Funding continues for Island artists 

Photographer Patricia Bourque’s solo exhibition, Beyond the Regalia, is now on display at the gallery at The Guild, with the support of an Arts Grant she received from the Prince Edward Island Government. 

Bourque is among 14 Island artists, out of 63 applicants, who recently received a total of $50,000 through the provincial government. Her exhibit features photographic portraits of Mi’kmaw women from the traditional territory of Mi’kma’ki. 

“This grant is a huge relief from the financial stress of doing a project like this,” Bourque said. “It allows me to continue to create beautiful images from around my traditional territory of Mi’kma’ki.”

The successful applicants were selected by a six-member jury of their arts community peers and follows the same model used by the Canada Council of Arts.

“Our artists, storytellers, musicians, writers, filmmakers and photographers are a tapestry of Prince Edward Island’s tradition, community and culture. Their creativity is incredibly valuable to our province, generating a meaningful contribution to our provincial economy,” Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture Minister Matthew MacKay said. “We are committed to ensuring Island artists continue to have the opportunities and support they need for personal development, because in return they’re enriching the lives of visitors and Islanders alike.”

Media contact:
Hillary MacDonald
Department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture
902-394-6368
hpsmacdonald@gov.pe.ca 

Backgrounder 

Successful Applicants

Rachel Beck
Creation, Music, $6000
To write and create master recordings of six new musical compositions to be released in 2020. 

Patricia Bourque
Creation, Visual Arts, $2795
To travel around the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaw and photograph the women, in the most raw authentic way, stripping away the stereotypes, showcasing their true selves, as women, mothers, grandmothers, community members and professionals. The work will be displayed in a solo gallery show named "Beyond the Regalia," for six weeks at The Guild in Charlottetown.

Maria Campbell
Creation, Visual Arts, $5000
Artists Maria Campbell and Patricia Bourque will collaborate to bring Patricia's artistic vision of proud, dignified Indigenous figures to the streets of Charlottetown.

Gerard Clarkes
Dissemination, Visual Arts, $2000
To clean and restore an extensive body of work: paintings that span six decades, for an exhibit at The Confederation Centre Art Gallery.

Candace Hagen
Dissemination, Theatre, $2000
To revise and remount the play Realizations, written by Candace Hagen, in a professional theatre setting. The play examines repressed memory, 2SLGBTQ+ identity, and gender-based violence.

Monica Lacey
Professional Development, Music, $1000
To participate in a 10 day self-directed artist residency at The Wild Mill Studios. 

Russell Louder
Creation, Music, $4000
To explore and compose new sounds which will then be incorporated into the process to write, create, arrange and produce new songs for their first album to be released in 2020.

Ryan McCarvill
Creation, Film and Media Arts, $4000
To complete post-production work on the self-financed shot on PEI short film The Sins of the Father. 

Melissa Mullen (The Homestead Players)
Creation, Theatre, $3704
To work with a dramaturge, musical director, and other actors to develop the script, the songs, and key aspects of staging on their script The Man Who Saved the Songs; followed by script revisions based on that week's discoveries and audience response.

Jessica Noonan
Dissemination, Writing and Publishing, $2000
To print a collection of their comics to be sold at various independent comic stores around the Maritimes, as well as at comic art conventions.

Jared Perry
Creation, Visual Arts, $4500
To assist with a multi-media art exhibition - Instructions for Use - an investigation of banal everyday tasks by breaking down the process in a step-by-step format inspired by instructions found in packaging. 

Emilee Sorrey (Sorrey)
Dissemination, Music $2500
To disseminate, present and tour the soon to be released debut full-length album, ‘In Full Bloom’. 

Alicia Toner
Creation, Music, $5000
To record her second full-length studio album on the Island to be released in 2020.

Greg Webster
Creation, Writing/Publishing, $5500
To create the second issue of Sandstone Comics Presents, a 72 page full colour graphic novel, which will showcase a variety of art and writing styles, that will be written, illustrated, inked, coloured, lettered and printed on Prince Edward Island.