Halifax Pop Explosion announces new partnership to support Nova Scotian youth campaign for justice and peace

May 16, 2017

Halifax, NS – From May 16 to June 15, $10 from every Halifax Pop Explosion 2017 wristband sale will be donated to support JAYA through the initiative’s partnership with the Michaëlle Jean Foundation (FMJF). The amount raised by HPX will then be matched by the Department of Canadian Heritage, thus doubling the total donation to $20 from every sale, thanks to the Foundation’s matching funds agreement with the federal government. The Foundation issues charitable receipts for all additional donations of $10 or more.

“Investing in youth remains an important priority for our festival,” says James Boyle, Executive Director of the Halifax Pop Explosion. “We believe the work JAYA is doing in our community is not only crucial to developing a generation of active and engaged citizens through the arts, but also to ensuring that important and necessary conversations are happening in our city and province with young people in mind.”

The Justice, Art & Youth in Action Initiative is a collaborative project supported by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS), and Youth Art Connection (YAC), in collaboration with dozens of community and grassroots organizations across the province. With the active involvement of provincial cabinet ministers, the Mayor of Halifax, the CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and more, the project strives to empower the diverse youth of Nova Scotia and their organizations to use the power of the arts to implement effective strategies to build safer, more inclusive, and thriving communities for all residents, irrespective of race, sexual orientation, gender, physical or mental ability, or class.

JAYA specifically supports youth around justice issues including Indigenous rights and reconciliation, reducing reducing gun violence and incarceration levels particularly affecting Black Nova Scotian youth, reducing the incidence of intimate partner violence and sexualized violence and reducing the incidence of violence against LGBTQIAP+ & Two-Spirited youth.

Since 2013, the FMJF, the AGNS, and YAC have worked with members of Halifax’s arts, government, business, law, health, academic and other sectors to empower diverse Nova Scotia youth, particularly from Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIAP+ & Two Spirited, and other backgrounds who face barriers in their lives, to use their creativity to transform quality of life at the local and provincial levels.

Halifax Pop Explosion 2017 wristbands are on sale now for $99 + tax & fees. They are now available for purchase HERE.

For more information about Halifax Pop Explosion, visit: http://www.halifaxpopexplosion.com.

For more information about the Justice, Art & Youth in Action Initiative visit: http://youthartconnection.ca/justice.

For more information about the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, visit: http://www.fmjf.ca.

For more information about the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, visit: http://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca

For more information about Youth Art Connection, visit: http://www.youthartconnection.ca

NT5