About Artist in the School

Artist in the School provides high quality, engaging  and culturally diverse programming to students across the territory.  In 2021-22 more than 30 artists travelled 21,000 km to deliver over 4,500 arts encounters to students across the Yukon.

The Artist in the School (AIS) program is designed to

  • Give Yukon school children the opportunity to learn to work with a variety of art forms and media, and to be inspired by respected, professional and practicing artists. 
  • Facilitate students’ access to a multidisciplinary range of dance, theatre, music, literary, media and visual arts.
  • Foster a lifelong appreciation of the arts in children and youth. 
  • Provide many of the Yukon’s professional Artists with exposure and the opportunity for employment throughout the school year, as well as opportunities to utilize and enhance their instructing skills. 
  • Support high quality, challenging and culturally diverse arts programming for young people by providing arts opportunities, exposure and resources for students, teachers, and artists throughout the Yukon.

The Artist in the School Program (AIS) has been in existence since the mid-1980s. It is available to all Yukon elementary and secondary schools including 20 schools in Whitehorse and 14 in the communities. 

The program is funded through the Government of Yukon and administered by the Yukon Art Society/Arts Underground.

About Yukon Art Society /Arts Underground

The Yukon Art Society (YAS) was founded in April of 1970. Not only is it the oldest visual arts organization in the Yukon, but with a membership of around 150 members, it is the largest. The size and longevity of YAS can be explained in part by our inclusiveness policy. 

Arts Underground is a community space dedicated to the exploration, teaching and presentation of visual arts and heritage through a partnership between the Yukon Art Society (YAS), Yukon Arts Centre (YAC), Friends of the Yukon Archives Society (FOYAS) and MacBride Museum of Yukon History. The space and utilities are generously donated by the Hougen Group of Companies, which was instrumental in the formation of Arts Underground. 

About the AIS Coordinator 

Keitha Clark has been an active member of the Yukon arts scene since moving to the territory in 2005.  In addtion to her role as AIS/CSTP Coordinator, she has founded fiddle programs in Teslin and Haines Junction and has taught in nearly every Yukon school through the Artist in the School program. She maintains an active teaching studio, is the Artistic Director of the Fiddleheads and is working towards her Master of Education.