Welcome to Windsor Endowment for the Arts!
Windsor Endowment for the Arts (WEA), established in 1995, is a charitable arts organization in Windsor, Ontario. Our goals centre on Promoting, Supporting, and Celebrating artists and arts organizations in our region through our biennial Awards and Grants program, affectionately referred to as The WEAs; and by funding the Pathway to Literacy for Kids Program that pairs kindergarten teachers with artist-educators to help children new to Canada and/or new to English in our community.
Since 2010
The 2024 WEAs Awards and Grants Celebration
Windsor Endowment for the Arts (WEA) and The City of Windsor celebrated over twenty artists, arts organizations and supporters with a special celebration honouring the 2024 recipients of the Windsor Mayor’s Arts Awards (WMAAs) and the WEA awards and grants on May 31, 2024.
WEA President Stephanie Barnhard and guest of honour Mayor Drew Dilkens hosted the celebration at historic Mackenzie Hall in Sandwich Town. Inspired by a theme of “Building Bridges,” celebrating the transformative power of connection, each award recipient, and all presenters, had an opportunity to discuss their careers, successes, and the projects that brought them this recognition, as well as to promote upcoming initiatives.
The event included a special In Memoriam presentation honouring some of the members of the arts community who died in the past two years. Cellist Karen McClellan performed “In Memory Of…” by Windsor composer Anh Nguyen while Christopher Lawrence Menard read aloud the names.
The evening also included a reading from Windsor’s Poet Laureate Peter Hrastovec, and a musical performance by Francophone singer Florine Ndimubandi.
Special thanks photographer Sanja Tabor for taking the photos included in the album. For a list of the award and grant recipients please see our Award & Grant webpages.
Changing the Odds
Pathway to Literacy for Kids
Changing The Odds – Pathway to Literacy for Kids is a community-driven literacy initiative that uses the arts to support children and youth in high-priority neighbourhoods. Through partnerships with educators, artists, and community organizations, the program integrates creative experiences into literacy development, helping participants build confidence, communication skills, and a stronger connection to learning. By combining arts engagement with early literacy support, Changing the Odds works to improve educational outcomes while fostering creativity and long-term success.
Ongoing donor support is essential to reaching more young learners, and we invite the community to continue investing in this vital program.
Please help us raise the $20,000 needed annually for the artist-educator team from Arts Can Teach to deliver arts-based language learning lessons using Drama, Movement, Storytelling, and Puppetry to our community’s most vulnerable children.
