This empowering music program provides a safe and inclusive, women-only space where participants learn to play rock instruments, form bands, manage gear and write songs. Consequently, they build their confidence, creativity, collaboration and communication skills.
Our first successful pilot program took place at Fraser Valley Institution in June 2012, inspired by the positive impacts I of C Director, Laura Barron witnessed as a band coach, working with 8-18 year-old, at Portland's Girls Rock Camp. Consequently, I of C has shared this unifying experience with a diverse range of marginalized women. Since 2013, our program has branched out to serve women at RainCity Housing, Columbia Place Transition Home in New Westminster and at the Carnegie Centre, in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, where we continue to run weekly jam sessions and private instruments lessons. We are proud to have promoted a highly talented and committed musician and former participant, Geetha Subrmanayam, to now lead these sessions.
As a privileged partner of NYC’s Carnegie Hall, Instruments of Change launched our first Lullaby Project in August 2017, with continued funding for 2018/19/20 programming.
In this meaningful collaboration, our team of facilitating artists work with new moms, through Vancouver’s YWCA, to create personal lullabies for their babies, supporting their own mental health, aiding their child's development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child. This groundbreaking program was developed in 2012, and Carnegie Hall now generously shares their methodology with organizations around North America and the UK. Each project culminates in a professionally produced recording, as well as a confidence-building performance where mothers can proudly share their work with their family and friends. We are most grateful to Hipposonic Studios and Tom Lee Music for supporting our recordings and performances, with donated space and staff: LISTEN HERE
Voice to Voice facilitates fertile exchanges between unlikely communities who engage in collabortive creative projects intended to give all participants the opportunity to understand the power and reach of their voice.
In 2014, we facilitated a partnership between the Carnegie Centre’s Thursday Writing Collective and UBC composers and performers, who transformed the Downtown Eastside writers' poetic texts into classical art song. And in 2015, we worked with 120, Grade 4-6 students in 4 diverse Vancouver schools (from the inner city to West Point Grey) who collectively wrote a song about freedom, as they learned about relevant political issues during election season.
This team of professional artists and activists joined forces in 2010 because they realized they share the necessary aspiration, vision and creative skill set to effect social change through their art.
This like-minded group includes Natalie Gan (dance), Maggie Winston (puppetry, theatre), Juliana Bedoya (sculpture, performance installation), Laura Barron (flutist, writer) and Flick Harrison (media arts). Their interdisciplinary community art projects have reached at-risk youth, seniors, and immigrants. Projects have included artistic mapping initiatives with the Sunset and Renfrew neighborhoods; a visual art and text installation, Alphabet Stories, for the SouthHill Library; and Reflective Voices, a music, dance, and poetry performance with Richmond students, that celebrates diversity. In June 2011, they were selected for a two-year Incubator Residency, serving the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre, as well as the Sunset Community Centre & Ice Rink. ...(read more)
Instruments of Change launched this youth marimba band program for boys and girls, at Burnaby Youth Correctional Services, in July 2015. Stick Together provides a fun and accessible way to make music that allows youth the chance to build self-esteem while developing patience and good learning habits.
Stick Together was inspired by Executive Director, Laura Barron’s BC Arts Council-funded professional development trip to South Africa, during spring 2014. She co-facilitated the BYCS program with master percussionists, Robin Layne and Chris Couto. Initial instruments for this program were generously provided by the Brittannia Community Centre. Then, in 2016, Instruments of Change secured funding to offer the youth at BYCS the opportunity to build their own fleet of 3 marimbas at their facility’s accredited high school. Since then, we've expanded our program to reach underserved youth at Henderson Elementary, under the direction of Sangito Bigelow.
Street Beats is an initiative that brings community together to play music on found object percussion instruments. In 2017, VIVA Vancouver supported us to build a temporary interactive music Street Beats wall, which was installed at Balsam & 6th Ave, and enjoyed by thousands of children and families. This installation grew out our city-wide Street Beats Band workshops, which we led from 2015-17, at the Sunset, Trout Lake, and Roundhouse Community Centres, as well as the UBC Learning Exchange. To make these workshops possible, Instruments of Change built strong relationships with the Binners Project community, who we eventually hired to collect and curate the “ instruments" for our band. Through improvisatory activities, these workshops eventually seeded the musical content for a 20-minute commissioned classical contemporary work that James Maxwell composed as a collaboration between our Band and Music on Main's professional All-Star Band. Ultimately, this large-scale 20-minute composition had its extremely successful premiere in front of hundreds of global attendees at the International Society for Contemporary Music conference, hosted at the Roundhouse in November 2017.