Preschool Outreach

Arts Umbrella's Pre-school Outreach Programs encourage students to explore their own creativity and build self-confidence as they develop new skills through play, movement song and art making. Focusing on inner-city children, ages 2-6, these free high-quality visual and performing arts workshops stimulate and encourage learning, language acquisition, socialization skills and creativity qualities that will prepare children for elementary school.

RBC Foundation HeadStart Art Start

HeadStart Art Start programs aim to level the playing field for children living in Vancouver's inner-city by providing a stimulating learning experience at Ray-Cam Cooperative Centre, Grandview Terrace Pre-school, Eagles-in-the-Sky Daycare, and Strathcona Pre-school.

West Coast Reduction/Diamond Foundation Art Start
for Britannia Pre-school

The Art Start Outreach Program at Britannia Pre-school serves children in the Grandview-Woodland community, an inner-city neighbourhood of families from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including many aboriginal and new immigrant families.

Theatre Arts Outreach

These programs offer free theatre arts classes, taught by Arts Umbrella Instructors, for children in Vancouver's east side neighbourhoods at the preschool, elementary, intermediate and secondary levels.

Amacon Theatre Arts Outreach at Strathcona

This eight-month program is open to 32 students in grades 4-7. It includes improvisation, mask making, clowning, script development and puppetry. Children are transported to the Strathcona Community Centre for each weekly session and provided with a nutritional snack. A public performance by the students is held each June.

Theatre Arts Outreach at Britannia

This program offers after-school instruction in improvisation, mask making, clowning, script development and puppetry for 20 students in grades 7-9. Children are provided with a nutritional snack each week. A public performance by the students is held each June.

Theatre Arts Outreach at the Phil Bouvier Family Centre

The Phil Bouvier Family Centre will provide comprehensive services to meet the social, educational and health needs of predominantly Aboriginal families and children living in Vancouver's downtown eastside and Strathcona communities.

The new Phil Bouvier Family Centre will offer Parent-and-me creative movement classes for infants, toddlers, and their caregivers.

Theatre Arts Outreach at the Broadway Youth Resource Centre

The BYRC offers a variety of support services for youth city-wide. The weekly drop-in program at the Broadway Youth Resource Centre provides mentorship and encourages self-esteem and healthy living for the participants through games, improvisation, scene work and performance.

Arts Umbrella Provincial Outreach

With the help of the Provincial Outreach program Arts Umbrella can take its programs even further afield, outside the lower mainland. The first three years of this exciting initiative have allowed us to work with communities and deliver free visual, theatre arts and teacher training programs in the school districts of Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, Kelowna, and Kitimat and Terrace,

The goals of the program are to support the education of children in the arts; to develop young artists and arts audiences throughout British Columbia; to connect communities and to develop partnerships with schools; and to connect businesses and government bodies in local communities through sponsorship and leveraged public relations activities.

Variety HeARTreach

This program allows children with unique abilities and challenges to participate in our Granville Island classes after school in visual and applied arts, digital arts and theatre arts. Arts Umbrella provides tuition and transportation for children who may not otherwise be able to participate in these programs throughout the year.