art to create inner and outer change.
Global Community Drum Circle
Runs intermittently
In partnership with facilitator Kreisha Oro of Pangaia Productions, the Global Community Drum Circle serves a free and vital space for confidence-building, community, and connection. Attendees of all ages and abilities are gently guided through hand drumming rhythms and chants.
Rest and Resilience
Runs every Spring/Summer
Led by internal and external facilitators, Rest and Resilience is a space for Black, Indigenous, and racialized youth and adults (16+) to explore rest and resilience through gentle arts-based practices in a powerful environment of intersectional solidarity, celebration, and support.
Songs and Stories
Performances run intermittently
The combined power of storytelling and music-making is explored by local artists in Songs and Stories. This series of free performances at Art Not Shame is run intermittently, offering a platform to musicians with diverse perspectives and passion for telling their stories through song.
Queer Print Project
On Pause
The Queer Print Club is a community-engaged arts project, designed and led by Anna Gaby-Trotz and Jude Akrey for 2SLGBTQIA+ artists and community members in the City of Guelph that aims to connect queer community members through the act of collaborative art and printmaking projects.
Creative Facilitation Training
Runs intermittently
Providing individuals with accessible training, international facilitation trainer Nadia Chaney (MEd) equips participants with the experience necessary to apply arts-based facilitation methodologies to their own facilitating contexts.
F*ck Perfect
Runs intermittently
During free F*ck Perfect workshops, we will look at all the tricky ways perfectionism shows up in our lives, society and culture, and take inspired and creative risks together through art-making, discussion, and self-reflection. Together, we explore different art mediums with an incredible team of artists, meet new friends, and create together!
More Art, Less Shame.
Our programming model is at the intersection of arts, community, well-being and social justice. Our community-facing programming is offered free-of-charge or pay-what-you-can (PWYC), and focuses on the bravery and healing of creative process, rather than the outcome of a final product. We collaborate with like-minded service agencies/organizations, ensuring participants have access to mental health supports. Access is prioritized for BIPOC, LGBTQ2I+ individuals, people struggling with mental health and/or addictions, and/or people with visible and invisible disabilities.
Our free multi-arts workshop series explore issues of local relevance and build capacities for community care and healing through creative arts practice. Risk, experimentation, and skill-building foster voice, connection, and inclusion for both individual and community benefit. Our current core programs include: F*ck Perfect, Rest and Resilience, and Connection Through Expression.