By:  Jinny Wong

Next month you’ll have more than good music as an excuse to rock out!  Steam Whistle Brewing is producing an ongoing concert series to raise money for AHCF. 

Unsigned exhibits Canada’s musical talent while helping to develop its future.  Each edition of Unsigned features three Canadian artists and a DJ.  100% of the ticket sales from each show will be going to the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation.

Ever wonder how many times a week the dancer leaping from one side of the stage to the other needs to visit a physiotherapist?  Or what sort of conditioning the guitarist in the indie alt-rock band needs?

Most of the time, independent artists just don’t receive the treatment they need due to a lack of resources and money.

That’s why the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation was created.  The impetus for the project was a unanimous frustration with the cost and lack of appropriate health care for artists.

The AHCF helped create and continues to work in support of the Al and Malka Green Artists’ Health Centre at Toronto Western Hospital and their research initiatives.

A 1995 survey conducted in Toronto, London, The Hague, and New York (other known artists’ clinics) confirmed the need for an integration of complementary and conventional medical health services, as well as research in the field of artists’ health care, and subsidies for alternative therapies.

AHCF is involved in outreach, education and prevention services for over 20,000 professional artists who live in the Toronto area.  Their mission is to raise the standard of health care, educational resources, and quality of life.  They are dedicated to presenting ongoing workshops and seminars, and raising funds through the Jovanne Sidimus Subsidy Fund to subsidize health care for artists in need.

The concert will be held at The Roundhouse on Friday, September 10^th.  Don’t miss out!

Check out a video from Unsigned 2009.

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POV provides youth with three different programs to get involved in the biz; the Filmmaking Program, the Internship Program, and the Alumni Working Group. The Internship program provides students who have completed the Filmmaking Program with a 4 month PAID internship and the Alumni Workshop provides a youth-mentoring-youth experience for POV students who want to work on their own film projects.

In addition to learning business and technical skills, students also learn invaluable social skills: the teamwork required to be part of a crew, the importance of clear communication and reliability.

And POV has a brand new project in the works! Alongside Schools Without Borders and Manifesto Community Projects, this year’s students are creating a documentary on Manifesto’s live (and free!) hip-hop concert happening this September! Not only will this project support and help promote the POV’s program itself but it hopes to inspire youth culture and showcase urban living.

The heart of the film will celebrate the power of youth culture and the endless potential young people have when they collaborate. The doc will mix behind-the-scenes footage of Manifesto’s incredible undertaking of the festival, with footage of the festival itself – including its national breakdance competition, massive art exhibition, and free outdoor concert. The energy and the creativity of the arts events will be used to underscore these characteristics in the individuals who put this festival together and the youth movement at large.

But of course – doing all these amazing things could never be FREE – so the POV organization has enter into the Pepsi Refresh Project, in hopes of receiving a grant of $100,000 to help fund the project. They are currently in 24th place SO VOTE NOW and support the youth filmmaking movement!

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