Who You Are

Want to know more about the work we do, the youth and artists we work with, the communities we build? Write to us.
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Who You Are

Please fill out this form if you a member of the media looking for more information about Unity’s programs and events.
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Booking Details

Form description: Please fill out this form if you wish to book Unity artists for a Team-building workshop, a Unity Week or In-class Program for your school, or for hosts, DJs, or performers for your next event!

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Type of Booking

*Event Services that we offer; performance, hosting, DJ services, or package of all 3

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Accessibility Feedback / Questions

If you have any accessibility related feedback or questions, please let us know by filling out this form. Please be as direct and honest as you can, and if applicable please tell us how we can do better.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Why Hip Hop?

Unity believes in using art as a vehicle to support the development of healthy creative self-expression practices, critical life skills and practices that contribute to individual well-being, resilience, and feelings of belonging in youth. We choose to exclusively focus on Hip Hop due to its broad, global appeal as it shapes much of pop culture today, its accessibility (most art forms only require the body and mind), as well as its well-documented history as a platform for the historically oppressed and marginalized to express, resist and challenge ideologies and systems that have caused and perpetuated their oppression.

Who are Unity’s programs and events for?

Our programs are for youth and emerging artists (13-29 years old) who identify as under-served through traditional educational and developmental pathways.

Where does Unity have programs and events?

We currently have in-person programming in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Manitoba with plans to expand into more new locations in the future. We also have virtual programs that can be accessed by youth nationwide.

Who does Unity partner with?

Unity partners with municipal, provincial and federal government agencies and art councils, school boards, private funding partners and more than 40 local arts and youth organizations across Canada, to deliver our signature Hip Hop-based programming, workshops and performances.

How does Unity evaluate its programs?

Unity has a full-time Evaluations Manager and a Programs & Evaluations Committee who are tasked with developing, implementing, revising and reporting on Unity’s long-term Evaluations Strategy. Unity’s Evaluations Manager is a BIPOC music producer and a former Unity youth with a background in youth programming and statistics. Unity’s Evaluations Committee is composed of youth, leadership staff and doctorates from the YMCA GTA, Layla, Boston Consulting Group and the UHN who bring their collective expertise on evaluations, mental health, research, education, and youth work to advise on Unity’s evaluations practices.

The primary objectives of our evaluations strategy are to:

  • Build evidence for Unity’s “Hip Hop Meets Mental Health” resilience approach by gathering evidence for virtual and in-person program outcomes whilst refining our approach annually.
  • Inform future programming by providing recommendations to Program Directors and front-line Program Staff based on youth feedback and data analysis.
  • Identify areas of improvement in the evaluation process. That is, reviewing tools for data collection, methods for adapting survey language for various age groups, and more.
  • Leverage evaluations data for internal & external reporting in the form of presentations, fiscal reports, and discussions that are held on a seasonal (quarterly) basis.
  • Leverage evidence & reports to advocate for future funding opportunities that contribute to the sustainability of Unity’s resilience-building programs

What is Unity’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion?

One of Unity’s foundational values is Respect, and over the years we have always upheld a deep commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity.Unity approaches diversity and representation as a moving target--we’re aware that as our programming practices grow and our work takes us into relationships with new communities and groups, so too should our makeup evolve. We hire and recruit with a commitment to representation, thus remaining well-positioned to provide the most inclusive experiences that we can for our audiences, participants, partners and team.

Every member of Unity’s Staff, Artist Roster and Board of Directors, must participate in annual anti-oppression training, where we invite experienced facilitators to explore topics of oppression, privilege, power dynamics and equity. Unity demands that all those who contribute to the organization must be able to apply an understanding of what it means to hold inclusive spaces, and create environments through word and action that affirm and respect the lived experiences and identities of others.

Unity is also extremely representative in its makeup. Our board of directors benefits greatly from the perspectives of former program youth, community support allies, and professional Hip Hop Artists. Based on a recent survey of its staff and artists, Unity found that over 90% of its staff and artists self-identified as coming from Black, Indigenous and Communities of Colour, practiced an average of two Hip Hop art forms.Additionally, Unity has begun to do the work of hiring and recruiting staff, volunteers and artists to its roster in geographically diverse regions where it is putting down roots--a practice it will continue in its growth moving forward. We believe that investing in local Hip Hop economies through ongoing training and employment opportunities at every level is an important demonstration of our commitment to inclusivity and growth of the Hip Hop community as a whole

Any more questions?
General Inquiry