Top Spotlights of 2025

Written By Linda Browne

We're proud to have posted and shared 35 Spotlights via our Spotlight on Partnerships blog throughout 2025, exploring how creativity inspires and connects people, places and organizations across Newfoundland and Labrador (an indicator of how the arts and culture sector is embraced and valued in the province).

From Q&As with well-known local and national personalities, to stories about creative collaborations between local artists and businesses/organizations, here's a rundown of our top Spotlights from the past year.

A woman conducts a choir, who are wearing dark blue dresses with their hands raised in the air, while people sit and watch and smile.

Kellie Walsh conducts a performance by Shallaway at the 2025 (Un)Common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit.

Spotlight on Kellie Walsh: (Un)Common Threads 2025 Featured Speaker

"Working in the arts for as long as I have, I've learned that being creative is really about being open. It's being open to ideas. It's being open to risk. It's being really open to other people's perspectives and especially open to things that you don't understand."

In advance of the 2025 (Un)Common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit, renowned choral conductor Kellie Walsh took some time to chat about the power of collective creativity, collaboration and why shared artistic experiences matter more than ever. (Click here to read our Q&A with Kellie.)

A young woman wearing a black and white plaid jacket smiles as she sits on scaffolding in front of a black and white mural showing a caribou decorated with various Indigenous motifs.

Artist Kayla Williams sits with her work at the Canex building.

Spotlight on 5 Wing Goose Bay Murals & Artist Kayla Williams

"Through these murals, I was able to bring Indigenous presence, stories and imagery into a place that has often felt disconnected from that."

Since she was a child, Kayla Williams of Big Land Design has been sharing and celebrating Labrador life and culture through art and story. When the Department of National Defence commissioned her to create two murals at 5 Wing Goose Bay, Williams saw an opportunity to further share that culture and encourage reflection on the importance of respecting Indigenous knowledge and wisdom. (Click here to read more and see Kayla's work.)

A woman in a pink top sits and speaks with two other women seated across from her at a table. One has her hand on her chin and they both look thoughtful. Surrounding them are various items and artefacts from the community.

Artist Robyn Love (left) met with local women in the community of Gillams to collect their stories as part of her project “Frolic.”

Spotlight on Our Creative Home: Gillams Artist Residency with Robyn Love

"I was so honoured that people would bring me into their life...I think people were just totally ready to tell their story and have a way to have it be heard and seen."

A very different kind of "Our Creative Home" project, Robyn Love’s artist residency in Gillams focused on amplifying women’s lived experiences and preserving them within the community’s historical record. Her work also reflects art as both process and legacy — something created with, not just for, a place. (Click here to read more about Robyn's work in Gillams.)

Yellow and white text on a purple background says "Narrative Marketing, Where Stories Meet Strategy" with various shapes and the Business & Arts NL logo to the top left.

Spotlight on Business & Arts NL's Narrative Marketing Initiative

In October, we were thrilled to launch our Narrative Marketing Initiative — a year-long program designed to help local artists and arts organizations confidently communicate the value of their work. Consisting of hands-on workshops led by marketing experts and support for participants to put their narrative marketing plans into action, the initiative invites the arts community to embrace the stories that make them, and Newfoundland and Labrador, unique. (Click here to read more about the Narrative Marketing Initiative.)

A man in a dark jacket and glasses speaks to a seated crowd from a podium. Behind him is a Business & Arts NL banner in blue.

Tom Power speaks at the 2025 (Un)Common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit. Photo: Ritche Perez

Spotlight on Tom Power: (Un)Common Threads 2025 Featured Speaker

"I think the more that we realize that great art comes from normal people, and we dispel this idea that great art comes from people who aren't us, the more art can be made and the more opportunities we have to make it."

We were also excited to have local musician and host of CBC Radio's Q, Tom Power, join us for the 2025 (Un)Common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit. In our pre-show Q&A, we chatted with Tom about what he's learned through years of interviewing some of the world's most famous artists, how being an artist himself helps him connect with his guests and what keeps him curious. (Click here to read our Q&A with Tom.)

A man with short white/grey hair and a short beard laughs at a podium. Behind him are two banners, including a blue one from Business & Arts NL.

Todd Saunders addresses the crowd at the 2025 (Un)Common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit.

Spotlight on Todd Saunders: (Un)Common Threads 2025 Featured Speaker

"It's the creative mind combined with practical doers, makers — I think that's where the future is... I think that's what the world needs right now."

It's perhaps no surprise that our Q&A with another of our (Un)Common Threads featured speakers, renowned architect Todd Saunders, made the list. We chatted with Todd (whose work can be found all over the world) about the intersection of architecture and cultural identity, designing with place in mind and how growing up in Newfoundland helped shape his work. (Click here to read our interview with Todd.)

A group of people engage in a printmaking activity with rocky, barren landscape in the background.

Monotype in the Mantel: printmaking workshop participants using the mobile press in Gros Morne National Park, August 2022. Photo: SMP

Spotlight on Tomorrow's Towns

This placemaking program from Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) strives to help communities around the province become more sustainable, resilient and vibrant — while also sharing the vital role that arts and heritage plays. Business & Arts NL is pleased to be a partner in the Heritage and Arts stream, which helps municipalities preserve, celebrate and integrate cultural heritage into their planning and development, while encouraging them to support creative professionals by investing in public art projects, artist-in-residence programs and cultural festivals. (Click here to learn more about Tomorrow’s Towns and watch a webinar with our Executive Director, Amy Henderson.) 

A woman smiles as she shakes hands with another woman (also smiling) while holding a plaque in her other hand. Both are wearing blue tops and dark pants. There's an ArtsNL banner behind them and a podium next to them with microphone.

Amy Henderson, Executive Director of Business & Arts NL (right), accepts the Patron of the Arts Award from Andrea Barbour, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation on December 9 at Government House in St. John’s.

Spotlight on Business & Arts NL: Patron of the Arts

Last but not least, Business & Arts NL was thrilled to round out the year by being named Patron of the Arts during ArtsNL's 40th annual Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Awards at Government House. Since 2011, we've been working to champion and empower the local creative sector by acting as a conduit — encouraging businesses, individuals and organizations to get involved with and support arts and culture. We're grateful for this recognition of that work — and everyone who helps make it happen. (Click here to read more.) 

Have an idea for Spotlight on Partnerships, or a story to share about business and arts partnerships or projects? We'd love to hear from you! Reach out to us at: projects@businessandartsnl.com

Linda Browne
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Spotlight on Narrative Marketing at the Grassroots Level (Virtual Workshop)