CAN Mentors & Artistic Advisors
Top l-r: Max Dean, Marek Norman, Jani Lauzon, Carol Anderson, Laura Jones
Middle l-r: Erna van Daele, Sheila McCarthy, Pam Hyatt, Carlos Lopes, Peggy Baker
Lower l-r: Rita Shelton Deverell, Atom Egoyan, Claudia Moore, Ann-Marie Macdonald, Guy Maddin, Pauline Le Bel

Imagine a world with no artists…

Where Gordon Lightfoot never sang about Canada;
Where Christopher Plummer never acted;

Where Oscar Peterson never played;
Where Margaret Atwood never wrote;
Where Jean-Paul Riopelle never painted;
Where Alanis Obomsawin never filmed.

Most Canadian artists persevere in the face of overwhelming odds,
including incomes far below the national average.

Now imagine a world where young artists have to start from scratch because there is no one to learn from.

Without a mentor or experienced advisor who could help direct them—and potentially change their lives.

The Canadian Artists Network encourages senior professional artists to continue their life’s work and, through initiatives such as our Artist to Artist Mentoring Program, helps prepare the next generation of Lightfoots, Plummers, Petersons, Atwoods, Riopelles, and Obomsawins.

Our commitment

CAN is dedicated to ensuring that senior professional artists live in an inclusive world
where they can continue to pursue their careers and serve as role models for the next generation.

CAN's Vision Statement

CAN is committed to ensuring that senior professional artists live in an inclusive world where they can continue to pursue their careers and serve as role models for the next generation.

CAN's Mission Statement

To support this vision, CAN:

In our Community's own words . . .

Land Acknowledgment​

We would like to acknowledge that we live, work, create, and travel on the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples that have cared for this land, now called Canada, since time immemorial. We would like to also acknowledge this, as part of our covenant with all Indigenous nations, to share, respect and protect the land, in the spirit of peace and friendship, and to honour the future generations of all our nations.