Wonder'neath Art Society
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Mission Statement
Wonder’neath Art Society brings professional artists and local residents together in dynamic studio exploration. We support artistic development, cross-pollination of ideas, and community dialogue through the arts.
About This Cause
Wonder’neath Art Society’s mandate encourages and promotes art as a tool for expression, connection and social transformation by bringing professional artists and local residents together in dynamic studio explorations. Our organization provides affordable studio space for professional artists and fine craftspeople, and offers regular public studio access. Wonder’neath shares contemporary arts practices through facilitated activities, structured studio support, and dialogue with artists through educational and experiential platforms. As an organization, Wonder’neath is committed to exploring the role of practicing artists as creative catalysts in the community and developing creative partnerships, programs, and collaborative projects with art and community organizations. Over the past 7 years, Wonder’neath has grown and evolved in response to local needs, demonstrating artistic leadership in the context of an active neighborhood-based visual art studio. Wonder’neath’s signature program, Open Studio was created specifically to offer free and inclusive art-making opportunities to people of all ages and means, while fostering a sense of belonging and connection in this rapidly changing North End Halifax region. Since 2014, Open Studio has resonated with surrounding communities – attracting more than 17,000 participants in total, an average of 45 people per session. During the pandemic, Open Studio has shared over 7,500 free take home Art Kits for community members and non profits. Art Bikers, a mobile art program that hires artists to work in public parks and green spaces locally, extends access to the arts and focuses on community building, collaborative projects, and supporting diversity in the arts. This bicycle-based program with a 14 year history has been run from Wonder’neath over the past 3 summers, and extends Wonder’neath’s outreach and overall capacity. Training and mentoring emerging artists in community arts practice is a significant focus of the Art Bikers summer program. Wonder’neath Art Society emerged from a history of artistic collaboration. Established initially in 2013 to provide affordable, stable studio space and a collaborative context for practising artists, Wonder’neath has been home to over 45 visual artists and fine craftspeople to date. Currently Wonder’neath supports artists through our Studio Artist Program (renewable studio rentals), artist residencies (that support artistic development and connect community participants to the work of contemporary artists), artist talks/workshops, facilitation opportunities, and short-term studio rentals. The organization maintains a resource library, and in 2016 created Wooden Hills – a gallery space to showcase the range of artwork produced in the studio, which has evolved and continues in our new location at 2482 Maynard Street. Wonder’neath is currently celebrating a recent move to a purpose built facility in the North End of Halifax/Kjipuktuk (October 2020). Wonder’neath manages half of a 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 art for our broader community, and continuing to highlight the critical role of hands-on studio space in artistic development. This project brings together private investment and charitable experience in a collaborative model to develop a vibrant model of artistic sustainability.