SAULT STE MARIE/ALGOMA, ON- January 13, 2026
Community-engaged artists and organizations are one step closer to having a provincial organization dedicated to supporting their professional development and capacity. Such an organization would strengthen their ability to assist communities to build social capital, nurture resiliency, share stories, revitalize cultural traditions, promote active citizenship and tackle big ideas or challenges. Community-Engaged Arts (CEA) is an inclusive practice and unique creative form whereby professional artists collaborate with community members to co-create new artistic works.
The research, which aims to identify an organizational structure that would best support CEAs, considered emerging governance models and the feasibility and sustainability of launching a new organization. In an effort to meet the province’s various geographical and cultural realities, particularly those of Northern Ontario, research participants recommend a flexible structure with opportunities to work from physical and/or hybrid locations. This would enable CEAs to support community development, healing and co-creation over a longer period of time. Study participants also express a need for a clear mandate to: define the practice of CEA; convene opportunities for community exchange, knowledge generation and sharing; facilitate partnership and synergies; and increase understanding of the many positive individual and collective benefits that are sparked by CEA practice.
This research is timely. Miranda Bouchard, Thinking Rock Community Arts Artistic Director, notes, “While we clearly see the positive impacts our work is having on communities, we are facing increasing challenges to its sustainability. An organization dedicated to supporting CEAs would enable practitioners and organizations to maximize their limited resources in nourishing their communities while contributing meaningfully to their field of artistic practice.”
The research was led by Thinking Rock Community Arts in partnership with NORDIK Institute and funded by the Ontario Arts Council’s Strategic Collaborations Fund and the City of Sault Ste. Marie’s Arts and Culture Assistance Program.
The report, In Service of our Stories: Co-Designing a Community-Engaged Arts Service Organization, is available on the Thinking Rock Community Arts and NORDIK Institute websites. The next steps in the process of establishing a dedicated organization are to identify funding and investment opportunities, and to develop an operational plan.
For more information, please contact:
Amy Boyer, Communications Manager NORDIK Institute, 705-949-2301, ext. 4812, or email amy.boyer@algomau.ca
