Posted
Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council congratulate Wonder'neath Art Society as the winner of the $10,000 Creative Community Impact Award for 2021. Wonder'neath was selected by peer artists in recognition of their outstanding contribution to their community through accessible, community-engaged art practices.
Wonder'neath Art Society
Wonder’neath Art Society is an artist-led organization based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax that brings professional artists and local residents together in dynamic art exploration. Wonder’neath provides affordable studio space that creates a collaborative context for practising artists, while simultaneously exploring reciprocity between artists and their communities. Wonder’neath encourages and promotes art as a tool for expression, connection and social transformation through neighbourhood-based arts programming where the public can gather and make art, prioritizing ongoing outreach to communities facing barrier to arts access.
In the fall of 2020, Wonder’neath developed a purpose-built art facility in collaboration with artist Emily Falencki. Located in North End Halifax, Wonder’neath manages half of this 10,000 square foot building dedicated to providing long term, barrier-free studio space for a wide variety of visual artists and arts programming, creating greater access to the arts for our broader community, and continuing to highlight the critical role of hands-on studio space in artistic development.
Throughout the Pandemic, Wonder’neath continued to adapt and run its core programs: Open Studio, a twice weekly, free, intergenerational art-making program, Art Bikers, a mobile community engaged art program, and the Studio Artist Program, which has supported over 30 artists over the past 8 year with affordable studio rental and informal mentoring support, and adapted several partnership programs prioritizing vulnerable populations. Through creative partnerships, programming and collaborative projects Wonder’neath explores ways of integrating professional arts with community, sharing its learnings with other organizations locally, regionally, and nationally.
About the Award
Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council recognize that artistic and cultural expression are fundamental to the collective well-being of Nova Scotians. Programs that encourage artistic and cultural development help to build creative communities that foster innovation, generate social change, and nurture cultural diversity. The Creative Community Impact Award recognizes an organization or program that has made a positive impact on a community through arts and culture. Funded from the Nova Scotia Arts Endowment Fund, the award carries a cash value of $10,000.
