Last spring, I and my daughter Lisa and my friend Will attended a Nina Simone tribute concert at a wonderful venue, the Caliban Performing Arts Centre's Trane Studio on Bathurst Street. What an inspiring, memorable night that was! After my second visit to the Caliban Performing Arts Centre here in Toronto, I asked whether I might exhibit my artwork while jazz musicians performed. The artistic director, Frank Francis, welcomed me to the club, understood my sincerity, and accepted my request.

The transition to Relay of the Arts for the Next Generation was a gradual one. I was so thrilled with the welcome from the Caliban, that I began to think of others who might wish to take part: a brilliant young photographer in his twenties might also wish to exhibit, perhaps a young trumpet player might be allowed to sit in on a jazz performance, and possibly a bluesman, a man with a profound musical and personal history, might agree to perform. And so, the passage from an artist wishing to show her work, to an artist dedicated to the sharing of all the arts, progressed.

As a child I saw Mississippi John Hurt, John Lee Hooker, Doc Watson, Jesse Fuller, Leon Bibb, Pete Seegar, Odetta, Thelonious Monk, Josh White, and many others. The name Paul Robeson was a revered one in our home. I grew up with a love of the arts, the ballet, theater, arts, music of all styles.

My grandfather, an immigrant from Russia, Samuel Lapitsky, eventually set up an arts scholarship fund, giving writers, artists and musicians the opportunity to develop their craft, unhindered by the constraints of eking out a living. He was just a good, generous, socially conscious man, who felt the need to give back to that which he loved. I am driven to continue my grandfather's work.

I don't have his wealth, but I have his heart, his honesty, and his love of the arts. I believe, albeit naively, that the arts bridge cultural, racial and generational barriers. I have been to concerts, watched the sheer joy of audience participants, and have noticed people of all ages and races just stopping for a moment, nodding in appreciation to a neighbouring member of the audience. There is a profound feeling of brotherhood or sisterhood, a comradery for that moment. These are pure unfettered moments.

Our Relay of the Arts for the Next Generation is growing so beautifully. The artist in me cannot contain herself: there has been such a kind and inspiring response from singers, musicians, helpful agents, managers, promoters.

There are those times that I wonder about the wisdom of all of this, as my living is a modest one. I have talked to many about this vision I had about a small non profit company, where the arts come together in a grand celebration, where the finest and sincerest of talents gather together, create, and share their artistic inspiration and joy. And so RANG has emerged, still in its infancy, and continues to grow rapidly, becoming more and more defined, ever evolving.

The more established artists taking part in a RANG event also become part of the family, willing to help, whenever possible, their up-and-coming counterparts to fulfill their creative and promotional needs. RANG will need its own home base. Emerging artists needing a voice and a ground floor opportunity, with the knowledge that this home will support and nourish them, will know RANG is that home.

Janice Colman
President and Founder,
Relay of the Arts for the Next Generation

RANG exemplifies the values so strongly expressed within the arts community: freedom from racial and cultural divisions. Our intention is to foster creative growth and development through live arts exhibitions, and by initiating an apprentice style scholarship program specifically for emerging artists who wish to further their skills in visual art, dance, music, writing, or theater.

The process is cyclical: young artists, whose creative development is supported, in turn give back to the community by performing, acting as role models and subsequently inspiring other youth to follow in their footsteps. Thus, RANG recipients relay the arts to each successive generation. The festival format, with its built in apprentice scholarship system, can be instrumental in regenerating those expressive creative forms stemming from our deep artistic roots.

Accordingly, RANG provides an opportunity for writers, musicians, singers, visual artists, and dancers to come together within a festival format, and in an electrifying atmosphere, to showcase their artistic talents. Through mentorship, artists encourage and enhance the development of their craft, and perpetuate a richer cultural fabric. Just as today's greats have learned from their own mentors, so too must today's youth learn from, and perform with, our current legends. The observing audience is dynamically engaged with the arts, a vital part of the creative process.

RANG tribute concerts commemorate all those who have suffered the injustices of prejudice, relating to race, culture and religion. Accordingly, the multicultural structure of RANG concerts promotes human kinship, solidarity and empowerment. Within the artistic process, there are no racial nor cultural barriers.

Many individuals have written about their responses to powerful artistic events. The wish expressed is for such a night to be endless, to acquire somehow an everlasting presence. The arts create life, and smooth over the creases of life's difficulties. The arts free and elevate the spirit, and have a therapeutic effect on the soul.