• Introductions
• CraftCurrents Exhibition and Schedule
  
• Regional Meet & Greets and CraftSmarts Workshops
• Past Events

Growing Ontario’s Craft Community - NORTH

 
After a fabulous trip through Northern Ontario in the late fall of 2010, the Ontario Crafts Council is very excited to announce the official beginning of our Northern Growing Ontario’s Craft Community (GOCC) project.
 
Focusing our efforts within the Eastern and Southwestern regions of Ontario over the last two years has enabled us to develop a strong platform from which to launch GOCC in Northern Ontario. It also led us to recognize that we couldn’t embrace the geographic entirety of the north through only one hired coordinator. With this knowledge in hand, the OCC has decided to build a northern team, including our  Northeastern Regional Coordinator and North Bay Community Officer. The first position is hired directly through the OCC’s GOCC funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, while the latter is taking place through a partnership with CARFAC ON and the White Water Gallery.
 
As such, the OCC is proud to welcome Jude Ortiz and Stephanie Gardiner. Jude, through a contract developed with the NORDIK institute, will be stepping into the role of Northeastern Coordinator, working from NORDIK institute’s offices in Sault Ste. Marie. Stephanie stepped into the Community Officer role at the beginning of the year, and will be located at the White Water Gallery in North Bay. Please see below for more details and their contact information.
 
The OCC would like to express its sincere thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council and the McLean Foundation for their incredible support of the GOCC project.

Jude Ortiz

Northern Coordinator
Growing Ontario's Crafts Community
NORDIK Institute, Algoma University
Sault Ste. Marie, ON 
Jude.Ortiz@algomau.ca
Phone: (705) 949-2301 ext. 4222

Jude Ortiz has worked in the arts and culture sector her entire life. As a studio goldsmith she has operated a successful studio goldsmithing business and been invited to participate in local, Canadian and international exhibitions. Jude has coordinated and delivered fine arts post-secondary education in Ontario and the Canadian arctic providing her considerable experience in working and liaising with a variety of Indigenous peoples, governments and funding agencies.

Since 2004 Jude has worked for NORDIK Institute, at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie  conducting community-based research (projects) around resilience and the links between culture and the creation of healthy, resilient and sustainable communities.

In 2005 Jude prepared a Community Strategic Planning Toolkit for Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) and a Community Engagement Toolkit for Health Canada.  In 2007 she completed the report, Culture, Creativity and the Arts: Achieving Community Resilience through the Arts in Sault Ste. Marie which looks as the socioeconomic impact of the arts on the Sault’s economy and in 2009 led Community Arts Ontario’s Breathing Northwinds project aimed to increase participation, education and employment opportunities in the cultural sector in Northern Ontario. She is currently working on a strategic plan to develop Northern Ontario’s culture and creative sector.

Jude is a PhD candidate at the University of the West of England (Bristol).

Stephanie Gardiner

Community Officer
White Water Gallery, Ontario Crafts Council and CARFAC Ontario
143 Main Street West
P.O. Box 1491
North Bay, Ontario
P1B 2T6

P: (705) 476-2444
E: sgardiner@craft.on.ca

I was raised in Tilbury, Ontario. I completed my Honours BA in Sociology at the University of Waterloo, and my MA in Sociology at the University of Windsor.
Throughout my life, I have involved myself in many different community organizations and volunteer positions; such as Food Banks in both the Kitchener/Waterloo and Windsor regions, volunteering at the Kitchener/Waterloo Soup Kitchen, actively participating and raising monies for Walk-A-Thons, assisting at the local North Bay Humane Society, as well as currently helping local organizations provide education for the youth/young people in the North Bay Region about the dangers of substance abuse and the community resources available to support such problems.
I am adamant about getting individuals within the community involved with both art and community development projects as well as empowering them with relevant information to generate more social action.

CraftCurrents:

A Juried Traveling Exhibition of Contemporary Craft in Northern Ontario

CraftCurrents jurors John Ferris, Linda Finn and Laurent Vaillancourt, would like to thank all who submitted work for this exhibition and encourage everyone to view the show either in person or through the on-line catalogue available below.

Overall, the call for entry was very competitive, and after carefully reviewing a total of 79 entries, the jury chose a final 44 works to be included by the following 34 makers: Kathleen Baleja, Paul E. Beebe, Bernadine Boissoneau, Sharon Breckenridge, Keith Campbell, Christine Charette, Joanne Critchley Browne, David Cureton, Carole Davidson, Jack Dunning, Murray Finn, Kris Goold, Erick and Lisa Hanson, Marke Henteleff, Ursula Hettmann, Susan Higgins, Cheryl Jonah, Noel Keag, Joanne Kelly, Alison Kendall, Jeff Martens, Judy Martin, Marni Martin, Zoe McDougall, Debbie Metzler, Sam Moligian, Jude Ortiz, Irene Peel, Kasia Piech, Tine Schrijvers, Denise Smith, Crystal Sohlman, Christine Williston and Cheryl Wilson Smith.

The pieces utilize a variety of media including bone, brass, ceramics, copper, driftwood, fabric, feathers, fleece, glass, gourds, leather, stainless steel, sterling, sweetgrass, wasp paper and wood finely crafted into a wide range of objects. 





To download the CraftCurrents Booklet (10 MB) please CLICK HERE.

CraftCurrents Dates and Venues

Past Events

Reflecting the North: Regional Realities in Art, Craft and Culture

Arts Symposium and Exhibition.

Delta Waterfront Hotel and Conference Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Friday, November 4, 2011
9:00am - 4:00pm

Delta Waterfront Hotel and Conference Centre
208 St. Mary's River Drive
Sault Ste. Marie, ON

The Arts symposium in SSM was a terrific gathering of artists, funders, economic development officers and Ministry people who came together to connect, share and generate ideas around ways to make the arts in Northern Ontario a more sustainable livelihood. Over 50 people from a variety of cultures and locations contributed to the buzz of ideas for immediate action and longer term approaches. 

Melanie Muncaster, Program Manager for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (HOHFC) provided an overview of supports available to the arts with examples of past funding. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Ontario Arts Council, CARFAC Ontario, Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Ontario Crafts Council each delivered a concise 2 minute overview of their respective programs and services.

Presentations covered the arts contribution in building resilience and Francophone, Aboriginal, Organizational and Educational perspectives on sector development. The video collage highlighting artists, organizations and economic development officers from across the North in 1 minute segments was a huge hit. Many commented that it was amazing to see the quality and diversity of work and hear individuals speak of what is working for them and some issues they face.

Thank you to all who traveled from Fort Frances, Red Lake, Hearst, Wawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Elliot Lake, Manitoulin Island and Sudbury, and points in between, as well as those who joined us on-line to make this event a great success.

If you missed the symposium most of the resources are posted on the blog http://reflectingthenorth.wordpress.com.

Meet with artists, funders, arts service organizations and Ministry representatives
to discuss ways to further develop the arts:

• How can artists, arts organizations and collectives be further supported?
• What are ways of retaining and increasing the diversity and range of artists?
• How can decision-makers and policy further address the needs of the North?

What to expect throughout the day:

• Key note speaker is Bruce Strapp, ED of Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (NOHFC) whose mandate is to develop Northern business
• Plenary provides artists, Francophone, Aboriginal, organizational and educations perspectives
• A video highlighting the quality and diversity of the arts and their visions
• Funders forum
• Break-out sessions
• Facilitated Solutions provides funders, etc. an opportunity to discuss what they learned and ways to address issues
  
  
  BLOG: http://reflectingthenorth.wordpress.com
  CONTACT: jude.ortiz@algomau.ca

To save or print this information, download the pdf.

Fort Frances CraftSmarts Workshop

October 22, 2011
Fort Frances Museum, 11am - 4pm, Networking and Supporting Working Together

Lindsay Hamilton of Fort Frances, a visual artist and Steering Committee member of the GOCC-North project, facilitated the events. The day began with a Meet & Greet over lunch followed by Jude Ortiz joining the group via telephone to talk about the OCC’s programs, services and grants. It was followed by a CraftSmarts Workshop with Irene McCuaig and Laurie Dufresne, co-chairs of Lake of the Woods Artist collective (LOWAC) in Kenora as on-site guest speakers discussing the origins of their organization and the benefits and challenges they face.

Lindsay surveyed the artist identifying their disciplines and locations as many came from nearby communities. Many new connections were made and ideas shared over enthusiastic conversations around forming a collective in Fort Frances. The workshop ended with the group deciding to spread the word to other artists about their next meeting which would focus on forming a collective. Congratulations on a successful CraftSmarts workshop!

Wawa Meet & Greet and CraftSmarts Workshop

October 14 and 15, 2011
Location: NITGC Board Room at the Confederation College Building

The Friday evening Meet & Greet gathered 27 people from Wawa and White River to learn about OCC’s programs and services and provide input. The group was a good cross section of (primarily) visual arts disciplines with a range of ages and experience in the arts. A lot of sharing, networking and connecting took place given that very few people knew each other. Some people were able to bring a piece of their art which provided an opportunity for an informal sharing session toward the end of the evening. It was a lively evening and everyone went away with something.

Saturday’s CraftSmarts Workshop, Marketing Workshop for Local Artists: Individually and Collectively, drew an equally large crowd to investigate opportunities for developing marketing opportunities. Wawa’s Gitchee Goomie Gallery administrator spoke about the spring launch in the Lakeview Hotel and the hope to keep it running until December with plans to reopen next year. Their structure of two directors with visiting artists invited on two week rotating cycles really worked for them. There was a lot of discussion around its structure and ways to build on the momentum given the uncertainties around it running again next summer.

Jude Ortiz and David Thompson of NORDIK Institute presented on resilience and the arts and the development of a cooperative. Participants engaged with Arlene Bear (via conference call) who facilitated the development of Ohpahow Wawesecikiwak Arts Marketing Co-operative Ltd, an arts cooperative located in northern Saskatchewan.  They were also introduced to Wawa’s Cultural Mapping Project led by Johanna Rowe and were invited to contribute to the oversized asset map she had prepared for the occasion.

Dan Friyia, Executive Director of the Superior East Futures Development Corporation and Maury O’Neil, Economic Development Officer for the Town of Wawa were on hand to address questions around development. At the end of the session the group decided to keep the discussion going, notify other artists who were not able to attend and to meet again in the New Year to further discuss their options.

Manitoulin Island Meet & Greet and CraftSmarts Workshop

September 23 and 24, 2011
Location: Central Manitoulin Township Council Chambers, Municipal Building, 6020 Hwy 542, Mindemoya 

This event focused on bringing together artists from across the Island to learn about the OCC and investigate ways of working together to market their work. Heather Thoma and Sophie Edwards of 4 Elements Living Arts hosted and facilitated the event which included a Meet & Greet on Friday September 23 from 7:00 - 9:00pm and a CraftSmarts Workshop on Saturday September 24 from 12:00 - 4:30pm.

The event was a great success with a wide range of artists meeting from various parts of the Island, many for the first time. The artists showed their work to each other initiating many new relationships.

During the Meet & Greet Sarah Marusyk of NORDIK Institute, Algoma University provided participants with information about the OCC’s programs, services and grants as well as a brief overview of the Ontario Arts Council’s and CARFAC Ontario’s services. The artists discussed ways the OCC could further support their needs and their suggestions have been passed along.

The CraftSmarts Workshop, Exploring Ways of Working Together, focused on opportunities to market art and craft work individually and/or collectively. Irene McCuaig and Laurie Dufresne, Co-Chairs of Kenora’s Lake of the Woods Arts Collective and John Ferris from the Aboriginal Artworks Group of Northern Ontario based in Thunder Bay linked in via telephone conference and spoke about the origins of their organizations and the benefits and challenges they face while their PowerPoint presentations were viewed.

The two Community Futures Development Corporations located on Manitoulin Island also presented. Jason Peltier, Business Development Officer of Waubutek, spoke about opportunities for Aboriginal development and Mary Nelder from LAMBEC discussed non-Aboriginal opportunities. Both noted that funding could include partnerships across cultures. After the presentations the room was a buzz of possibilities with the group deciding to meet again in November to further discuss marketing options. They anticipate a much larger gathering next time once the word spreads across the Island.

OAC Granting Program Information Sessions

CARFAC Ontario (Canadian Artists’ Representation/le Front des artistes canadiens), the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), and the Ontario Crafts Council (OCC) invite you to one in a series of:

FREE Information Sessions about OAC’s granting programs for Visual Artists & Craft Artists, as well as services provided by the OCC and CARFAC Ontario

Learn more about:

Services and support for visual artists and craft artists
Whether you, your collective or organization are eligible for OAC grants
The grant application process (deadlines, etc.)
How grant decisions are made and how juries are selected
How to select and prepare support material and draft clear, concise grant applications
Project budgeting