CreativePEI and the River Clyde Pageant have partnered with the Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation to host artist Alexis Bulman as an intern in UPEI’s ClimateSense program. Bulman has been learning about climate change adaptation and exploring ways in which the arts can help people deal with anxiety associated with climate change by developing and delivering a series of community-engaged arts installations to inspire action on climate adaptation.
Status: In Progress
There is a lack of accurate culture sector employment statistics on a provincial level in Prince Edward Island. Statistics Canada provides sector-level data through its Cultural Satellite Account but there are serious granularity issues with their industry-level numbers. By developing better sector-level data we will be able to better identify employment gaps, and be able to create more effective programs and policies to address these gaps.
Status: In Progress
Doors Open PEI is an annual event that provides the opportunity for community members to go behind the scenes at arts and culture facilities and explore spaces that are normally off limits. First launched in 2019, Doors Open connects members of the public with some of Charlottetown’s best kept secrets and gives the community an opportunity to uncover some of the history and stories behind the buildings we share the city with.
Status: Planning for 2022
DotGain is PEI’s annual creative sector conference held each fall in collaboration with Holland College’s School of Visual Arts and other industry partners. This one-day professional development conference is specifically tailored to the visual arts communities of Prince Edward Island.
Status: Planning for 2022
A lack of curators in PEI has left some arts organizations without the managerial expertise and programming knowledge needed to organize and design art exhibitions. The Exhibition Curation and Management Training Program was designed to alleviate a shortage of curators, festival organizers, and gallery managers in the P.E.I.’s Visual Arts industry.
Status: On Hold
The rapid growth of the Film industry in PEI has led to an urgent need for skilled workers. We have been working with FilmPEI and educational institutions to develop training opportunities to address the skills gaps in the industry.
Status: In Progress
Need personal health insurance?
PEI’s creative sector workers can now access affordable health insurance through the popular Arts & Entertainment Plan® offered by the not-for-profit insurer AFBS.
Accessing the plan is easy with online quoting and enrollment functionality resulting in the fastest application process in Canada.
Status: Ongoing
Artists and other creative professionals often lack the business skills needed to make their careers thrive.
CreativePEI has run a creative entrepreneurship incubator program five times since 2014. The HIVE brings together emerging creative entrepreneurs with business experts and provides training on business strategy, marketing, and finance.
Status: In Planning
The Living Lab is a CreativePEI initiative delivered by SRL Solutions that provides training, group coaching, and mentoring support to 20 leaders in PEI’s Arts & Culture Sector. This project was a response to the significant impact the COVID-19 crisis had on the Arts & Culture sector on PEI. The core of the initiative is to reinforce that Arts & Culture organizations must first survive the pandemic for the Sector to thrive once again.
Status: Ongoing
Many individuals find themselves in leadership positions in arts and culture due to their knowledge and expertise in the sector. However, those individuals may not possess all the skills needed in order to manage their organizations. CreativePEI works with not-for-profit organizations in the arts, culture and creative sectors to strengthen their capacity in governance, program development, financial administration and evaluation.
Status: Ongoing
CreativePEI is currently working with a local web development firm to create a beautiful and feature-rich online directory that will gather relevant information on the amazing individuals, businesses, and organizations that make up PEI’s creative sector. The Portfolio website will provide a space online for creatives to promote their work to local and global audiences who are actively seeking information on our province or members of our sector. This initiative will both connect creators and market their efforts, leading to greater collaboration and work opportunities.
Status: In Development
Four provincial political parties responded to a survey conducted by a group of PEI arts and culture organizations. The results show that all four parties value arts and culture but there is a range of approaches about how best to support the sector.
The survey was conducted between March 24 and 29, 2023 by Charlottetown Film Society, Community Museums Association of PEI, CreativePEI, FilmPEI, Harbourfront Theatre, Island Fringe Festival, Kings Playhouse, Music PEI, PEI Symphony Orchestra, PEI Writers’ Guild, River Clyde Pageant, this town is small, Under the Spire Festival, Victoria Playhouse, Young at Heart Theatre.
The Progressive Conservative Party, Green Party, Liberal Party and Island Party responded.
The Performing Arts Mentorship Program (PAMP) was created to fast-track eager arts industry workers into a career in backstage technical, administrative, and creative work. Sponsored by Skills PEI and CreativePEI, this program provides paid mentorship training down a variety of pathways in the Performing Arts.
Each contract is unique to the skills and interests of the mentee to ensure they get the most out of their experience and will be eligible to continue working in such environments post mentorship.
Status: Ongoing
This page links to a collection of relevant research into national, regional and provincial Culture Sectors.
Resources are listed in reverse chronological order.
Status: Ongoing
Researcher Emma Bugg is pursuing a Master of Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University. As part of Mass Culture’s Researchers in Residence: Arts’ Civic Impact initiative, she will explore the intersections of art, climate change, and environmental sustainability to develop an impact framework to better understand, amplify, and enhance the contributions of the arts towards addressing the climate crisis.
Status: In Progress
Prince Edward Island has over 1100 km of highly erodible sandstone coastline. The island’s shorelines face significant threat and degradation due to their sensitivity to sea level rise, storms and increased development. The Riverworks project will see three artists create outdoor public artworks exploring ecological transformation through their distinct creative practices. Each artwork will be installed at one of three living shorelines in Charlottetown and Stratford.
Status: In Progress
During summer 2021 three living shorelines were constructed along the Hillsborough River to strengthen eroding shores. In tandem with this construction, the Riverworks project commissioned three land-based artworks to be created. At the Tea Hill shoreline Kirstie McCallum constructed Pollinator Clock, at the QEH shoreline Doug Dumais performed Shoreline Palimpsest, and at the Stratford Waterfront Alexis Bulman installed Lillian’s Place.
These three artists shared new artworks at a group exhibition to be held at the Beaconsfield Carriage House from March 31 to April 4, 2022. These new artworks will offer a point of departure and reflection from their initial projects.
A 2500 sq. ft space conveniently located in downtown Charlottetown offers creators a place to undertake a range of different activities. From painters to poets, cartoonists to coders, and fashion designers to film editors, creative professionals of all kinds will find a place to create and connect with a supportive community of peers. Micro-studios and semi-private workstations and basic desk spaces are all available to rent on a flexible basis.
Status: In Progress
This Initiative will create connections between the arts and mental health communities in order to identify ways in which we can collaborate to address mental well-being on PEI. It will enlist the help of the mental health community in promoting the mental well-being of arts workers who often struggle with the emotional strains of making creative work, difficult working conditions, and precarious employment. It will also identify ways that artists can support the mental health community by using art as a means of promoting mental well-being.
Status: In Progress
The Good Projxt is Art, community, self-understanding, healing and Love.
The idea for the Good Projxt came in 2020. The world felt so…divided and the pandemic had us isolated. In the Isolation, I had many conversations with myself. I’d say that’s when I started to really talk to myself about the world. Without fear of external judgment, I pondered big issues, painful issues, complex issues and I had a profound realization that we can choose to be Good however we don’t even know what Good means anymore.
Islanders Love to say, we are Good people. Well, what does that even mean?
Status: In Progress
CreativePEI is funded in whole or in part by the Canada/Prince Edward Island Labour Market Agreements.
We acknowledge that the land on which we operate is the traditional unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq Peoples. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties did not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognized Mi’kmaq title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations. We recognize that true reconciliation is an ongoing process. Acknowledging territory and First Peoples should take place within the larger context of genuine and ongoing work to forge real understanding, and to challenge the legacies of colonialism.
