Shauntay Grant (2009 - 2010)

Canada

Shauntay is an award-winning writer, spoken word performer, broadcast journalist and musician and the first Sauvé Scholar to also be a Poet Laureate (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 2009-2010). She conducts arts-based workshops and performances for youth that educate and advocate for self-empowerment and social change, creating opportunities for youth to develop their talents through the literary and performing arts.

Shauntay regularly conducts arts-based workshops and performances for youth that educate and advocate for self-empowerment and social change, creating opportunities for youth to develop their talents through the literary and performing arts. As an arts-educator, she has conducted workshops for countless schools and youth organizations including Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE), a not for profit youth violence prevention organization, and Phoenix Youth Programs (an organization that offers “programs and services for at-risk and homeless youth”). Her workshops challenge youth to give voice to untold stories and experiences, and ultimately “be the change” by exploring their own personal connection to the written and spoken word. Shauntay also works regularly with Artsmarts, an initiative of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia that has seen her present to many senior high school classes on historical and contemporary Afrocentric art practices, and other topics relating to the African Diaspora. Shauntay’s own original works explore a range of themes including community, self-empowerment, and social change.

Shauntay is the third Poet Laureate (2009/10) of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia.  She is an award winning writer (recipient of 2009 Best Atlantic Published Book Award for "Up Home"), spoken word performer, broadcast journalist and musician. She has worked as a news and current affairs reporter for CBC Radio and CBC Television. She now hosts the annual CBC National Poetry Face-Off and "All The Best", a music program that airs weekly on CBC Radio One in the Maritimes. Her original works have been broadcast nationally on CBC Radio, CBC Television and Vision Television, and she has shared her blend of poetry and music internationally at festivals and events.

Through her work as an artist and arts administrator, Shauntay has facilitated projects that have generated much needed funds for various community initiatives, including literacy programming and books for school children. She is passionate about working with youth while encouraging them to make meaningful contributions to their communities through the arts. As a Sauvé Scholar, Shauntay welcomes the opportunity to participate in an international learning experience, reflect on her personal and professional goals, and explore how she can use her work to be of greater service to communities at home and abroad. As she works towards these goals, Shauntay looks forward to guidance from her Academic Mentor, Dr. Myriam Denov, whose research and teaching interests lie in the areas of children and youth at risk.

Country of origin

Canada