PAINTS

PAINTS (Professional Artists In The Schools) is a program that helps schools in Nova Scotia bring professional visual artists into their classrooms. There are professional artists living and working in every part of NS. Projects can range from 3 to 12 hours, and can involve artists working in every imaginable discipline; textiles, sculpture, drawing, painting, mixed media, graphic design, installation and more.

PAINTS Update

As of June 30, 2026, the PAINTS Program will be suspended indefinitely. All Artists in the Schools programs in Nova Scotia had their provincial funding eliminated – cut to zero – when the Progressive Conservative government passed the budget with deep cuts to the arts, libraries, museums and social supports.

We are frustrated and saddened by what our elected officials have done.

Make no mistake – budgets are choices.

Meanwhile, we are working in collaboration with the other organizations who have lost this critical funding to find new support for PAINTS. We continue to tell our elected officials about the impact and lasting effects of these cuts, imploring them to make better choices. It’s never too late to do the right thing.

To write to your MLA, click here. To make a donation to PAINTS, click here.

To talk more about how this and other cuts are affecting you, VANS, our members and the larger community, reach out to Andrea at paints@visualarts.ns.ca

Watch our socials for upcoming profiles highlighting our amazing PAINTS artists.

PAINTS projects make links between the professional artists’ own work and the workshops that they lead with the students. We’re really interested in providing the richest experience possible through these relatively small programs. A project can be with one class, or a small group of students, and the brief application is filled out online through this website.

We have a roster of over 20 workshops available for schools to book. We are back to being able to offer in person workshops again! Some workshops are still available remotely too. If an artist is based more than a one-hour drive from your school, their workshop would only be available to you remotely.

PAINTS is a matching funds program. Artist are paid $80/ hour for their contact time with students. PAINTS also provides support for the materials, and travel of the artists when necessary. The school is responsible for half of the artist’s fee, or $40 per hour. That means that you could have a professional artist lead a 3-hour workshop with your class with materials included, for a cost to your school of $120.

Questions? Call or email PAINTS Co-ordinator Andrea Ritchie: 902-423-4694 paints@visualarts.ns.ca.

New to PAINTS?

Artists

Schools & Teachers