'Incredible ideas' for Canada: Confederation Centre launches Dream Catchers project

The Confederation Centre has launched its Canada 150 project The Dream Catchers, a national touring production that has received $1.5 million from the national Canada 150 Fund.

• Confederation Centre gets $1.5M for Dreamcatcher project

For the next eight weeks, an artistic team from the centre is traveling coast to coast, facilitating creative workshops and engaging more than 250 youth in each province and territory. The young people will beencouraged to share their vision for the nation's future with a focus on the environment, inclusion, and reconciliation.

The youth of our country have such incredible ideas for their futures, for the future of the country. Stephanie Ripley, The Dream Catchers

"It's sort of three projects in one, which is really cool," explained Confederation Centre'sDean Constable, the project's producer.

The centre is asking young Canadians to share their vision for Canada via social media using art, video, or written words. In turn, the centre is sharing those on its Dream Galleryweb page.

'Really beautiful things'

"There's some really beautiful things that come up each morning, if you check it each morning," Constable said.

"It's my favourite way to start the day, because the youth of our country have such incredible ideas for their futures, for the future of the country," added Stephanie Ripley, the project's associate producer.

The national workshops are a second component. Twentyyouth in each province createtheir own dreamcatcher with the guidance of indigenous artist Nick Ward, who will use them in creating a six-metre-high dreamcatcher that will be displayed at Confederation Centrethis summer.

As well, each workshop includes a musical artist from that province. In Summerside, P.E.I., last weekend, Paper Lions sang songs with the children, and are now creating a song based on their experience.

'You never know what's really going to happen'

The music generated fromthe workshops will become part of a brand new musical for the Confederation Centre's storied Young Company, which is scheduled topremiere in P.E.I. on June 21, then tour across the country.

"You never know what's really going to happen until you get in the room full of the youth," said Ripley.

"It will be different in every province... I think it's so important for those youth to be able to see role models that are very real people that have achieved their dreams to a certain degree," Ripley added.

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