For over 20 years, the En’owkin Centre in Penticton has supported the education and development of Indigenous artists across Canada, and with recently announced funding, it will continue to do so for the next three.
Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, presented the Jan. 15 announcement at the En’owkin Centre on Sn’pnktn (Penticton) Indian Band on the behalf of Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller.
The $960,000 in funding from the federal government will allow the En’owkin Centre’s National Indigenous Professional Artist Training Program to focus on supporting artists for the next three years without having to worry about yearly grant applications.
The program was piloted at the centre in 2002, and since it started, it has seen more than 500 students come through, with many going on to make lasting legacies in Canadian arts and culture.
At the time the program started, there wasn’t any other like it for Indigenous culture, while there were similar but general programs at the National Gallery or National Ballet.
“Every group, every culture, every Indigenous group in Canada deserves to have their art supported, to have their arts as a part of our national identity,” said Dr. Jeanette Armstrong, one of the program’s founders and board director at the centre. “This kind of work helps Indigenous communities flourish and move out of some of the trauma. We know how much we need that. The arts are the foundation of recovery. Language, the culture, all of our designs, our songs are all a part of that.”
The scholarship part of the program accepts up to 20 students each year, but it also accepts further students who do not need support but want to improve their skills.
Its alumni have included the likes of Kym Gouchie, Tia Wood, James Wedzin, Steve Basil, Dallas Arcand and many more who have found success in Canada.
“These accomplishments are remarkable and they show exactly what this program delivers: artists and cultural leaders whose work tells stories that connect us, move us and challenge us to see the world with more clarity and more humility,” Fuhr said.
The two-year program provides First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists with interdisciplinary training and mentorship in traditional and contemporary art forms, including storytelling, visual arts, music and performance, to advance their careers and revitalize traditional Indigenous arts.
The program’s scholarships support artists by providing funding to allow them to focus on their craft, whether it is through the narrative stream of storytellers and musicians or the visual arts stream, learning from mentors and building their skills.
The En’owkin Centre has partnerships with multiple universities, colleges and art schools that allow students to take their developed cultural identities and viewpoints and then build on them and further their education elsewhere.
In February, the current group of artists in the program will take part in the program’s annual exhibition of their work. The exact dates have not been finalized, but more information about the En’owkin Centre can be found online at enowkincentre.ca.
The funding for the program is part of the Canada Arts Training Fund.