A Toast to Mark Sandiford

A Toast to Mark Sandiford Completing 20 Years with CreativePEI

On March 31, 2026, CreativePEI marked its 20th anniversary and also the departure of someone who was there from the very beginnings of PEI’s Cultural Human Resources Sector Council: Mark Sandiford. The longtime Executive Director of CreativePEI, and before that, founding Board member ended his time at CreativePEI leading projects on creativity and well-being, and the Board and staff paid tribute and wished him well with moving toasts to his creative leadership. We share these in a spirit of celebration and gratitude!

A Toast from the Chair of the CreativePEI Board, Megan Stewart:

Mark Sandiford

At the end of March, Mark Sandiford stepped away from Creative PEI after 13 years of working for the organization as Executive Director, and most recently, as Program Coordinator of the Arts & Mental Wellbeing project.

The Creative PEI board, staff, and arts community of PEI want to celebrate Mark’s leadership, vision, and tenacity, which shaped the organization into what it is today.

During his tenure as Executive Director, and prior to that as a founding board member of the organization, Mark lovingly and unwaveringly tended to PEI’s creative ecosystem. Through programs like the Hive and the Production Mentorship Program, he illuminated pathways toward sustainable artistic work for hundreds of emerging creatives. He advocated for the arts on PEI, championed their social and economic value, and fought for better representation, collaboration, and opportunities for artists. He made PEI a better place to be an artist and arts worker.

Many of PEI’s arts leaders know Mark as a listening ear, a trusted advisor, and a community convener. Projects like the Living Lab, the Arts & Mental Wellbeing Project, and Art Night have been crucial outlets for keeping the creative sector connected, heard, and represented — especially during isolating times like the early years of Covid.

The staff at Creative PEI also acknowledge his ability to empower them to take bold swings, and cite the radical trust and generosity he brought to their work each day.

Mark leaves Creative PEI with a legacy that will be carried forward by new Executive Director Jane Ledwell, the staff and board, and everyone he worked alongside. We are grateful for his leadership and creativity, and we celebrate all he has contributed to the sector.

We hope his next chapter brings more time for rest, reading, and creativity – though we know we’ll still be seeking him out for advice, blue sky conversations, and a little scheming.

A Toast from Long-Time CreativePEI Staff Member Alexis Bulman:

A sketch of Mark Sandiford by Alexis Bulman

I’ve worked at Creative PEI since 2013. I first got my foot in the door through The Hive—Creative PEI’s professional development and mentorship program for emerging artists and creative entrepreneurs. I didn’t just benefit from The Hive; I believed in what it, and Creative PEI, represented: an organization committed to improving the incomes and outcomes of artists on Prince Edward Island.

I knew pretty quickly it was a place I was going to dig my claws into for a long time, because of the mandate, yes—but also because of Mark. Or, more accurately, because of the Sandifords. Many people may not know this, but I worked for BJ first, at Happy Glass. So my first encounter with Mark was as the husband popping into his wife’s studio. Before I knew him as the executive director of Creative PEI, I knew him as part of a family that made creativity feel lived-in, generous, and joyful.

After The Hive, I had the chance to continue working at Creative PEI, which I have done on and off to the present day. When I started in 2013, Mark was working out of the old Sydney Street office. Funding was allocated in three-month increments, and the organization’s focus was simply to keep existing.

Those constraints never stopped Mark from imagining a future where artists’ incomes and outcomes could be more brilliant. Over the years, I’ve come to see his achievements—and his persistence toward that goal—rest on three key factors:

First: books. If Mark reads an art book and recommends it—read it. His enthusiasm is contagious. He references it constantly. It may inspire future Creative PEI programming. He might even make a spreadsheet about it—which, I’m nervous to report, is a recent and very real escalation. When Mark recommends a book, it’s because it’s given language to something he’s been pondering for years. And you’re going to need to read it—because those ideas don’t stay on the page; they move into the organization and fuel what comes next.

Second: Blue Sky Chats. Mark invites staff into long, meandering conversations sparked by something awesome—a book, an article, a show, a community event. These conversations feel like skipping through a meadow. You’re cartwheeling along, and then you trip over a rock. You pick it up, turn it in the light—and suddenly it isn’t a rock at all. It’s a gem. You sit in the grass passing it back and forth, wondering about it. The conversation usually ends unresolved, but energized. And the next time you pick it up, it’s sharper, more focused. That gem often turns into a program, an initiative, a tangible improvement to the lives of artists on this Island.

Those conversations move slowly. They build confidence. But most importantly, they build trust.

Third: Trust. From my first day in 2013, Mark demonstrated trust in his staff. He encouraged flexible work, long before “work from home” was common language. He didn’t enforce rigid 9-to-5 structures because he believed that if you trust people, the work will get done. For me, as someone whose disability affects me physically, that trust wasn’t just progressive for the time—it was transformative. It allowed me to excel in my role at Creative PEI and find balance for my own arts practice, too. Trust pays dividends. When staff feel trusted, they take risks. They think boldly. They care deeply. I truly believe Creative PEI does its best work because of that culture. It’s no wonder we’ve grown from an organization fighting to exist into one running peer support groups for artists with disabilities and neurodivergence, accessibility arts initiatives, mental well-being conferences, free therapy for artists, PEI.Art—our online arts directory and marketplace designed to spotlight the Island’s brilliant creatives—Art Night, Art Mobile, and so much more. Yes, there’s an amazing board. Yes, there’s excellent staff. And yes, the mandate is strong. But culture starts inside the house. And so much of that culture—dreaming, curiosity, creativity, trust—came from Mark.

Fuss like this is not Mark’s cup of tea. He would much rather put his head down, do the quiet work that makes a loud impact for artists in this province, and then go home to BJ and his family. So I won’t go on.

Staff members of CreativePEI with Mark Sandiford, November 2025

Instead, let’s toast to Mark:

To good books!

To blue skies!

To dear friends!