Artsweek 2018, Peterborough’s biennial festival of the visual and performing arts, features more than 40 events with over 100 artists. The festival kicks off in Peterborough with a launch party on Friday (September 21) at the Peterborough Public Library, and continues until Sunday, September 30th.

Produced and presented by the Electric City Culture Council, this year’s program includes everything from music and dance to poetry and puppetry to clowns and flying canoes, and it all takes place in public spaces all across the city.

All Artsweek events are free and open to the public to experience.

“Artsweek 2018 features some of the most talented and imaginative artists in the city,” says Artsweek 2018 Artistic Producer Hannah Keating. “It shines a spotlight on the incredible creativity of this community.”

Artsweek 2018 includes some returning favourites such as the ‘Poetry Take-Out Cart’ (poetry on demand, just place your order) and ‘Porchapalooza’, front=porch concerts by a great line up of musical talent that take place in East City and the Old West End Avenues. Performance events include dancing on the escalators at Peterborough Square in ‘Sorry about what happend at the mall’, and aerial magic on the outside walls of the square with ‘Divergent Dances’.

‘Between the Water and the Sky’ — a dynamic fusion of music, dance and storytelling — will mesmerize audiences as it explores an artist’s journey to reclaim their Indigenous culture and heritage. ‘The Flying Canoe’ is an action-packed adventure told with theatre, dance and an aerial canoe.

In ‘The Wailing’, five 12-foot whales will weave in elegiac pageantry, music, and sound, calling audiences to remember what is happening to their world. ‘Tootah In Town’, an unorthodox clown, will pop up here and there throughout the festival. You can see printmaking in action and writ large, outdoors, at ‘Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking’.

In ‘Cognitively Nuanced: Neuro-Divergent Perspectives on a Burgeoning Urban Landscape’, you can connect with the experiences of people living with traumatic brain injuries through visual arts, media arts, writing, and performance. ‘Between the Lines’ is a site-specific series of pop-up projects organized by Hannah Keating and featuring filmmaker Daniel Crawford, visual artist Carolyn Code, and theatre artist Anne White.

This is a taste of what’s awaiting you during Artsweek 2018. Detailed information about each event, including artist bios, and a printable schedule are available at artsweekptbo.com, but kawarthaNOW has pulled together the following key details for your convenience, along with an interactive map of event locations:

Artsweek Launch Party

Date: Friday, September 21
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N)

Join the Artsweek team for the world premiere of Lester Alfonso’s Imaginarium, the Artsweek proclamation, opening remarks, and a sneak peek of festival highlights, including the Take-Out Poetry Cart, The Flying Canoe (Thomas Vaccaro), Porchapalooza (Washboard Hank and Sweet Muriel), and Between the Water and the Sky (Unity).

Refreshments will be provided.

Between the Lines

An outdoor exhibition of sculpture, animated film projection, and performance, Between the Lines is a group show that asks three local artists to respond to the questions posed and opportunities presented by “in-between” spaces.

Tangle is an outdoor installation by Carolyn Code. Using thread to sculpt geometric shapes, Carolyn’s piece draws on forms she has explored in previous work, while representing for the artist a bold new foray into public art.

The Door That You Walk Through is a film by Daniel Crawford. Projected onto the side of an abandoned brick building, the film weaves itself into the fabric of a magical, ramshackle setting behind The Only Café. Audiences are invited to journey through the café to the see the film.

Lookout is a performance by theatre artist Anne White. Anne positions herself with a critical eye in relationship to a space often overlooked, but heavy with personal, public, and historic meaning and asks audiences to do the same.

Between the Lines – Tangle by Carolyn Code
Date: September 22 – September 30
Time: All Day
Location: Behind Engage Engineering, 171 King St. Suite 120

Between the Lines – The Door That You Walk Through by Daniel Crawford
Date: September 24 – September 29
Time: 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Location: behind The Only Café, 216 Hunter St. W

Between the Lines – Lookout by Anne White
Date: September 24
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Between the Lines – Lookout by Anne White
Date: September 26
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Between the Lines – Curator’s Tour
Date: September 26
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Meet at Confederation Square, 499 George St. N Tour ends at The Only Café, 216 Hunter St. W

Between the Lines – Lookout by Anne White
Date: September 28
Time: 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Between the Water and the Sky

Between the Water and the Sky is a live performance featuring Unity Indigenous vocal ensemble, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra String Quartet, and dancer/choreographer Beany John.

A dynamic collaboration between art forms, Between the Water and the Sky features original songs “The Medicine Song” and “Ghost Dancer” by Unity, musical composition by Christine Donkin, and an embodied performance by John.

Between the Water and the Sky – Relaxed Performance
Date: September 27
Time: 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square Courtyard 360 George St. N

Between the Water and the Sky
Date: September 27
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Location: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Lobby (300 Water Street)

Between the Water and the Sky – Open Dress Rehearsal
Date: September 27
Time: 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: Trent University, 2510 Pioneer Rd. West side of Gzowski College

Between the Water and the Sky
Date: September 27
Time: 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer Street N)

Cognitively Nuanced: Neuro-Divergent Perspectives on a Burgeoning Urban Landscape

These are Horizon Days and The Brain Injury Association of Peterborough Region (BIAPR) have partnered to present Cognitively Nuanced, a multidisciplinary exploration of lives lived with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

A workshop series delivered prior to Artsweek invited members of the BIAPR to navigate Peterborough through verse, comedy, and sculpture and to create works that reflect their experiences.

Through poetry, dance, visual art, and photography, members share what it is like to move within and access Peterborough’s urban spaces.

Cognitively Nuanced: Exhibition Opening – painting, sculpture, photography, and performance
Date: September 22
Time: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Brain Injury Association Peterborough Region (BIAPR) 158 Charlotte St.

Cognitively Nuanced: Appendages in Relation to the Body (Revisited) – dance performance
Date: September 25
Time: 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square Courtyard 360 George St. N

Cognitively Nuanced: Brainstorm (cliché title subject to change) – poetry reading and chapbook launch
Date: September 26
Time: 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market Charlotte St.

Cognitively Nuanced: Appendages in Relation to the Body (Revisited) – dance performance
Date: September 27
Time: 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square Courtyard 360 George St. N

Divergent Dances Peterborough

Divergent Dances Peterborough is an outdoor aerial performance created by Brandy Leary of Anandam Dancetheatre. It features local dance artists Erin Ball, Opal Elchuk, Nikola Steer, and Thomas Vaccaro in performance on an exterior wall of Peterborough Square.

The performances will be prefaced by an open rehearsal on Tuesday, September 25th.

Divergent Dances Peterborough explores themes of listening, non-spectacle, and how bodies move in public space.

Divergent Dances Peterborough – Open Rehearsal
Date: September 25
Time: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N, Corner of George and Simcoe

Divergent Dances Peterborough – Performance
Date: September 28
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N, Corner of George and Simcoe

Divergent Dances Peterborough – Performance
Date: September 29
Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N, Corner of George and Simcoe

The Flying Canoe

The Flying Canoe, presented by the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts, tells the story of a French-Canadian folktale, the Chasse-Galerie (“The Flying Canoe”), with live fiddle music by Jay Edmunds.

Brought to life through live theatre, dance, fire spinning, and acrobatics, the piece follows four lonely woodcutters who strike a deal with the devil.

Witness the spectacle, the woodcutters’ comical, action-packed adventures, and their dealings with a fiery devil as they traverse an innovative circus apparatus — the aerial canoe — rigged to the roof of The Canadian Canoe Museum atop the Grand Portage.

Performers include Opal (Jennifer Elchuk), Kayla Stanistreet, Jeffrey Cadence, and Victoria Kopf as the woodcutters, Thomas Vaccaro as the devil, and dancers Sammi Blanchard, Jess Gentle, Ceinwen Perks, and Kollene Drummond.

The Flying Canoe – Performance
Date: September 27
Time: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: The Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Road

The Flying Canoe – Performance
Date: September 27
Time: 7 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Road

Imaginarium

Imaginarium is a large-scale video projection mapping work by filmmaker and media artist Lester Alfonso that transforms the front windows of the new Peterborough Public Library with light and imagination.

Imaginarium invites passersby into new worlds and adventures, like those provided by the books on library shelves. Creating moments of unexpected, immersive, and ambient encounters, with music by Sherine Cisco and sound mix/design by Michael Phillips, this mirage plays with ideas of individual memory and public architecture.

It is a temporary, site-specific, multimedia event that will make a lasting impression on all who manage to catch a glimpse.

Imaginarium – Film Projection
Date: September 21 – September 23
Time: 8 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N)

New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality

The Electric City Culture Council is proud to present the Downtown Artists in Residence Project, New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality. Six local artists have been selected to take part in the residency and have been invited to contemplate the theme of hospitality.

A cross-cultural value, hospitality can be expressed, understood, and interpreted in diverse ways. The Indigenous, settler, and newcomer artists taking part will share their unique perspectives on the subject as well as their diverse artistic practices. An exhibition, performance works, and public engagement activities, created in response to these collective investigations will be delivered throughout Artsweek 2018.

Featuring Brad Brackenridge, Kelly O’Neill, Nick Ferrio, Rodney Fuentes, Mayelin Lovet, and Alice Williams, the residency aims to give space and time to meaningful collaboration, community gatherings, and multidisciplinary expression.

Exhibition – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 22 – September 30
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St

Group Drawing Project – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 22
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St.

Applique Workshop – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 23
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Meta4 Contemporary Craft Gallery, 164 Hunter Street W.

Collecting Sound – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 24
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St.

Drop in Salsa Dance – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 25
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: The Theatre on King, 171 King St.

Painting Masks – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 26
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: The Theatre on King, 171 King St.

Artists Talk and Lunch (Provided by the Gitigaan Project) – New Visions / Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 27
Time: 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St

Textile Mark-Making – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 28
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Meta4 Contemporary Craft Gallery, 164 Hunter Street W.

Porchapalooza

Porchapalooza is a lively neighbourhood concert series that transforms front porches into stages for live, local music. The event features 13 performances over two days and is produced by local musicians Washboard Hank and Kris Fisher.

Roving from one porch to the next, audiences will enjoy diverse musical genres and the unique atmosphere of front-yard concerts in a thrilling two-day tour through the historic Avenues and in East City.

There are three tour times for each Porchapalooza concert, but audiences are welcome to pop in at any time and follow their own schedule.

Porchapalooza – Pine Box String Band (Old Style Roots/Blues)
Date: September 22
Time: 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m.
Location: 551 King St.

Porchapalooza – Rob Phillips (Jazz ensemble)
Date: September 22
Time: 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Location: 297 Maitland Ave.

Porchapalooza – The Smoke Eaters (Cosmic Country)
Date: September 22
Time: 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m.
Location: 298 Maitland Ave.

Porchapalooza – Robert Atyeo (Original Folk Stylings)
Date: September 22
Time: 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
Location: 314 Pearl Ave.

Porchapalooza – Television Rd (Jazzy Rock/Psych)
Date: September 22
Time: 4 p.m, 5 p.m., 6 p.m.
Location: 307 Boswell Ave.

Porchapalooza – Electric City Ukes (Eclectic 6-8 piece band)
Date: September 22
Time: 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Location: 467 King St.

Porchapalooza – Red Room Quartet (Classical)
Date: September 23
Time: 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m.
Location: 73 Robinson St.

Porchapalooza – Bruno Merz
Date: September 23
Time: 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Location: 111 Sophia St.

Porchapalooza – The Hunter St. Fire Brigade (Roots/Bluegrass trio)
Date: September 23
Time: 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m.
Location: 298 Mark St.

Porchapalooza – Lauryn Macfarlane (Blues/Alt Country)
Date: September 23
Time: 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
Location: 303 Mark St.

Porchapalooza – Winona Wilde (Folk Americana trio)
Date: September 23
Time: 4 p.m, 5 p.m., 6 p.m.
Location: 18 Maria St.

Porchapalooza – Mayhemingways (Folk-Rock-Cajun Power Duo)
Date: September 23
Time: 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Location: 19 Charles St.

Porchapalooza – Otis and The Honey Lambs (Dixieland Jazz)
Date: September 23
Time: 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m.
Location: 239 Burnham St.

Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking

Jeffrey Macklin’s Roll-O-Matic printing system brings lino-block printmaking to the streets and invites audiences to join in the fun. Together with Carl Baker, Jeffrey stages public acts of printmaking at the Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park and at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, bringing “The Print Medium is the Message” to Artsweek audiences.

The large prints will be hand-pulled using a heavy, hand-operated, water-filled lawn roller, inviting audiences to consider how traditional mediums might relate to contemporary modes of communication in a world consumed by digital media. An art event committed to bringing communities together, the blocks have been carved by Jeffrey, Carl, and local artists recruited through a public call: Kathryn Bahun, Bennett Bedoukian, Christy Haldane, Alana Batten, Rob Niezen, and Cyd Hosker.

The final product will be five bound volumes of a special edition book from Artsweek 2018.

Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking
Date: September 22
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: The Art Gallery of Peterborough (250 Crescent Street)

Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking
Date: September 29
Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: The Silver Bean, Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Sorry about what happened at the mall

Sorry about what happened at the mall is a site-specific contemporary dance work set in Peterborough Square. Choreographed in three parts by Victoria Mohr-Blakeney, Kate Story, and Ryan Kerr, the piece investigates themes of late capitalist decay and the creative possibilities of unexpected spaces.

Part one, Sorry, is a dynamic duet between Ryan and Kate performed on the escalators of Peterborough Square with musical accompaniment from Evangeline Gentle.

Part two, About what happened, takes place on a bench in the mall’s lower level and features Bennett Bedoukian, Jenn Cole, and music from Pam Birrell.

Part three, At the mall, is performed by Gavin Barton, Suzanne Sorensen, and Hayley Carroll from the TASS Integrated Arts Program. It takes audiences further into Peterborough Square with the musical stylings of Peterborough’s Garbageface.

Imbued with an awareness of the mall’s past and present, the work gestures toward a new set of possibilities and associations for the Square, even while its future remains unknown.

Sorry about what happened at the mall
Date: September 24
Time: 4 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N

Sorry about what happened at the mall
Date: September 25 – September 26
Time: 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N

Take-Out Poetry Cart

What do you do when you have a craving and don’t want to cook it yourself? You order take-out of course! Step right up to the handmade, bicycle-pulled Poetry Cart, where gracious servers will offer you a menu of poetic options.

Check off the style, mood, and theme you’re after and an array of talented writers will create an instant work of original poetry just for you, tapping it out on a classic typewriter. Whether you request a Shakespearean sonnet, a vengeful haiku, or a tragic ode, you are guaranteed to walk away with a unique work of spontaneous art.

This year, the Take-Out Poetry Cart will be fueled by the talents of Tammy Bunce, EJ, Kay’la Fraser, Jon Hedderwick, Wes Ryan, simon tjh-banderob, Ziy von B., and Hilary Wear.

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 22
Time: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 24
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 25
Time: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Victoria Park, Brock St. and Water St

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 26
Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market Charlotte St.

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Poetry Reading
Date: September 27
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Sadleir House, 751 George St N

Take-Out Poetry – Cart Session
Date: September 28
Time: 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Silver Bean Café, Millennium Park 130 King St.

Tootah in Town

Tootah is an open-hearted, family-friendly, red-nosed clown who likes to keep busy. Whether collecting garbage, trying to understand Bineshiinyag (the Birds), or joyfully interacting with passersby, Tootah is always tending to something important. This year, Tootah will appear in repeated locations at the same time over the course of Artsweek to deepen his relationships to people and to place.

Hilary Wear is Tootah’s animator and she creates opportunities for people to observe and interact with Tootah using a fun and collaborative approach. Through Tootah, Hilary continues to grow and strengthen her Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) muscle memory and invites audience to greet or visit with Tootah in their travels.

Tootah in Town
Date: September 25
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Tootah in Town
Date: September 25
Time: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (300 Water Street)

Tootah in Town
Date: September 26
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market Charlotte St.

Tootah in Town
Date: September 26
Time: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (300 Water Street)

Tootah in Town
Date: September 28
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Tootah in Town
Date: September 29
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Regional Farmer’s Market, 307 Aylmer Street N (Citi Centre Courtyard)

The Wailing

The Wailing is an outdoor performance conceived by multidisciplinary artist Laurel Paluck. At its centre is a pod of five large ghost whales assembled from plastic in Laurel’s downtown studio.

The whales gather, commune, and mourn in response to the harm caused by over consumption of plastic and human pollution, and invite audiences to do the same. They swim low through and around the crowd and audiences are encouraged to stroke them as they pass.

This striking visual and musical experience is created in part by Kathleen Adamson who has composed an original piece for the performance and by a choir and dancers who bring the piece to life. One of the whales is outfitted with a droning instrument that forms the base upon which this roving, ghostly performance unfolds.

The performance in Victoria Park is presented with special consideration for accessibility. Accommodations available upon request.

The Wailing
Date: September 23
Time: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: Riverview Park and Zoo (1300 Water St, Peterborough)

The Wailing
Date: September 27
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: The Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Road

The Wailing
Date: September 28
Time: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: Victoria Park, Brock St. and Water St.

Artsweek 2018 Event Location Map

kawarthaNOW has put together this interactive map of all the Artsweek 2018 events, so you can check what’s nearby when you’re around town over the next week.

View a larger version of this map.

All photos courtesy of Artsweek 2018.

Every Thursday, we publish live music and performance events at pubs and clubs in Peterborough and The Kawarthas based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, September 20 to Wednesday, September 26.

If you’re a pub or club owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our Nightlife Editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com.

There are those who back down from a challenge and there are those who embrace the most daunting of tasks. To the great benefit of the Peterborough arts community, and by extension the community at large, Su Ditta stands firmly with the latter.

Better still she’s not alone, as a member of the like-minded team bringing Artsweek back to the city from Friday, September 21st to Sunday, September 30th. The arts festival was officially launched at an event held Wednesday (September 19) at 418 George Street in downtown Peterborough, a space donated by project sponsor ünicity to serve as the festival’s headquarters.

With the theme ‘Art In Unexpected Places’, the biennial showcase of new work by more than 100 local artists will see more than 40 events staged at various locations. Millennium Park, The Canadian Canoe Museum, Peterborough Square, the Downtown Farmers’ Market, and Riverview Park and Zoo are among the venues.

VIDEO: The Artsweek Song

Equally varied is the art form menu that includes dance, theatre, poetry, visual arts, film, puppetry and live music. Admission is free to all events, a full listing and description of which can be found at artsweekptbo.com.

“There’s nothing like Artsweek in any other community our size,” says Ditta, Artsweek’s executive producer.

“I was really lucky to work with Liz Bierk on the first Artsweek in 2005,” Ditta recalls. “I keep thinking at the beginning (of each Artsweek planning process) that I’m going to be bored with it and then I just get more and more excited. This year, Gloria Proctor Bennett did these (promotional) videos. A whole bunch of them came in a batch. I watched them and I started to cry. I was so happy. I thought ‘Oh yes, this is what it’s about and it’s so good.'”

“The work gets better every year, the promotion gets better every year and, with the number of partners increasing, we know we’re on the right track. It’s a win-win for everybody. It’s something that’s socially important to do and imaginatively important.”

In 2005, when the City marked its 100th anniversary as an incorporated municipality, then mayor Sylvia Sutherland appointed a committee to organize a year-long series of projects and events. The theme of the 2005 Centennial Celebrations was ‘Imagine Peterborough’ and most of the activities focused on cultivating an investment in, and recognition of, Peterborough as a creative city.

Ditta, along with Bierk, was on that committee, charged with coming up with ideas to create designated legacy projects in the arts. From that effort, Artsweek, an annual event, was born.

There things stood until late 2014 when responsibility for Artsweek was assumed by the Electric City Culture Council (EC3), Peterborough’s newly formed municipal arts, culture, and heritage organization. After Artsweek was staged in 2016, the decision was made to present the event every two years moving forward. That, said Ditta, simply made good sense.

“Going biennial was an absolutely correct decision,” she said. “It was something that was recommended by a focus group that we held. It brought together people that were coming to Artsweek events and also those who weren’t. We heard ‘Fewer projects, please’ and ‘More money invested in every project’ and ‘More opportunities to see each project.'”

“We knew we needed more time to plan the festival and give artists more time to do their work, and to get our fundraising strategies in place, so we approached the City and asked if we could do that. They were giving us $25,000 a year. That money still comes but now we have $50,000 to invest at the start of each festival.”

VIDEO: “Imaginarium” test by Lester Alfonso at the Peterborough Public Library

A major player in the formation of this year’s Artsweek schedule is Hannah Keating. She says serving as the event’s artistic producer is “an honour” that has her more excited as the Friday, September 21st Artsweek kick-off nears — featuring the world premiere of filmmaker Lester Alphonso’s new film Imaginarium, which will projected on the Peterborough Public Library’s 16 front windows.

“It’s balancing so many projects, so many artists and so many locations,” says Keating of Artsweek’s logistical challenge.

“But so many locations in Peterborough have said ‘Please come here’ or, when we approach them, ‘We would love to have you.’ It makes those partnerships really easy when community organizations are willing and happy and able to welcome our projects in.”

“We really made a strong effort this time around to do a lot of outreach leading up to the festival. All through the summer we were at various events spreading the word and reaching out to specific partners, like the Council for Persons with Disabilities, the New Canadians’ Centre, and Peterborough Pride.”

When all is said and done, success, adds Keating, will show itself in various ways.

“It will be a real success if we get good numbers out to all of the events and we’re reaching new people. I think success is also the artists feeling great about the work that they’ve done. Most of works are brand new pieces. I think that’s one of the things we should be most proud of. If the artists feel gratified and fulfilled, that’s a huge success.”

For all the fine tuning that has occurred since 2005, Keating notes one Artsweek staple remains sacred: presenting artistic performances and work in public spaces where people typically gather. Ditta concurs, noting Artsweek remains a work in progress in terms of things learned and applied, year to year.

“There are things that we learned in 2016, everything from volunteer management to what we need on site,” Ditta says.

“This year we’re really proud that we have one performance designated as a relaxed performance that’s more welcoming to people with autism or uber sensory stimulation. The incredible people at the Council for Persons with Disabilities went to every single site with Hannah to see what we couldn’t do and what we could do to make them more accessible.

“And I think things went more smoothly with the artists than ever just because we learned through experience how much we need to know up front, when to push people, what kind of deadlines to set. We sought as much information about a piece as we could because we want to attract the biggest audience possible to see their work.”

Ditta adds the very fact that Artsweek is staged successfully in Peterborough is a huge credit to the artists involved.

“(Trent University president) Leo Groarke, whenever he’s talking about what it’s like to live in Peterborough, talks about the arts community and mentions that within three months of being here, he really could feel the arts community here punch way above its weight, as he put it,” she says.

“Bill Lockington is the chair of Community foundations Canada. He travels a lot. He says as soon as he goes anywhere and says he’s from Peterborough, the first thing people say is ‘Wow…there’s a great arts community there.’ It’s extraordinary because although we have a Cultural Studies program at Trent University, we don’t have a Fine Arts program. Typically you wouldn’t see this level of artistic practice in a city without a fine arts program.

“It’s a very supportive community for emerging artists. Senior artists helping starting artists without any question.”

kawarthaNOW.com — whose predecessor quidnovis.com provided the first online presence for Artsweek back in 2006 — is proud to be a project sponsor of Artsweek 2018, along with Bell Media, ünicity, and LLF Lawyers.

Artists sponsors are Jo Pillon of Royal LePage Frank Real Estate and Ashburnham Realty, and event sponsors are Laridae Communications and Lett Architects. Artsweek Muses are Core Chiropractic, Collins Barrow, Locks Salon and Spa, Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital, Farquharson Pineiro Law Office, Bryston, Peterborough Square, and Cherney Properties.