As both an artist and arts leader, Elle de Lyon brings a deeply lived understanding of the power of creative expression to her work with RISE Edutainment. A spoken word musician, author, and affirmational speaker, she also serves as Director of Projects and Strategy for the Scarborough-founded non-profit, helping to expand its reach while staying grounded in its core mission: building accessible, community-rooted spaces where artists and audiences alike can connect, grow, and thrive.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
RISE Edutainment is an artist-led, community-rooted non-profit founded in Scarborough on April 16, 2012, serving the Greater Toronto Area. For 14 years, RISE has existed as a safe and accessible space where youth and emerging artists can express themselves, connect with others, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
RISE is more than the artists we platform. It is the audiences who show up, the volunteers who help our events and programs run, and the staff we are intentionally building into a passionate, values-driven team. For many people, RISE is the only place they feel they belong. Whether someone is performing, listening, volunteering, producing, or supporting behind the scenes, there is room for them to participate in ways that feel purposeful and affirming.
What began as a weekly open mic has grown into a full community arts and service agency with local and global reach. To date, RISE has existed for 13 years, hosted over 600 live events and 185 virtual events, for a total of more than 785 events. In 2025 alone, we produced 50 events, platforming 198 artists, and creating over 3,000 paid opportunities for emerging artists.
Across our lifetime, RISE has paid approximately $1.98 million in artist fees, including $106,000 paid last year. We have engaged more than 900 program participants, impacted over 4,600 youth through our programs, and reached more than 30,000 people we refer to as intelligent souls. These numbers reflect a community that is alive, growing, and deeply invested in collective well-being.
What problem does it aim to solve?
RISE exists to address systemic barriers to creative opportunity. Many artists have talent but lack access to mentorship, professional networks, industry exposure, funding pathways, and paid performance opportunities. These barriers disproportionately affect Black, racialized, marginalized, and underserved communities across Scarborough and the GTA.
RISE builds infrastructure where artists can practice, be seen, be paid, and grow. We create pathways from community stage to professional platform, while also strengthening the cultural fabric around them.
When did you start/join it?
I joined RISE in September 2012 as an audience member at the weekly RISE Open Mic, which launched earlier that year on April 16, 2012.
What made you want to get involved?
For me, accessibility to the arts was not a given growing up. Creativity was not something we could prioritize when survival came first. That reality is shaped by colonial systems that have historically limited access to resources, education, and creative freedom for many communities. When your energy is focused on making it through, expression often becomes a luxury instead of a right.
RISE became the place where I finally experienced what accessible arts could look like. A space where you did not need money, credentials, or permission to show up. That access mattered. It allowed me to stay connected to creativity at a time when I felt disconnected from myself and my future. It gave me a place to exist, to listen, and eventually to speak.
This work goes beyond performance. What we are doing at RISE actively helps dismantle systems that silence people by creating safe spaces to voice lived experience. Through art, people bring awareness to their mental health, their realities, and the policies that impact their well-being. Expression becomes a bridge between the inner world and the public sphere.
We support artists, we often call artivists because culture moves before policy. Art helps people process internal chaos, release suppressed emotion, and cultivate inner peace. That inner transformation is essential. When people are less overwhelmed internally, they are better able to engage externally, advocate for themselves, and contribute to meaningful social change.
By keeping barriers low through free and pay-what-you-can events, RISE ensures that access is not limited to those with financial privilege. At the same time, we call on those with resources to invest in this work. Supporting community-based arts is not charity. It is an investment in a healthier society where people are self-actualizing, emotionally supported, and empowered to shape the world they want to live in.
This is how systems shift—not only through policy, but through people who feel seen, heard, and whole enough to imagine something better.
What was the situation like when you started?
When I first joined in 2012, RISE operated as a weekly open mic held every Monday. It was one of the most consistent and accessible creative spaces in Scarborough and across the GTA, welcoming both artists and audience members at all stages without gatekeeping.
At the time, Scarborough and Toronto were experiencing high levels of violence, negativity, and instability in many communities. There were limited spaces where young people, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, could gather safely and express what they were going through.
RISE became that space.
It was a place where we could channel our lived experiences into art instead of harm—a place where we kept each other safe, physically and emotionally, by pouring our energy into creativity, connection, and community.
People came from all over the GTA—Brampton, Mississauga, North York, Ajax, Pickering, Oshawa, and beyond—because there was nothing else like it. It was alive, collective, and necessary.
For me, being an audience member became a bridge. Even when I felt lost, showing up kept me connected to the arts until I was ready to take the next step.
How has it changed since?
Today, RISE has grown into a multi-faceted arts organization that has reached over 30,000 people while staying rooted in its original purpose of creating accessible, culturally relevant spaces for expression and connection.
What began as a platform for creative self-expression has evolved into a foundation for ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We are not only creating spaces for artists to perform—we are creating pathways for them to build sustainable careers. We have developed artist development programs, taught skills like grant writing and fundraising, and created employment opportunities within the organization itself. My own career has been built through this work, directing projects and strategy to sustain and expand what we have created.
What started as an open mic has grown into a full ecosystem.
We now facilitate programs in schools, hospitals, community spaces, and on stages across Canada and internationally, taking artists to places like the UK, Jamaica, Hawaii, and Los Angeles while continuing to build strong local impact.
RISE stands for Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere, and that intention continues to guide us. Through edutainment, we use art as a tool to educate, connect, and empower.
At its core, the spirit of the open mic is still present. It has always been more than a stage—it is a space to think out loud, to transform lived experiences into expression, and to turn barriers into building blocks.
Now, we are seeing those ideas take form. Artists are building careers, launching initiatives, and creating their own spaces, continuing the cycle of impact.
What has changed is the scale.
What has remained is the purpose.
What more needs to be done?
We need deeper, sustained investment in artists and the ecosystems that allow communities to thrive.
During the pandemic, artists were relied on for connection, healing, and truth-telling. There was a renewed appreciation for the arts, but that momentum is fading—even as more artists continue to emerge.
Access must remain central. Audiences need real entry points, which means keeping barriers low. This is why RISE prioritizes free and pay-what-you-can programming. When cost is not a barrier, community shows up.
At the same time, artists need to be paid. They need professional opportunities, mentorship, and consistent platforms to grow and sustain themselves.
We also need policy shifts that recognize the value of investing in the arts at all levels. This includes offering tax incentives not only for charitable donations, but for individuals and businesses actively supporting artists, cultural programming, and creative production.
Beyond funding, we need stronger pathways for artists to enter spaces of influence, including politics and public leadership. Positions such as Poet Laureate should be expanded across more regions, creating opportunities for artists to shape cultural policy and public dialogue.
We also need greater recognition of spoken word and poetry as foundational practices within the music industry. These art forms should be acknowledged and uplifted within major awarding bodies, including platforms like the Junos, as integral to how music is written, performed, and experienced.
What is needed now is not just funding, but intentional investment—investment in spaces, in programming, and in people. Investment that recognizes the arts not as an extra, but as essential infrastructure for healthy, connected communities.
When we support artists, we support healing. When we support audiences, we build community. When we invest in both, we build the future.
How can our readers help?
Readers can support RISE in a number of meaningful ways.
You can attend events by accessing tickets through the website and showing up as an engaged audience member. You can join the volunteer roster and contribute your time and skills to support programs and initiatives.
You can also share RISE’s work across your platforms to help reach more people, or partner on events and community activations. Partnership can take many forms—sponsoring food, providing space, or contributing resources that help create meaningful experiences.
If you are skilled in a creative field such as photography, videography, or production, you can donate your time and talent to document the work while building your portfolio. You can also contribute by leading or donating workshops in artistic expression or creative industries.
There are also opportunities for brands and businesses to partner by activating at events, showcasing products or services, and connecting directly with audiences both in person and online.
Support can also come through giving—donating items to raffles, providing tickets for community members, purchasing blocks of tickets for underserved youth, buying merchandise, or offering financial contributions that allow programs to expand and ensure artists are paid.
Every form of support helps create more access, more opportunities, and more impact through the arts.
Do you have any events coming up?
Yes, several events are coming up. Monthly open mics are hosted in partnership with community organizations across the city. Check out our website for more info.
Where can we follow you?
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Newsletter
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
Vibes Arts. They have supported RISE Edutainment by providing charitable infrastructure that allows the organization to receive donations in support of its programming. Their commitment to arts access and community-led cultural development has played an important role in strengthening RISE’s impact and sustainability.
