Monthly Archives: December 2016

Everything Was Once New

What is The Guild?

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In February, 1994, the PEI Council of the Arts acquired the Royal Bank Building at the corner of Richmond & Queen Streets in Charlottetown, PEI, the current location of The Guild.

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The intent was to convert the building from a bank into an arts/cultural centre designed to house a theatre, a gallery, studio working space for existing and emerging artists, as well as office space for the PEI Council of the Arts and other non-profit cultural organizations.

Initially, the facility was incorporated as a for-profit entity, operating as The Arts Guild, with the expectation to become financially sustainable and have the capacity to generate annual revenues that would meet its operational and capital requirements.

However, throughout the 10-year period that followed, various challenges and limitations proved to be daunting to the new managers of the building therefore, the original intentions for the space were not met.

In 2004, a new non-profit corporation (ARS LONGA Inc.) was formed and a 6-member Board of Directors was appointed by the signatories of the original Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the Province of PEI, the City of Charlottetown, The PEI Council of the Arts. The new corporation currently operates as “The Guild” and runs all aspects of the building’s operations.

In July, 2005, operations of The Guild began under a new Mission and Vision set out by the Board of Directors and which directs the operation of the facility to this day.

Members of the Board of Directors continue to work in concert with the Executive Director of The Guild to achieve long term success; specifically, to enable greater participation and inclusion for all the vibrant cultural community on Prince Edward Island.

Funniness

Popalopalots is Back!

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Remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger in that movie where he’s trying to save the boy who would grow up to save humanity, said “I’ll be back”? Well, imagine, instead of Arnold, it was Popalopalots Improv Comedy who would be back. And instead of trying to save humanity, Popalopalots just wanted to make you laugh.

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Performing their make-it- up-on- the-spot sketch comedy at The Guild in Charlottetown, Popalopalots will have you laughing when they succeed, and laughing even harder when they fail.

Popalopalots appears at The Guild on January 5th 8 -10 PM.

News Flash

Catch a Dream

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Calling All Dreamers! Confederation Centre Launches Website and Submission Page for ‘The Dream Catchers’

Confederation Centre’s signature project for Canada’s 150th anniversary next year is The Dream Catchers, a national touring production in two stages, funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada 150 Fund. Between February and April, an artistic team will travel to each province and territory to facilitate workshops, exploring young people’s dreams for themselves and Canada, with a focus toward the environment, inclusion, and reconciliation.

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Youth across the country will also be able to submit their dreams online, sharing their hopes for the future. The Dream Catchers website is now live and ready to receive dreams for a brighter future and applications to be part of the exciting workshops.

The website and dream submission page for youth age 17 and under to apply to be part of The Dream Catchers can be found in both French and English at dreamingcanada.ca or capteursdereves.ca.

Applicants may submit artwork, short videos, or text proposals and be as plain or poetic as they feel. The key to a good submission is the core idea and not the style, length, or format at this stage.

In the workshops actual dreamcatchers will also be created by the youth in each community and integrated by Indigenous visual artist Nick Huard into a large national dreamcatcher exhibited at Confederation Centre next summer.

Huard and Mary Francis Moore, associate artistic director of The 2017 Charlottetown Festival, will lead the sessions in collaboration with local artists in each region, including Fred Penner, Twin Flames, Nikki Payne, Romesh Thavanathan of Hey Rosetta, City Natives, and more.

“Our youth are our future ancestors and their dreams are impressive,” states Huard. “This project encourages them to imagine, gives them a voice and a chance to represent themselves. We want to remind them to keep dreaming because dreams can become reality, and The Dream Catchers reminds them to pursue the dream the creator put in their hearts.”

Gleaned from the workshop ideas and online submissions from Canada’s young people, the creative team will produce a vibrant and movement-filled musical for an expanded Confederation Centre Young Company. A troupe of 26 emerging artists will be cast to present this exciting new theatre production both on P.E.I and nationally throughout the summer of 2017.