Community Care

Massy Arts Society is an extension of Patricia Massy’s vision to create a space surrounded by stories, art and opportunities for healing, which Massy Books was catalytic in establishing. As a community-hub dedicated to the practices of Indigenous and over-excluded artists, Massy Arts is informed by its its positionality on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and the downtown eastside, which is home to immigrant, urban Indigenous and vulnerable residents facing multiple systems of oppression.

Our hope is to provide a welcoming, supportive, and safe community that professionally engages with artists and guests who attend our exhibits, workshops and events. In doing so, we invite artists and guests to be in a reciprocal relationship with our community hub including our staff. Pulling wisdom from M̓i tel’nexw Leadership, Vines Arts Festival, Victoria Poetry Project and what Kenneth Jones and Tema Oku call “antidotes to white supremacy,” we offer community care through:

• Safer Community Agreement
• Anti-Harassment Policy
• Accessibility, Harm Reduction & COVID-19 Protocols 

If you are inspired to draw knowledge from the way Massy Arts Society has outlined its commitments to community care, we encourage you to donate to our organization as a form of reciprocity and to cite our work as part of your lineage of learning.