Ptarmigan Music Society provides accessible educational arts programs that nurture creativity, connection and healing for all members of our island communities. It has been offering these programs for 20 years under the direction of Pender Island’s own Patrick Smith. MOSIAC is one of these offerings.
Island MOSIAC
MOSIAC is an intergenerational, educational arts project for the children of Pender, Mayne, Saturna and Galiano Islands. Mentored by the artists and the community elders in these communities, MOSIAC provides the children with a greater sense of their local history, cultural heritage & identity as Gulf Islanders & British Columbians. The intent with the program is twofold: to alleviate the isolation and alienation that can occur with children from these small, rural communities, as well as to encourage the children to develop friendships with each other through collaboration on artistic projects while still in elementary school.
In this way, the Gulf Islands School District and Ptarmigan Music Society believe the students will establish a better sense of self-esteem and belonging through identification with their historical roots, which in turn will help their experience while attending high school on Salt Spring Island a more positve one.
For more information on this and Ptarmigan Music Society visit their site www.ptarmigansociety.org
Hi Everybody:
This continues to be fabulous and is making a tremendous difference to Ptarmigan.
As I told Penny when I saw her, we just received news from the BC Arts Council that they are giving us a major administrative grant so we can employ Lisa Fleming as our part time general manager for a year. This will free me of the large load of administrative duties I’ve carried and it has the potential to change the whole landscape for Ptarmigan and for me. This combined with the help you’re giving us, could well put this little outfit over the top.
I’m on my way to Vancouver this week for meetings to get our new version of the Strength Within program for young cancer survivors up and running. This initiative that you folks have made, assists in making this happen.
Thanks so much, Pat
Patrick Smith, Artistic Director
Ptarmigan Music & Theatre Society
