Art-Based Community Development (ABCD) Programs


What is Art-Based Community Development?

Art-Based Community Development (ABCD) is a collaborative approach that brings together artists and communities to co-create artistic experiences. These programs focus on healing, empowerment, and connection, using art as a tool to foster community engagement and social change. By centering the voices and experiences of participants, ABCD initiatives create inclusive spaces where creativity and community intersect. 

Support Art-Based Community Work

The 2025-26 season marked the second iteration of our Art-Based Community Development (ABCD) program funded by the BC Arts Council. We believe these spaces are essential, but to keep them running, we need our community to stand behind them.

If you believe in the power of art to change lives, please consider becoming a donor today. Your contribution helps us plan for future initiatives with confidence and heart.

Donate and support more ABCD projects

New Works 2025-26 ABCD 

In the 2025-26 season, New Works partnered with Watari Counselling and Rainbow Refugee to deliver two distinct ABCD programs:

  • Rainbow Refugee: This initiative engaged LGBTQ+ refugee claimants in an 8-session creative process, leading to a collective performance at their annual event in honour of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).

  • Watari Counselling: Focused on refugee and immigrant women, this program offered a series of trauma-informed workshops and help them get tools for embodiment, and unraveling creativity and storytelling.

Both programs emphasized movement, storytelling, and artistic expression as pathways to resilience and community building.

About Our Community Partners

 


Rainbow Refugee
Rainbow Refugee supports individuals seeking refugee protection in Canada due to persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or HIV status. Their work fosters safe, supportive communities for LGBTQ+ newcomers.

Watari Counselling & Support Services Society
Snce 1986, Watari supports diverse communities, initially focusing on high-risk youth in Vancouver. It has expanded its mission to offer programs and services to various individuals and groups in downtown Eastside and surrounding areas. At the heart of Watari’s mission is the belief that diversity is integral to a caring community. 

Why Art supports social services organizations and communities?

Integrating art into social services offers transformative opportunities for healing and empowerment. ABCD programs provide participants with tools to express their stories, build resilience, and foster community connections. By collaborating with organizations like Watari and Rainbow Refugee, New Works leverages the power of art to support social change and individual well-being through community experiences. 

  • Participant, Community Artist
    I learned how it’s possible to create dance flow both creatively and inclusively

    Participant, Community Artist

    Rainbow Refugee
  • Participant, Community Artist
    I was able to meet a group of peer moms who have stories similar to mine, and this makes me feel part of a community of support.

    Participant, Community Artist

    Watari Counselling
  • Participant, Community Artist
    Learning about the movement of MMIWG2S+ with Butterflies in Spirit made me feel a sense of solidarity not only for the Latin American community but also with the natives of these lands.

    Participant, Community Artist

    Watari Counselling
  • Participant, Community Artist
    I felt like a true artist. It was a space to channel my emotions through movement and I discovered that a movement can express more than a word.

    Participant, Community Artist

    Watari Counselling
  • Participant, Community Artist
    Your workshop and guidance have uplifted me during very tough times as a refugee claimant.

    Participant, Community Artist

    Rainbow Refugee

Meet the Facilitators

Our co-facilitators are experienced interdisciplinary artists dedicated to professional and community-engaged practices. Their work bridges movement, storytelling, and collective creation, with a focus on fostering inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally grounded spaces. With backgrounds in dance, somatics, and socially engaged art, they bring a deep commitment to collaboration, care, and empowering participants through creative expression.

Rianne Švelnis

About the facilitator
Rianne Svelnis is a settler of European descent, a queer dance artist, teacher and community facilitator based on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ territories (Vancouver). Rianne facilitates inclusive, free dance classes at Carnegie Community Centre as part of the All Bodies Dance Project, and is workshop leader for the Carnegie Dance Troupe (Karen Jamieson Dance). Rianne co-facilitates Movement Classes for Support Workers alongside Alexa Mardon, and is also an associate producer with the Coast Salish-centred performing arts presenter, Holy Crow Arts Society. As a dancer, Rianne is so grateful to have performed in works by or co-created with so many beautiful artists, including Areli Moran + Kelly McInnes, Olivia Davies, Ziyian Kwan, Zahra Shahab, Justine Chambers, Lee Su-Feh, Daisy Thompson, and romham gallacher, amongst others.

Judith Colibri

About the facilitator
A multidisciplinary artist and activist from Mexico, Judith combines socially engaged art, movement, and healing practices. Since 2021, she has been a dancer and choreographer with Butterflies in Spirit, an activist dance group raising awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people in Canada. Her lived experience as a refugee informs her commitment to creating empowering spaces for others.

Shahir Krishna

About the facilitator
Shahir Krishna is a multimedia performance artist, holistic educator, trauma-informed yoga teacher, somatic counselor, and integral facilitator. His current life's work is to support all beings to restore a loving connection with themselves, communities, and earth through community-based arts education. He holds both a master’s degree in Contemplative Education and a certificate in Community Capacity Building from SFU, as well as a bachelor’s in Film and Cultural Studies from McGill. His creative practice weaves insights from Buddhism, animism and developmental psychology with the performance modalities of clowning, contemporary dance and theatre performance to offer queer encounters with the uncanny and the sacred inside each of us. He was born in Malawi, with ancestry hailing from Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat, India. Shahir was Indian Summer Festival’s Community Artist in Residence for 2025.

Marco Esccer

About the facilitator
A queer Mexican dance artist, writer, and Dance Movement Therapist, Marco brings a rich blend of technical and therapeutic insight to his work. His practice explores the intersections of motion, emotion, and cognition, creating spaces for awareness and connection through art and movement. // Photo by Julian Pintor

Past Programs

ABCD Programs 2024-25
Rainbow Refugee: This initiative engaged LGBTQ+ refugee claimants in an 8-session creative process, leading to a collective performance at their annual event in honour of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). Watari Counselling: Focused on refugee and immigrant women, this program offered a series of trauma-informed workshops culminating in a final presentation during Mental Health Week in May.
Learn More about ABCD Programs 2024-25

DONATE - Support Our Work

Programs like ABCD are made possible through the generous support of the BC Arts Council and individuals like you. Your contributions help us continue to create inclusive, healing spaces where art and community thrive. Consider donating to support future initiatives.

Donate and support more ABCD projects

Photography credits by Rainbow Refugee, K Ho