Radical Mentorship and More: Community Arts as a Pathway to Equity

In what ways is the evolving sector of community arts facilitating equity in the greater arts sector and in society at large, and in what ways is it simply reproducing existing systems of power? This article reflects on the growing institutionalization and professionalization of community-engaged arts and asks how we can (or if it is even possible to) manifest the radical social, environmental, and economic justice that the world needs through the state-regulated channels of funded non-profits, registered charities, and educational institutions. I draw on my background as a community-arts facilitator and arts equity activist to identify the ways in which Western colonial values are minimizing the potential transformative power of community arts and discuss practices and value systems we use at The Artists Mentoring Youth Project to centre equity in our community arts work.