*artists against violence

*artists against violence

*artists against violence is a new organization formed in response to the murder of Lee Matasi. Lee was a young artist with a promising career ahead of him. He was only 23 when he was killed with a handgun. His death is a call to action against the increasing number of violent and senseless deaths of innocent young people in Canada each year. We cannot tolerate these murders as an acceptable form of response to the problems and conflicts of daily life. *artists against violence is dedicated to working to provide people of all ages with alternatives to violence when responding to lifes challenges.

*artists against violence is a broad-based, non partisan forum for Canadian artists to support and work for change in the areas of justice reform, elimination of poverty, affordable education for life and an absolute ban on handguns. *artists against violence looks at solutions in the short, medium and long term. In the short term, it is committed to immediate action toward reform of the justice system: to speed up the processing of violent offender trials, to keep those charged with violent crimes behind bars, to ensure that minimum terms are served and to support an absolute ban on handgun ownership.

*artists against violence will work to make life-long education available, with a special emphasis on education in the arts. it will support long-term, education based solutions to issues such as urban violence by offering art training to children and youth in high-risk situations. Such programs provide youth with a means of self-expression, a strong sense of accomplishment and self-worth as well as a path away from violence and crime.

The issues of poverty and the frustrations associated with a lack of education and opportunities need to be addressed immediately in order to build a society that allows all Canadians to grow and prosper; a society where it does not occur to anyone to carry a handgun; a society where our best and brightest are not taken from us before their time; and a society where its citizens can feel safe and secure at any time.

We are artists against violence, and we demand the Canada that we can imagine. We are willing to work for it - are you?