The ArtistsInspire "Creative Care" Podcast
1. Context & Rationale
Within the framework of the ArtistsInspire Grants (AIG) program at ELAN Quebec, frontline teaching artists and educators frequently reported a sharp rise in youth anxiety, trauma, and mental health challenges. While these professionals were highly skilled in their respective artistic disciplines, many felt under-equipped to manage the complex emotional and intersectional realities of the youth they served, particularly within BIPOC, LGBTQ2+, and special needs communities.
The Creative Care podcast was conceptualized and launched by the Project Manager as an accessible, high-impact instructional tool to bridge this gap, translating complex psychosocial frameworks into practical strategies for creative facilitators.
2. Objectives
Provide teaching artists and community workers with flexible guidelines for trauma-informed and culturally sensitive animation.
Shift the focus of youth arts programming from competitive product-oriented outcomes to inclusive, therapeutic process-oriented experiences.
Gather a diverse, multidisciplinary panel of local experts to provide ongoing peer support resources for frontline workers to prevent burnout.
3. Implementation & Methodology
The project was rolled out in an episodic format, designed to address specific layers of youth intervention:
The initiative launched by pairing the AIG project management team with psychosocial worker and mediator Philippe Koffi to lay down foundational principles of emotional intelligence, boundary setting, and adaptive teaching methods.
To address the realities of marginalized youth, the project deliberately brought in experts with lived and professional experience in intersectional spaces. This included creative arts therapist Kat Charles to address collective liberation and safer spaces for queer and BIPOC youth, and wellness advocate Jillian Ritchie to discuss systemic community care and student engagement.
The inclusion of youth CEO Storme Moore highlighted how creative entrepreneurship and adaptive learning environments can foster self-actualisation and manage anxiety for special needs individuals during times of crisis (e.g., post-pandemic adjustments).
The series was produced locally at the Community Development Arts Hub (CDAH) studio, ensuring the project remained embedded within Montreal's community arts ecosystem.
4. Key Pedagogical Insights
Facilitators must maintain self-awareness to successfully co-regulate and adapt to the fluctuating emotional states of adolescents.
For youth to explore their creativity with curiosity and without judgment, environments must be flexible, meeting participants exactly where they are.
Supporting marginalized and vulnerable youth requires building holistic community ecosystems and group peer support, rather than relying solely on clinical, individualized isolation.
5. Impact & Reach
The initiative achieved industry-leading engagement within ELAN Quebec’s network, securing an 85.26% email open rate and a 74.08% click rate upon resource distribution. The podcast effectively decentralized mental health training, allowing hundreds of autonomous teaching artists and regional educators across the province to adopt these shared guidelines at their own pace, ultimately fostering safer, more inclusive environments for thousands of participating youth.