EC3 Bulletin: Canadian Arts Coalition

March 26, 2026

EC3 advocates for the arts at all levels of government. Our work has included supporting the status of the artist through direct funding, basic income programs, stronger copyright laws, and increased investment in the government programs that support arts organizations and DEI initiatives in the arts. While we continue to advocate at the municipal and provincial levels at the City of Peterborough, the OAC and the provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, we wanted to draw attention to the advocacy work of Canadian Coalition for the Arts, working at the federal level, by sharing their recent newsletter.

EC3 also had an opportunity to meet briefly with MP Emma Harrison to discuss the mission and mandate of the arts council, and the value and importance of funding programs at Canadian
Heritage. Our MP suggested that arts organizations advise her office when they do make an application to the federal government for funding. We look forward to future conversations.

Emma Harrison, Member of Parliament representing Peterborough, Ontario

Picture description: A woman with brunette hair in a tan coloured pea-coat is looking directly at the camera and smiling. She is standing in a snowy field with trees in the background.

Working to strengthen Canadian arts and culture through policies, investment, sustainable practices, and public appreciation.

NEWS IN THE ARTS

Canada Council for the Arts Strategic Planning

Thank you to everyone who attended the most recent all-members meeting on February 9. We discussed the upcoming Canada Council for the Arts strategic planning, inviting input on how the Canadian Arts Coalition could represent its members and communicate their thoughts and recommendations to the Council. The top two recommendations received were to

Submit on the questionnaire on behalf of members
Provide consensus points for members’ submission

We will be moving forward on these two action points in the coming weeks, ensuring our members’ voices are heard in these discussions. We are also looking into the possibility of submitting a brief that outlines all of the concerns and feedback from our members, so please submit your feedback to info@canadianartscoalition.ca.

MORE FOR THIS MONTH

ADVOCACY & POLICY

Provincial budgets are rolling out over the coming weeks, and they will set the tone for arts and culture funding, policy, and priorities across the country. Please take a moment to check when your province or territory will table its budget, and keep an eye on what is proposed for arts, culture, heritage, and related files, including any new investments, freezes, cuts, or shifts in program design. If you spot something with implications for the sector, share it with your networks and with the Coalition.

TAKE ACTION & GET INVOLVED

One of the policy pieces that the Coalition will be focusing on in the next few months, as determined by a member’s survey, is the social safety net for artists and arts workers. Research has been done on this topic in recent years, and we are starting to find and collate the existing work. This is where we would love your assistance!

Please send us any resources, statistics, articles or other information you have encountered around Employment Insurance reform, Universal Basic Income, and other social safety net subjects to info@canadianartscoalition.ca.

FROM THE COALITION

We’ll soon be moving our member communications to our new membership platform. This includes emails, notices about membership meetings, and other important updates.

To continue receiving these messages in March and beyond, you must be listed as a contact in the new platform. If you don’t currently have an account, it’s likely because you’re not one of the designated contacts for your organization.

If that’s the case, please either:

Ask your organization’s main contact to add you as a Delegate in their membership profile, or
Email membership@canadianartscoalition.com, and we’ll be happy to get you set up.

If you’re unsure whether you’re listed, just send us a quick email and we’ll check for you. We want to make sure you continue to receive all our updates!

Read the full bulletin here!

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Grants for Individual Artists!!

EC3’s GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS fueled 17 new projects by talented local artists, creating a diverse bounty of new writing, theatre, circus arts, visual arts, dance, music and more for Peterborough audiences.

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) is proud to announce the 17 local artists who have been awarded a total of $35,250 through the 2025 Grants for Individual Artists program. This multidisciplinary program is funded jointly by the City of Peterborough and EC3, and is designed, delivered, and administered by EC3. This year, 50 artists applied for grants ranging from between $1,500 and $3,500.00. Grants are adjudicated and awarded by a five-person peer assessment jury.The Grants for Individual Artists (GFIA) program is divided into two components.

Component One: Mini Development Grants for Individual Professional Artists provides up to $1,500 to an artist for research, development, workshopping etc. of original new works and ongoing projects, as well as for professional training and mentorship opportunities to advance their practice. Funding provides a contribution to support artists’ work in writing, rehearsing, scripting, test filming, arranging scores, retraining, workshopping, etc.
Nine artists were awarded grants in Component One (total $12,750) in 2025.

Component Two: Project Creation, Production and Presentation Grants for Individual Professional Artists, provides up to $3,500 for the creation, production, and presentation to audiences of specific projects. Grants support costs such as artist fees, production materials, venue rentals, technical equipment, costumes, printing, etc.
Eight artists were awarded grants in Component Two (total $22,500) in 2025.

In total, the program’s open call received 45 eligible applications, and a five-member peer assessment jury awarded grants to 17 artists (total value of grants awarded: $35,250). Artists working in every discipline, genre and medium were eligible, including those who work in multi-disciplinary or community-based arts practice, and in traditional or contemporary forms. A complete list of grant recipients and their projects can be found below.

“We are particularly grateful to the City of Peterborough for their $25,000 support of this vital program in 2025, and to all of our funders for their ground-breaking contributions to the development of local talent and works of art. These investments in the efforts of our very talented and hardworking artists means more artists can realize their visions, contribute to our cultural, economic, community and social well-being, and make Peterborough a more vital and exciting place to live for all of us. New books, poetry, concerts, plays, exhibitions, albums, and performances of all kinds will touch our hearts, minds, and imaginations.”
–Su Ditta (Executive Director, EC3)

GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS 2025 GRANT RECIPIENTS

Component One: Mini Development Grants for Individual Professional Artists

Tia Cavanagh – Indian Jones vs. The Vatican
Research and creation of an alter ego persona – “Indian Jones”, an Indigenized concept inspired by Indiana Jones, for a planned future performance piece about the theft of cultural artifacts.

Marta Chudolinska – Babcia: a papercut graphic novel
Artist fees to continue writing, drawing, and making papercut art for a graphic novel and to present a public artists talk about the artist’s process.

Michael C Duguay – Here I Go Into The Wobbly Yonder
Support for a period of research and experimentation focused on the intersection of music and “processional” art in the contexts of composition, performance and documentation.

Laurie D Graham – What Elements
Completion of a draft of a poetic nonfiction manuscript exploring what “land and home” could mean for the settler subject.

Nicole Malbeuf – Drafting Art/Children’s Book: A Hen Called Freedom
Writing/editing, book design planning and researching self-publishing for art book/children’s book hybrid, based on an original circus arts performance.

Kasonde Mutale – Black Radical Existentialism: an exploration
Research, creation and artist fee for visual and written storytelling exploring Black radical existentialism through African traditional art, revitalizing Black identity, dignity and pride.

Kate Story – Strangeness on Earth (working title)
Paying sensitivity readers, youth readers, and an artist fee for work on a new young adult historical fantasy novel set in 1817 Newfoundland and Orkney.

Lynda Todd – Migration #3: Land, Air & Sea
Purchasing materials to complete a series of tactile portraits of polar bears, penguins, and whales accompanied by braille descriptions, inviting all to experience their journeys.

Gillian Turnham – Indelible Architecture: From The Rubble; Ruined Not
Researching visual records of destroyed Islamic heritage sites in the Eastern Mediterranean, to inform a series of traditional miniature paintings memorializing architecture lost in conflict.

Component Two: Project Production and Development Grants for Individual Artists

Brad Brackenridge – Pinocchio
Creation of an original, family-friendly adaptation of Pinocchio involving puppetry, dance, and mask for a short run of workshop performances at the Market Hall.

Brooklin Holbrough – “Art-Work” (Working title)
Artist fees towards a zine that aims to demystify art and illustration as a career path for emerging creatives.

Thamer Linklater – The Place I Called Home
Editorial costs ( including copy and content editing) and graphic design to submit manuscript for publishing, either traditionally or self-published.

Kayla Mahomed – Kay Silver Debut Album Recording
Recording an album of original material with diverse influences in the pop-rock tradition with local collaborators in the Peterborough region.

Ell Parker – Heartbreakers | Dream Makers Volume 3: Servin’ [C*ntry]
Artist fees and venue costs to mount a multidisciplinary, country themed drag concert at Sadleir House. Featuring local artists, drag queens, and projectionists, the event seeks to deconstruct the heteronormative ideologies of country music, and provide a fun and inclusive space for queer individuals.

Benj Rowland – new peasant marching band
Artist fees and production costs for a marching band offering lively, themed performances at community events to engage audiences and celebrate local culture.

Esther Vincent – Are We Sleeping, A one-act play
Artist fees, venue rental, and actor fees to present a staged reading of a one-act script about a family facing dementia.

Ziysah von Bieberstein – Before the Tymbals Sound
Editorial and artist fees to prepare manuscript for submission to traditional publishers.

Read the full bulletin here!

Chet Singh joins the EC3 Board of Directors

February 21st, 2026

EC3 is honoured to welcome artist, educator and cultural activist Chet Singh to the EC3 Board of Directors. An accomplished artist and educator, Chet brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our work as a municipal arts council in Peterborough. His deep community connections, capacity to work in institutional and grassroots environments, and passion for the arts and artists will provide an enormous asset to our organization and our work for the arts in Peterborough.

Chet Singh

Dub poet, educator and social activist Chet Singh emerged with the first wave of Caribbean dub poets in the early 1980’s. He fronted the punk, reggae band One Mind, comprised of Trent students. After returning to Nogojiwanong two decades later, he’s released 6 albums. A founding member of Canada’s Dub Poets Collective, he also served on the board of the Ontario Arts Council. His work advancing diversity, equity, decolonizing and critical education has been recognized with awards for teaching excellence and educational leadership.

Read the full bulletin here!

EC3 Bulletin: Black History Month

February 18th, 2026

February is Black History Month and EC3 wants to recognize and celebrate the many great events happening in our community, and the people who make them happen.

Each February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and celebrations that honour the legacy and contributions of Black people all across Canada, and in their particular local communities.

The 2026 theme for Black History Month is: “30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations — From Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s Visionaries.”

This month is an important opportunity to learn about and acknowledge these people and their often hidden histories and stories.

We invite all Canadians to learn more about Black Canadian communities, and how they continue to contribute to and help shape Canada.

Along with the celebrations, Black History Month is a call to recognize the things that have been lost, the stories that have been suppressed and the racism that has haunted many of these people and the communities that they live in. Much of the programming outlined below provides us with the unique opportunity to learn more, to experience more and to build our capacity as anti-racist allies. It’s a chance to read great books, learn new dances, listen to fabulous music, enjoy the artists and their work and learn more about our friends and neighbours.

Read the full bulletin here!

EC3 is hiring an operations and administration coordinator – deadline to apply February 27, 2026

February 13, 2026

Working for the Electric City Culture Council is a unique opportunity to be a part of developing and advancing support for the arts in Peterborough. As EC3 has grown, our need for more efficient operations and better systems management has increased. Join our team delivering grants and awards, residencies, professional development and more! Feel free to call for more information.

JOB POSTING
OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION COORDINATOR
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
Posting date: February 10, 2026
Deadline for applications: February 27, 2026
Compensation: $28 per hour, 25 hours per week
Location: Hybrid workspace including home office and EC3 satellite office in downtown Peterborough.
Term: Position has no fixed term. This is a salaried position with all statutory benefits plus sick/personal days.

ABOUT EC3
A municipal arts council, the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) is a not-for-profit arts service organization supporting the development of individual artists and arts and culture organizations in Peterborough and Peterborough County. Our programs and services provide opportunities for artists to create, produce, and present work, and for audiences to experience and appreciate the arts. Our work builds and strengthens the foundations and infrastructure of arts and culture in our area, while contributing to the social, economic and community well- being of our city.

DEI EC3 is committed to diversity and inclusiveness. We encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

Our organizational impact has expanded and so have our professional management needs as we engage with more and more artists, arts organizations and other community partners and sponsors. Accurate information, easy access to well organized records and other material, and the capacity to produce events quickly and effectively is essential to our success – all on a low budget. This job plays a crucial role in strengthening our ability to provide arts funding, professional development and advocacy.

OVERVIEW
This position provides a unique opportunity to work in the arts community supporting EC3’s activities across all arts disciplines and genres, delivering a broad cross section of programs from grants and awards – to festivals and artist residencies, while providing administrative support and some event support for EC3’s operating and programming activities. The position reports to the Executive Director and works with other staff and contract employees to advance and reinforce EC3’s administrative and management capacity. This includes building information systems and data collection and retention, as well as production support and day to day administrative support.

This person is expected to know and understand the organization’s mission and vision, follow EC3’s policies and protocols, respect confidentiality and conflict of interest guidelines, and conduct themselves in the best interest of the organization and the community it serves. Knowledge of the arts and of the local arts sector, and the professional role of an arm’s length arts council, is an asset.

JOB DUTIES

Maintain and advance administrative and operating systems, including communications (mailing lists, media lists, fundraising contacts, applicants data bases etc.)
Respond to general public telephone and email enquiries, maintain office hours
Maintain operations manuals, archives and records (grant results, media coverage, process documents etc.)
Maintenance of social media tools, and an up to date and accurate website
Maintenance of event and meeting calendars, deadlines and undertake related research on same
Provide support in grant writing and delivering programming as needed

QUALIFICATIONS

Post-secondary experience in not-for-profit administration
Excellent organizational, written and oral communications skills
Familiarity with computer technology, web site (Word Press) and social media including Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, Mail Chimp, Word and Excel
Demonstrated ability to set and meet goals, and priorities, clear objectives and deadlines
Driver’s licence and regular access to a car are an asset
Passion for the arts and organizing details

HOW TO APPLY Please forward covering Letter and Resume with subject heading “EC3 Operating and Administration Coordinator Position” to: electriccitycc@gmail.com. Your covering letter should outline why you would like to work with EC3 serving the arts community, and how your education and professional experience would make you a good candidate for the job. Please review our web site @ https://www.ecthree.org/ .

For additional information or questions:
Su Ditta (she/her), Executive Director
electriccitycc@gmail.com
705-749-9101
Currently living and working in Nogojiwanong, on the territory of the Michi Saagig Anishinaabeg, in the lands covered by the Williams Treaties.

For the full announcement see the EC3 Bulletin: EC3 is Hiring!

EC3 COVID-19 Bulletin #30: Government Financial Programs (and ReFrame!)

January 18th, 2021

Read on for Details About Provincial and Federal COVID-19 Financial Relief Support Programs for the Arts

Hello Everyone,

Happy new year! This year has started off on a challenging note, with a province-wide lockdown leading into a full stay-at-home order. This is putting additional strain on arts organizations and individual artists who are already facing serious financial challenges.

This Bulletin provides an update on financial relief programs that are available at the provincial and federal levels that may help with some of the burden. Read on for more details, and as always, don’t hesitate to reach out to EC3 if you need support or help during these times.

And, at the end of this Bulletin, we are offering an opportunity for local artists to WIN passes to this year’s ReFrame Film Festival, which starts this Thursday, January 22.

Ontario Small Business Support Grants

Along with the latest round of stay-at-home orders, the Government of Ontario has announced the new Ontario Small Business Support Grant. This grant will provide up to $20,000 to small businesses that have experienced revenue loss since the beginning of the pandemic, and who were deemed non-essential and had to close on December 26, 2020. EC3 has also confirmed that non-profits and charitable organizations are eligible for this grant.

This includes performing arts organizations, theatres, museums, galleries, and film and television productions, as well as any retail that was forced to close for in-person shopping.

Apply for the grant here, and read more details in the Application Guide (PDF).

The Ontario government is also offering property tax and energy cost rebate programs, as well as Ontario’s Main Street Relief Grant: PPE Support, to offset the cost of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) – read more about those programs here.

Federal Relief Programs

Throughout the pandemic, the Government of Canada has offered a range of programs that can benefit organizations who are struggling financially, including:

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), offering wage subsidies for organizations who can demonstrate lost revenue
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), which tenants can now apply for directly
Canada Emergency Bank Account (CEBA), offering partially-forgivable loans to organizations – with a max now increased to $60K from the original $40K.

Business/Arts recently held a webinar entitled “The State of the Arts,” which discussed the federal government’s COVID response from an arts perspective and looked at some of these programs, as well as looking ahead at what other initiatives are expected in the coming months. You can watch a full recording of the webinar here.

We also recommend the official government page Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, which goes into detail on all the programs available for organizations, individuals, and specific sectors.

You Could Win!

The ReFrame Film Festival is going virtual this year, streaming online from January 22 to 29, 2021.

EC3 is partnering with ReFrame’s Community Access Pass program to give away 8 Festival 5-Packs for ReFrame, to local artists facing financial barriers. Each pack will gain you admittance to five films screened during ReFrame.

To Enter

Send an email to ec3.research@gmail.com with the subject ‘ReFrame Ticket Giveaway’ and:
a) your name
b) your email address
c) answers to as many of the following Peterborough film trivia questions as you can.

Deadline

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at noon. Winners will be contacted via email.

Questions

What was Samuel L Jackson doing in Peterborough in 2006?
Identify the Peterborough filmmaker who said this to KawarthaNOW before a screening of his documentary: “I feel scared because it’s a big deal for me. I mean, my birthmark is on the film, and everyone is going to see it…. It’s really a ritual of me owning up to my people — my family, my community.”
Name 3 Peterborough movie theatres that no longer exist.
What Peterborough-based filmmaker made the short narrative dance film Ecstasy, about missing and murdered Indigenous women, that screened at the 2020 ReFrame Film Festival?
What Peterborough filmmaker and Trent professor’s films include “In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey” and the upcoming “The Cost of Freedom: Refugee Journalists in Canada”?
What Peterborough band is the subject of the documentary Before We Arrive, which also features interviews with Ronnie Hawkins and Serena Ryder?
Who were ‘The Peterborough Four’ and what did they do to support independent Canadian filmmakers?

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

As always, keep checking the EC3 Facebook page, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram, and the COVID-19 Updates page on EC3’s website, where we are providing daily updates on programs and services available for ACH workers and organizations.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Posted in COVID-19, Bulletin

EC3 in the News: KawarthaNOW

January 5th, 2021

“businessNOW: Hillary Flood is new communications manager of Peterborough DBIA” (EC3 discussed at bottom) by Bruce Head, KawarthaNOW.

Posted in Media Coverage

EC3 in the News: KawarthaNOW

December 29th, 2020

“Art in spite of all: how the Kawarthas arts community survived the year of the virus” by Sarah McNeilly, KawarthaNOW.

Posted in Media Coverage

EC3 COVID-19 Bulletin #29: Seasons Greetings from EC3!

December 18th, 2020

Happy Holidays Everyone,

We are trying to breathe, slow and deep, as everyone is at the moment, rushing to a much-needed break in what has been both an incredibly difficult, and at the same time, inspiring year.

We want to thank each and every one of you who have helped with advocacy, fundraising, provided leadership and emotional and moral support to the EC3 team, and for everything you have done to keep our arts, culture and heritage (ACH) organizations going, creating opportunities for artists to make work and for audiences to experience it, COVID-19 or no.

It is a time of both great gratitude for what we have and for what the ACH community has done to carry on, and a time of deep concern for the very tough circumstances so many people are facing and for what the near future will bring.

Many artists and arts organizations are still suffering, and we are a long way yet from fully opened venues and the return of box office ticket sales, familiar fundraisers, and a “normal” landscape of exhibitions, concerts, performances, fees paid to artists, groups working together and live arts experiences. In the meantime, this community has shown outstanding resilience and extraordinary imagination and innovation with digital projects and performances in every imaginable safe outdoor space. We are honoured, proud and so grateful to work in this amazing community.

Special thanks go out to City Council and City staff for their support of the ACH sector and to the Peterborough Performing Arts Recovery Alliance for their terrific advocacy and fundraising efforts. We are also so very grateful to campaign champion Deborah Berrill and all the folks who donated and are still donating so generously to the Peterborough Arts Alive Fund in our partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough.

EC3 owes a particular thank you to curators Hannah Keating and Justin Million, and all the fine artists who took part in Art Loves Pride and the Artsweek SHIFT projects Downtown and Post-Code Tour. Thanks as well to Christy Haldane, Sarah McNeilly, Julie Gagne and all the artists who participated in ESSENTIAL and Conversations on Art in a Pandemic.

Finally, a huge thanks to Gabe Pollock who brings such great skill and intelligence to his work as Research Lead and Program Coordinator every day, to our inimitable bookkeeper Susan Newman and ou ever-creative designers Jeff Macklin and Rob Wilkes, to our amazing President Bill Kimball, and to all our Board members who work so hard serving the ACH community.

EC3 wishes you and all your near and dear ones a good break, and a happy, healthy and safe New Year. Keep the faith. Bring on the joy!!!

Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
(705) 749-9101

Posted in Bulletin, EC3 Announcement

Come to EC3’s 2020 Annual General Meeting

December 10th, 2020

Hello Everyone,

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) invites you to our 2020 Annual General Meeting, taking place online over Zoom on Tuesday, December 15 at 5pm.

If you are interested in attending, please register in advance for the Zoom meeting. (You will receive a confirmation email with the meeting link after you register.)

If you would like to sign up for an EC3 membership, or renew your membership, please do so by Monday, December 14 to be counted among voting members at the AGM. You can sign up though our website. Payment can be made via PayPal.

If you have any questions, please email electriccitycc@gmail.com.

Posted in EC3 Announcement

EC3 COVID-19 Bulletin #28: Send a Little Love to Local Arts Organizations

December 1st, 2020

This ‘Giving Tuesday,’ Make a Donation to the Peterborough Arts Alive Fund for COVID-19 Response and Resiliency

Hello Everyone,

Today is Giving Tuesday, and we’re encouraging everyone to help keep the arts alive with a donation to the Peterborough Arts Alive Fund. You can donate HERE.

The Peterborough Arts Alive Fund, administered jointly by the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough (CFGP) and the Electric City Culture Council (EC3), provides Strategic Response and Resiliency Grants to local charitable arts organizations working in any discipline and in any capacity (creation, production, exhibition, presentation, performance, etc.). These grants will assist organizations in managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, responding creatively to the current situation and preparing to effectively reopen/relaunch when they can. Your donation will help keep theatres, concert halls, festivals and galleries alive and well, and ensure that artists can create and present their work.

Throughout the day on Facebook and Twitter, we are sharing stories of the challenges arts organizations are facing due to the pandemic. The Peterborough Arts Alive Fund will help these organizations survive the pandemic, and thrive when it’s all over.

Click to donate.

If you would prefer to give “directly” to the campaign, you can write a cheque to the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough and put “PAA Fund” in the memo line (and/or include a brief letter of explanation with the cheque). Cash can also be accepted with a letter of explanation – but please do not mail cash. Click here for the Foundation’s address.

For more information, email electriccitycc@gmail.com.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Posted in COVID-19, Bulletin, EC3 Announcement

EC3 COVID-19 Bulletin #27: ‘Post-Code Tour’ is Live on Instagram

November 26th, 2020

The Latest Artsweek SHIFT Project Explores Disability, Accessibility and Inclusion – Now and into the Future

Hello Everyone,

Artsweek SHIFT is on! This special COVID-19 project, produced and presented following the postponement of Artsweek 2020 to September 2021, is bringing six months of arts pop-ups to Peterborough, in person and online. In October and November, Downtown, curated by Justin Million, brought poetry readings to The Theatre on King and paintings by John Climenhage to downtown storefronts.

Now, the second project in Artsweek SHIFT, Post-Code Tour, is underway, and we wanted to tell you about it, as well as providing some other Artsweek SHIFT updates.

Read on for more details about all of this, and for up-to-the-minute updates, be sure to follow Artsweek on Facebook, @Ptbo_Artsweek on Twitter, and @artsweekptbo on Instagram, and check out the Artsweek SHIFT website for more information.

Post-Code Tour

Live on Instagram, Post-Code Tour (@post_code_tour) features multidisciplinary new works by local artists that explore disability, accessibility and inclusion in Peterborough, in the present day and far into the future. How do people with different abilities, who face challenges and barriers traversing our urban landscape, experience the city? How could it be different? What would that look like and how might we get there?

Curated by veteran Artsweek producer Hannah Keating, Post-Code Tour uses iconic downtown Peterborough locations like Millennium Park and Market Hall as jumping-off points for a discussion of how open our public spaces actually are. The project challenges three artists – multidisciplinary performance artist Sioux Lily Dickson, visual artist Bethany LeBlonc, and writer Derek Newman-Stille – to re-examine and re-imagine what these spaces are now, how they might change, and what they could become. Photography, video, painting, writing, design and illustration are all constructed to work on Instagram, presenting a radical view of people’s current experience and charting a course in the struggle for a different future.

The results of their work are being posted in installments throughout the month of November to @post_code_tour on Instagram, creating a virtual exhibition. Each week three works of art will be posted, one from each of the artists, all exploring the same space from their unique perspective and artistic medium. It will culminate the week of November 30 to December 4, to coincide with the International Day for Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2020.

More Post-Code Tour events are coming in the new year, in person and online, with opportunities for the artists and community members to engage in deeper critical discussion about the issues the project has brought up.

Follow along on Instagram @post_code_tour to see the posts and for more announcements, coming soon.

All Artsweek SHIFT events are FREE!

‘Downtown’ Thank You

A big THANK YOU to everyone who took part in Artsweek SHIFT’s first project, Downtown: to curator Justin Million, for heading the project; to artist John Climenhage, for loaning us his gorgeous and haunting paintings; to all of the poets and spoken word artists (Jon Hedderwick, Katherine Heigh-Roper, Elizabeth Jenkins, Shaun Phuah, Nick Taylor and ziysah), for sharing their voices and their work; to Ryan Kerr and Kate Story at The Theatre on King, for their assistance and guidance; and all of the stores who took part (Dreams of Beans, Providence, Rare, The Sapphire Room, Sam’s Place Deli, St. Veronus Cafe and Tap Room, The Garnet and The Night Kitchen), for providing a space for John’s work.

Also thank you to the City of Peterborough and the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) for their ongoing support of Artsweek and Artsweek SHIFT.

Open Call for Proposals

Artsweek SHIFT’s Open Call for Proposals is coming next week! EC3 will invite applications from local artists and arts organizations, for projects/events to take place, either in-person (following public health guidelines) or online, before March 31, 2021.

We will be sending out another Bulletin when this Open Call is live, or follow Artsweek on social media for announcements.

Follow Along

Details on all Artsweek SHIFT projects can be found on Artsweek SHIFT’s website, and regular updates will be provided on Artsweek’s Facebook, @Ptbo_Artsweek on Twitter, and @artsweekptbo on Instagram.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Posted in EC3 Announcement, COVID-19, Bulletin

EC3 in the News: KawarthaNOW

November 11th, 2020

“Local poet Justin Million becomes downtown Peterborough’s first artist in residence” by Sarah McNeilly, KawarthaNOW.

Posted in Media Coverage

EC3 in the News: The Peterborough Examiner

November 7th, 2020

“Photos: Words, images, SHIFT in Peterborough,” The Peterborough Examiner.

Posted in Media Coverage

EC3 COVID-19 Bulletin #26: Announcing the Downtown Artist in Residence… and More

November 6th, 2020

With A Roundup of Recent Announcements:
EC3 is Hiring, Artsweek SHIFT, and a Special Thank You

Hello Everyone,

November is here and COVID-19 is still here. While short days and cool weather are on the agenda, so too are a wealth of great arts events, programs and opportunities. This Bulletin brings you a roundup of important announcements, a job opportunity and a special thank you. Stay tuned, because there is lots more to come.

Please be sure to follow us on Facebook, @ECThreePtbo on Twitter, @ec3ptbo on Instagram.

Announcing the 2020 Downtown Artist in Residence

EC3, in partnership with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) and Leslie Menagh of Madderhouse Textile Studios, is proud to announce that local poet Justin Million will be the 2020 Downtown Artist in Residence.

As Downtown Artist in Residence, Million will work out of Madderhouse Textile Studios (383 Water Street) in the heart of downtown Peterborough from mid-November to December 31, 2020, creating new work, as well as providing arts awareness and participation opportunities through events such as public performances, studio visits, and workshops.

Justin Million is a poet living in Peterborough. Through projects such as the Show and Tell Poetry Series, Keyboards!, and bird, buried press, Million has a track record both as a writer and a producer of creative events that support the literary and spoken word community, and provide audiences with unique live opportunities to experience some of the best literary artists in our region.

Watch for more announcements about Million’s project and public events.

EC3 is Hiring

EC3 is hiring an Arts Program and Production Assistant. This is a Canada Summer Jobs position, so we are looking for someone 30 years or younger. The deadline for applications is November 23, 2020. This is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience with our dedicated team of arts professionals and serve and support Peterborough’s arts, culture and heritage community.

See the job posting for more information.

Artsweek SHIFT

Artsweek SHIFT is underway! This project brings six months of great arts programming, online and in-person throughout Peterborough. Check out the Artsweek SHIFT website. Regular updates will be provided on Artsweek’s Facebook, @Ptbo_Artsweek on Twitter, and @artsweekptbo on Instagram. All Artsweek SHIFT events are FREE!

Here’s what’s coming up in Artsweek SHIFT:

This Saturday at 3pm, come out to The Theatre on King for An Afternoon of Spoken Word & Poetry #2 with poets Katherine Heigh, Justin Million, Shaun Phuah and Nick Taylor. Bring your mask, bring your own chair. (more info)

Menacing Beauty: The John Climenhage Storefront Project is on now until November 13. Stroll through downtown Peterborough and experience eight paintings by John Climenhage depicting the downtown during lockdown, displayed in storefront windows. (more info) You could even take it in as part of the First Friday Art Crawl tonight.

Post-Code Tour, curated by Hannah Keating, features local artists Derek Newman-Stille, Sioux Lily and Bethany LeBlonc in a futuristic digital exploration of iconic local sites that reimagines them through the lens of disability and accessibility. The project starts November 9 on Instagram – follow @post_code_tour to watch it unfold. (more info)

ESSENTIAL and KawarthaNOW

EC3 extends a huge and heartfelt thank you to KawarthaNOW for their outstanding support of our Peterborough Arts Alive program. Over the past two months, they have published 17 images featuring 20 artists from the ESSENTIAL Photo Project, which EC3 undertook with local photographer Julie Gagne. These eloquent photos documenting the lives of local artists during COVID-19 lockdown make us think about what has really mattered to us during the pandemic, what’s made a difference and helped us get through.

KawarthaNOW has been a fantastic partner on this project, providing outstanding design and editorial frameworks, while working tirelessly during this pandemic (and before) to get the word out about local arts and culture.

You can see the entire project – and lots of other Peterborough arts and culture coverage – on KawarthaNOW’s website.

Please stay well and let us know how we can help.
TRACK THE IMPACT.

Be safe, stay healthy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Su Ditta and the EC3 Board and staff

Contact
Su Ditta
Executive Director
Electric City Culture Council (EC3)
electriccitycc@gmail.com
www.ecthree.org
705 749 9101

Posted in COVID-19, Bulletin, EC3 Announcement

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With A Roundup of Recent Announcements: EC3 is Hiring, Artsweek SHIFT, and a Special Thank You

Announcing the 2020 Downtown Artist in Residence

EC3 is Hiring

Artsweek SHIFT

ESSENTIAL and KawarthaNOW

With A Roundup of Recent Announcements:
EC3 is Hiring, Artsweek SHIFT, and a Special Thank You