Case Study
Our Creative Home
Mural & Artist in Residence Program
Fostering opportunities for municipalities in NL to engage with artists.
This project provided twelve municipalities across the province with the funding and expertise to commission a mural or host an artist residency. Offered in partnership with Municipalities NL and supported by the Government of NL and sponsored by The Paint Shop, this initiative involved 1012 participants, and resulted in 94 events, and 8 works of public art that will be viewed by an estimated 40,000 people each year.
Our Role
To celebrate the Year of the Arts in 2024, Business & Arts NL worked with Municipalities NL to encourage art commissions and projects across the province.
Our role included:
Program design, planning, and implementation
Supporting program communications and outreach
Co-hosting public information sessions for prospective participants
Designing a submission process that was simple and accessible
Collaborating on the selection process
Designing resources (including MOU templates, artist contract recommendations, communications strategy support and more) for project participants
Working directly with each participating municipality to design Calls for Submissions, circulate calls to the arts community, assist with selection process, and artist contracting.
The result? Vibrant artworks sparking conversations in public spaces across the province, communities engaged in creative activities, and fourteen artists with 4 - 35 years’ experience each connecting to fresh opportunities and new audiences from Gaultois, to Englee, to Cartwright.
Our Creative Home Projects
Botwood
During her artist residency at Botwood Memorial Academy, emerging artist Tiffany Lyver collaborated with K-6 students to transform a 25-foot brick wall in the school's foyer into a vibrant mural celebrating growth cycles, agriculture, and sustainability. This collaborative project enhanced the students' learning environment while creating a lasting symbol that connects the school's hands-on agricultural curriculum to the broader community's commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable growth.
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Tiffany Lyver
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Botwood Memorial Academy Staff and Students
Botwood Collegiate’s Art Teacher and Students
Botwood Mural Arts Society
Town of Botwood
The Paint Shop, Grand Falls Windsor
Burnt Islands
In the wake of Hurricane Fiona's devastation, the Town of Burnt Islands commissioned artists JoAnn Goosney and Miranda Hardy to create a mural for their rebuilt Hook and Line Interpretation Center. The artwork celebrates the enduring strength of their fishing culture, weaving together traditional techniques and stories passed down through generations. The mural reminds residents of their history of fortitude when facing any storm while honouring the resilience that continues to define the community today.
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JoAnn Goosney
Miranda Hardy
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Town of Burnt Islands
The Burnt Island Economic Development Board
Hook and Line Interpretation Centre
Cartwright
After visiting during heritage week celebrations and engaging in ongoing discussions with Cartwright residents from youth to elders, Inuk visual artist Monika (Dee-Jay) Rumbolt wove their stories and ideas into a vibrant mural. The artwork features women with drums, fishermen hauling nets alongside whales, and caribou antlers among local flora. The deeply collaborative approach created a piece that has amplified the community's voice, become a focal point for the town, sparking tremendous community pride and calls for more artistic celebrations of Cartwright's rich history.
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Monika (Dee Jay) Rumbolt
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Town Council of Cartwright
Sandwich Bay 50+ Club
Nunatukavut Community Council
Chapel Arm
Writer Matthew LeDrew and visual artist Kaeleigh Fitzgerald brought complementary skills to Chapel Arm's newly acquired Community Centre as artists in residence. Through storytelling workshops, art classes, and regular drop-in hours, they engaged multiple generations of residents to reflect on their cultural history while envisioning the community's future. LeDrew's documentation of local stories and history alongside Fitzgerald's visual arts programming helped residents of Chapel Arm and neighbouring communities connect with their heritage and transform their community hub into an active creative space.
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Matthew LeDrew, writer
Kaeleigh Fitzgerald, visual artist
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Town of Chapel Arm
Chapel Arm Community Centre
Chapel Arm Sports and Recreation Committee
Englee
Through dedicated consultation and collaboration with council and volunteers, artist Kyle Bennett created "Through Line," a large-scale mural painted on panels installed along Englee's central playground fence that captures the town's essence through its natural beauty and historic stories. From the salt fish plant and salmon operation that once served the Queen to the community's proximity to the 1914 sealing disaster, the artwork has fostered community pride, sparked intergenerational conversations about local heritage, and strengthened the community's sense of collective memory.
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Kyle Bennett
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Town of Englee
Holy Family Elementary
Crescent Collegiate
Gaultois
In the car-free island community of Gaultois, artist Sabrina Pinksen transformed the community centre with an impressive 80-foot mural that wraps around two sides of the building, weaving together six scenes of local history—from the town's former fish plant to neighbours gathering by the water. By painting panels inside the centre and inviting residents to witness the creative process, the project became a communal celebration that captures Gaultois's unique outport heritage while fostering incredible community pride and drawing visitors from around the world to experience this remarkable story firsthand.
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Sabrina Pinksen
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Town of Gaultois
Martine Blue, program coordinator
Issac Blue, installation technician
Gillams
During a three-month artist residency, Robyn Love's project "Frolic" brought Gillams women together for bi-weekly needlework gatherings that rekindled the tradition of “spinning frolics”, when women traditionally gathered to prepare wool for winter knitting. These intimate conversations about their lives and those of their mothers and grandmothers were recorded for an audio and photographic archive that preserves and amplifies the voices and immense contributions of women's labour in this North Shore community.
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Robyn Love
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Town of Gillams
Gillams Historical Society
Hopedale
Coming soon!
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William Nochasak
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Town of Hopedale
Nanuk Community Centre
Hopedale Inuit Community Government
Pasadena
The main entrance of Pasadena Place Community Centre now features a playful mural by Jessica Winters that celebrates "Recreation for All" through diverse characters with exaggerated, ambiguous features participating in everything from sports and fitness to arts and outdoor activities. Visitors are immediately drawn to study the many different characters and activities—like a "Where's Waldo" experience—while the artwork communicates that this state-of-the-art facility truly welcomes everyone regardless of age, ability, background, or interests.
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Jessica Winters
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Town of Pasadena
Pasadena Place Community Centre
Stephenville
As part of its commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, the Town of Stephenville is developing a community cultural space featuring four wigwams representing the medicine wheel and four directions. Through the Our Creative Home initiative, local Mi'kmaw artist Marcus Gosse created artwork for the Men and Elders wigwams to complete the project alongside the existing Women and Children components. The cultural site will bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members to gain a deeper understanding of Mi'kmaw culture while creating a meaningful space for learning, sharing ceremonies, and celebrating Indigenous culture past, present, and future.
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Marcus Gosse
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Town of Stephenville
Stephenville Public Works Department
Stephenville Recreation and Wellness Department
Trinity Bay North
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Trinity Bay North's formation, artists Trish Rogers and Angelina Rogers created a striking mural consisting of four 4' x 6.5' panels celebrating the theme "Unity Through Uniqueness"—each panel honouring the rich history and heritage of Melrose, Port Union, Catalina, and Little Catalina. Installed in the Frank Power Chalet in Port Union, this unified artwork showcases how four distinct communities came together to form one municipality while preserving the diverse arts, culture, and community spirit that has flourished over two decades of unity.
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Trish Rogers
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Municipality of Trinity Bay North
Union House Arts
Historic Committee of Trinity Bay North
Coaker Foundation
Wabana
Coming Soon!
Spotlights on Our Creative Home
