About Renaissance

Welcome to the Renaissance.

To redeem, to rebuild, to restore.

the vision.

To see artists and art communities across Canada restored by the light, truth, and beauty of Jesus Christ, and a culture renewed through the work of their hands.

the mission.

Renaissance Canada exists to reach artists and restore culture. We walk alongside artists as they encounter Jesus, offering care, community, and spiritual formation in the very places they create. Through discipleship, artistic support, and restorative work through the arts, we equip artists not only to flourish, but to become restorers of culture themselves, carrying hope into Canada’s creative communities.

Why Renaissance

bridging the gap.

How exactly will Renaissance Canada reach the artist community?

01The Artists
39%of artists are dissatisfied with their mental health, nearly double the general population
70%report significant financial stress
66%earn under $40,000 from their creative work

There is a mental health and affordability crisis among Canadian artists.

The arts are not only sacred, but biblical. Throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, we witness the sanctity of creating, crafting, and making. In Exodus 31, we encounter Bezalel and Oholiab, who are specifically called to engage in ‘all kinds of crafts.’ Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God, receiving wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to fulfill the task before him. Remarkably, this is the first recorded instance of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person in Scripture, and it is for an artistic purpose. This underscores that God not only values the arts, but sees them as an integral part of building His kingdom here on earth.

Canada is facing a quiet cultural crisis. While the arts contribute $65 billion to our economy and shape the stories we tell about ourselves, the people creating that culture are increasingly overwhelmed, under-resourced, and slipping through the cracks. Two-thirds of artists earn under $40,000 a year, and over 70% report significant financial stress, leaving many unable to sustain their craft or remain rooted in their communities. At the same time, 39% of artists are dissatisfied with their mental health, nearly twice the national rate, and in sectors like music, the crisis is even more severe, with over 80% reporting serious mental-health challenges. When those shaping our cultural imagination are struggling at this scale, the ripple effects touch churches, families, and communities across the country. We believe this isn’t just an economic crisis, it’s a cultural and spiritual one. Renaissance Canada exists to stand in the gap, supporting the artists who influence the heart and health of our nation.

However, as we are reminded in Romans 8:18-23, all of earth is subjected to bondage and decay as a result of sin. The once-beautiful thing that God had always intended the arts to be, has been distorted as a result of human destruction and carelessness. The arts are also broken, resulting in a culture crisis. The arts are not what they ought to be: a source of beauty, truth, and goodness. As we’ve seen from scripture, this is how God had always intended the art of making and creating to be: for all skilled people to join in the task of making the broken into beautiful. To reveal God’s glory through art, through story, through beauty. This is so that we may be able to bring healing, justice, and transformation to a world in need, through the language of beauty.

02The Arts
$67.1Badded by the culture sector to Canada’s economy
⅔of artists earn under $40,000 a year

There is a culture crisis affecting how the arts are represented and understood, which is a deeper issue concerning a theological understanding of beauty.

The arts are not only sacred, but biblical. Throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, we witness the sanctity of creating, crafting, and making. In Exodus 31, we encounter Bezalel and Oholiab, who are specifically called to engage in ‘all kinds of crafts.’ Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God, receiving wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to fulfill the task before him. Remarkably, this is the first recorded instance of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person in Scripture, and it is for an artistic purpose. This underscores that God not only values the arts, but sees them as an integral part of building His kingdom here on earth.

Canada is facing a quiet cultural crisis. While the arts contribute $67.1 billion to our economy and shape the stories we tell about ourselves, the people creating that culture are increasingly overwhelmed, under-resourced, and slipping through the cracks. Two-thirds of artists earn under $40,000 a year, and over 70% report significant financial stress, leaving many unable to sustain their craft or remain rooted in their communities. At the same time, 39% of artists are dissatisfied with their mental health, nearly twice the national rate, and in sectors like music, the crisis is even more severe, with over 80% reporting serious mental-health challenges. When those shaping our cultural imagination are struggling at this scale, the ripple effects touch churches, families, and communities across the country. We believe this isn’t just an economic crisis, it’s a cultural and spiritual one. Renaissance Canada exists to stand in the gap, supporting the artists who influence the heart and health of our nation.

However, as we are reminded in Romans 8:18-23, all of earth is subjected to bondage and decay as a result of sin. The once-beautiful thing that God had always intended the arts to be, has been distorted as a result of human destruction and carelessness. The arts are also broken, resulting in a culture crisis. The arts are not what they ought to be: a source of beauty, truth, and goodness. As we’ve seen from scripture, this is how God had always intended the art of making and creating to be: for all skilled people to join in the task of making the broken into beautiful. To reveal God’s glory through art, through story, through beauty. This is so that we may be able to bring healing, justice, and transformation to a world in need, through the language of beauty.

03The Artists

There is a mental health and affordability crisis among Canadian artists.

The mental health crisis is at an all-time high within the artist demographic in Canada. In Canada today, artists stand at the intersection of brilliance and burden. National studies show that 39% of artists are dissatisfied with their mental health, nearly double the rate of the general population (20%). Financial strain intensifies this reality: about 70% of artists report significant financial stress, and 66% earn under $40,000 from their creative work. In the music industry specifically, the crisis is even sharper, with 86% reporting personal mental-health challenges and over 40% having experienced suicidal thoughts. At a time when creatives should feel supported to flourish, many are instead navigating isolation, instability, and emotional exhaustion. We believe this isn’t just a cultural issue, it’s a pastoral and missional one. Renaissance Canada exists to walk alongside artists with care, community, and the hope of the gospel, helping them encounter restoration in the very place they create.

Artists are among the marginalized community in Canada. With these statistics, we must respond. We cannot afford to continue losing artists to mental health, to a loss of passion or purpose, or a lack of support, encouragement, or care.

As we are reminded by scripture, Humanity is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Humanity is also God’s greatest creation; masterpiece; the magnum opus. As God, the Creator and Master Artist, has endowed us with this likeness, we hold an inherent responsibility to create. We have a task to partner with the Creator in liberating creation from its bondage to death and decay, bringing it into the freedom and glory that we, as children of God, experience (Romans 8:18-23). While we are all called to that, artists have a unique ability to outwork this call through their creative calling; through their artistic abilities. Through the fundamental act of creating, we step into this commission, joining in God’s restorative work through our craft.

Our story

How did Renaissance Canada start?

“The world needs beauty. And most importantly, the artists who bring it.”

Jess Sanchez, Founder

Renaissance Canada began as a dream, as many ministries and initiatives do. But this was one that was planted deep in my heart years and years ago, long before I had the language, strategy, or even support to bring it to life. I didn’t know what it would look like or how to even begin, but I carried this one persistent burden: to reach artists with the hope and love of Jesus.

As someone who has always walked the line between ministry and creativity, I’ve served in various church contexts where my artistic gifts were welcomed but often not fully understood. I’ve sat in rooms where creativity was used to fill space rather than change it. And I’ve grieved the unspoken (and sometimes spoken) tension between the Church and the arts. It became crystal clear to me over time that there was a deep disconnect… One that wasn’t just institutional, but spiritual and cultural.

At the same time, I was becoming increasingly aware of the very silent pain that so many artists carry, because it was one that I carried as well. As an artist, I often felt misunderstood in my own filmmaking and photographic endeavours. I’d watched so many of my friends become deeply discouraged simply from a lack of encouragement and support, causing them to give up on the incredible gifts they were entrusted with. In Canada, artists are more likely than the general population to experience poor mental health, unstable income, and social isolation. According to recent studies, Canadian artists are nearly twice as likely to report experiencing depression, and more than 60% struggle with chronic financial stress. These aren’t just numbers, they’re people. They’re souls made beautifully and wonderfully in the image of God, creating in the midst of deep need.

We’re also living in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. In 2023 following the COVID pandemic, the Government of Canada declared loneliness and social isolation to be public health concerns. For many artists, whose work is often solitary and whose communities are fragmented, this reality hits especially hard.

The more I prayed, the more I listened, the more I wrestled with God…

The more I felt compelled to respond.

Renaissance Canada was born out of that calling. It is a ministry that exists to bridge the gap between the Church and the arts. I believe that the arts are not just a cultural luxury but a spiritual battleground, a prophetic voice, and a space where beauty, truth, and hope can break through in powerful ways.

We exist to remind the Church that creativity is not just decoration, but something that is divine. And we exist to remind artists that they are not forgotten, not alone, and not too far gone for Jesus to reach them right where they are. The world needs beauty. And most importantly, the artists who bring it.

This is more than a project. It’s a movement. A rebirth. A Renaissance. And I can’t wait to continue sharing this journey with you all.

Meet the founderJessica Sanchez

Jessica Sanchez

Founder of Renaissance Canada

Jess is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, and creative visionary passionate about telling redemptive stories through art. As the founder of Renaissance Canada, Jessica is committed to equipping and inspiring artists across the country to create from a place of truth, hope, and faith. Whether through songwriting, filmmaking, or mentoring, she desires to see the arts transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. She’s passionate about teaching, leading, and resourcing the local church in areas surrounding the intersection of faith and the arts, as well as coaching and mentoring artists. She holds a Bachelor of Theology, which has helped refine her passion for the intersection of theology and the arts. She is also currently doing a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Briercrest Seminary.