Priorities
Ease precarity and boost prosperity while protecting the environment.
Our priorities are to address personal and planetary challenges across all aspects of life with, by, and for caring and justice-deserving communities. We aim to boost prosperity and protect the environment by harnessing arts and culture to drive social change and build meaningful community care across diverse human and natural ecosystems, including:
Activate service
Activate access to essential services with careseekers by ensuring their security and safety through the co-creation of accessible resources and affordable fee-for-services. This will result in strengthened creativity and economic stability.
As service providers with lived experience as careseekers or individuals in need, we aim to improve access to essential services for creatives struggling to meet basic needs in an increasingly uncertain world. This includes supporting low-income families, gig workers, and small to mid-sized entities in the artistic, creative, and cultural sectors. Our efforts are designed to address immediate challenges while fostering long-term growth and resilience.
In the short term, we will co-create affordable, accessible services to ensure survival, security, and safety without contributing additional financial strain. Planned initiatives include the development of open-source digital tools for financial management and education, which will be cooperatively managed and made accessible with subsidies for those in need. We will also create mapping and matchmaking tools to connect creatives to social services and other resources they require to stabilize their lives and careers, including access to food, water, healthcare, shelter, education, access to information, and access to peers in arts and culture. These tools will provide a foundation for careseekers to grow from and prepare for future needs.
In the long term, we will focus on equipping careseekers with the skills, resources, and knowledge they need to thrive. We will offer affordable workshops, training programs, mentorship, and internship opportunities designed to enhance mental health, creativity, and financial independence. Additionally, we will produce free learning toolkits within the Creative Commons to promote environmental resilience and readiness for future crises.
Ultimately, our goal is to empower creative careseekers to learn the skills and access the resources they need to become self-sufficient, generate new sources of income, and build resilience in the face of crises and ongoing challenges. This transformation will enable them to transition from seeking and receiving care to giving and supporting care in their communities, ensuring lasting economic and environmental stability.
Grow support
Grow the versatility of community support with caretakers by safeguarding the sustainability of vital free resources, volunteer networks, and more. This will result in improved collective empowerment and engagement.
As caretakers or guardians of care, we aim to expand the reach and impact of community support that is accessible to everyone in arts and culture across Canada and beyond. This includes safeguarding key resources such as free or in-kind goods, services, and volunteer networks that empower collective engagement with equity- and justice-deserving groups.
In the short term, we will nurture creative practices, strengthen cultural ecosystems, and establish open platforms where careseekers and caregivers can connect and collaborate. Priorities include improving access to peer support, sustaining equitable associations, and ensuring the lasting benefits of creative care for future generations.
In the long term, we will enhance access to volunteer-driven resources and address challenges of abundance and scarcity in arts and culture. We will leverage technology to streamline processes, broaden access to care, and develop mutual aid networks for gig workers and small enterprises. Additionally, we will empower communities to create and share free educational materials in the Creative Commons, expanding access to valuable knowledge.
Overall, our goal is to build resilient, equitable support systems that boost innovation, strengthen community connections, and ensure prosperity while protecting the environment.
Invigorate care
Invigorate the social purpose and benefits of care with caregivers by sustaining their contributions and providing enhanced professional development. This will result in deepened life worth and meaning.
As caregivers or nurturers of care, we aim to rejuvenate the importance and benefits of caregiving in arts and culture. This includes placing the social value of care at the forefront of all our efforts with, by, and for justice-deserving communities.
In the short term, we will support caregivers through professional development and capacity-building initiatives including paid fellowships, residencies, and mentorships. By cultivating accessible spaces for caregivers to exchange ideas and practices, we will build supportive networks that celebrate diverse approaches to caregiving. These efforts will promote wellbeing and inclusivity, helping caregivers feel valued and connected.
In the long term, we will embed caregiving as a pillar of cultural development by designing systems that sustain and expand caregiving contributions. This includes access to funding, community awards, and educational initiatives that preserve caregiving traditions while promoting innovation. Collaborations with policymakers and community leaders will help ensure caregiving is recognized as a vital societal asset.
Ultimately, our goal is to empower creative caregivers with resources, recognition, and opportunities, enriching the purpose of care, promoting equity, and cultivating communities where life holds deeper meaning while advancing social and environmental sustainability.
Hearten change
Hearten the potential for social change with caremakers by challenging injustice, inspiring empathy, and mobilizing collective action. This will result in increased prosperity and care in both human and natural life.
As caremakers or builders of care, we aim to cultivate and grow the potential of arts and culture to drive meaningful social change, centering care as a guiding principle with justice-deserving groups. By empowering creatives to become leaders in the realms of care, we seek to challenge injustice, inspire empathy, and unite communities in collective action.
In the short term, we will equip caremakers with resources, training, and opportunities to address societal issues. This includes cultivating solidarity, amplifying underrepresented voices, and creating inclusive solutions to tackle inequities. Collaborations with community leaders will ensure initiatives are impactful and equitable.
In the long term, we will strengthen solidarity and allyship between care-centered social movements within and beyond arts and culture. Artists and other creatives will be empowered to guide transformative remedies and therapies for a wide array of personal to planetary crises. They will be recognized as positive deviants who provide unconventional and impactful solutions. Their insights will inspire innovation, strengthen resilience, and promote meaningful change in communities and ecosystems.
Overall, our goal is to empower creative caremakers to drive social change, build prosperity, and nurture a culture of care that enhances the vitality of human and natural life.
Illuminate justice
Illuminate wise passages to systemic justice with careshapers by shaping policies and practices for fairness, diversity, and sustainability. This will result in expanded justice and innovation.
As careshapers or innovators of care, we aim to use the wisdom and creativity of arts and culture as powerful tools to promote justice and innovation with justice-deserving groups. By collaborating with creative leaders and advocates, we seek to reshape policies and practices to advance fairness, diversity, and sustainability.
In the short term, we will focus on dismantling inequitable structures and nurturing creative pathways to positive change. This includes amplifying marginalized voices, learning from past injustices, and prioritizing sustainability across urban, virtual, and environmental spaces. Our efforts will enhance access to opportunities and cultivate solidarity, creativity, and prosperity in diverse communities.
In the long term, we will establish a flexible and sustainable framework to support a growing constituency of careshapers across Canada and beyond. This will involve transitioning from a traditional not-for-profit model to a network of affiliated entities, including charitable organizations, social enterprises, and cooperatives. These structures will allow us to diversify funding, expand justice-driven initiatives, and sustain long-term impact.
Overall, our goal is to empower careshapers to transform systems, promote equity, and expand access to justice and opportunity, resulting in meaningful innovation and progress across human and natural ecosystems.