Peterborough’s Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has announced 17 local artists have been awarded a total of $35,250 through the 2025 grants for individual artists program, which is jointly funded by the not-for-profit organization and the City of Peterborough and is designed and administered by EC3.
This is the fourth year of the program, which in its first three years has awarded over $162,000 in funding to 72 local artists, leading to new artistic events and projects across the city and county of Peterborough and supporting dozens more artists and organizations in the process.
“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,” said EC3 executive director Su Ditta in a media release.
“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,” Ditta added. “New books, poetry, concerts, plays, exhibitions, albums, and performances of all kinds will touch our hearts, minds, and imaginations.”
The grants for individual artists program has two components: mini development grants of up to $1,500 and project creation, production, and presentation grants of up to $3,500.
The mini development grants support the research, development, and workshopping of original new works, as well as professional training and mentorship opportunities to advance artist practice. The project creation, production, and presentation grants support specific projects for individual professional artists, including costs such as artist fees, production materials, venue rentals, technical equipment, costumes, printing, and more.
Professional artists working in every discipline, genre, and medium were eligible, including those who work in multi-disciplinary or community-based arts practice, in both traditional or contemporary forms.
The program’s open call for applications in late June resulted in 50 applications from artists by the August 19 deadline, with 45 eligible applications requesting a total of more than $108,000. A five-member peer assessment jury evaluated the applications and awarded grants to 17 artists, including $12,750 in grants for nine artists in the first component and $22,500 in grants for eight artists in the second component.
Below is a list of all the artists who received grants in each component of the program, along with a brief description of their projects.
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.
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.
