(Un)Common Threads 2025

Creativity as a Catalyst for Connection, Well-Being, and Economic Growth

November 4, 2025

8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Sheraton Hotel, St. John's, NL

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

SPEAKERS ARTISTS TICKETS

An (Un)Common Experience, Designed for Real Connection

(Un)Common Threads 2025 is a dynamic collision of art, ideas, and real connection. With immersive moments, unexpected insights, and cross-sector conversations, this half-day summit will shift your perspective and spark something new.

You’ll engage with bold thinkers, connect with people outside your usual circles, and experience creativity not just as a concept, but as something alive in the room.

Whether you're in business, public service, the arts, education, or entrepreneurship, this event offers practical insights and powerful stories to help you rethink what creativity means in your work and life, and how it can fuel collaboration, resilience, and innovation.

Illustrations from the 2024 (Un)Common Threads Summit by @elijahjanka

(Un)Common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit Schedule

Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Sheraton Hotel, St. John’s

8:30 a.m. – Doors Open

9:00 a.m. – Welcome in the Garden featuring Jing Xia

9:20 a.m. – Todd Saunders

10:05 a.m. – Kellie Walsh

10:50 a.m. – Coffee Break featuring interactive art installations by Rebecca Feaver and Benjy Kean

11:20 a.m. – Tom Power

Featured Speakers

Todd Saunders
Renowned architect

How thoughtful design revitalizes communities and cultivates creativity in rural and urban spaces alike.

Kellie Walsh
Visionary choral leader

On creative leadership, cultural resilience, and how empowering young voices builds stronger futures.

Tom Power
Celebrated broadcaster and musician

What years of creative conversation have taught him about curiosity, storytelling, and authentic connection.

Featured Artists

Benjy Kean

Visual artist

Motion Canvas

Jing Xia

Musician

Rebecca Feaver

Visual artist

Woven Narratives

Why Attend

This is a space for real-time inspiration.

Expect:

Joyful, interactive moments that pull you out of your routine
Meaningful networking across industries
Creativity in action: creative experiences woven throughout
New tools, insights, and energy to bring back to your teams and communities
Opportunities to explore big ideas and apply them right away

Let’s do something (Un)Common together

Join us to connect with others, gain new tools, and reimagine what’s possible.

Creativity isn’t a luxury. It’s a force for connection, growth, and change.

Register Now

Todd Saunders

Title: Designing Creative Communities: Architecture as Catalyst

Todd Saunders is a Norway-based Canadian architect known to infuse his contemporary buildings with an artistic sensibility that is deeply in tune with the uniqueness of northern terrains. His use of natural materials and simple yet striking geometries sets him apart as one of the most celebrated architects of his generation. He is recognized for constructing buildings that acknowledge and understand vernacular histories but create something entirely new.

Born in Gander, Newfoundland, Saunders studied architecture at McGill University in Montreal before moving to Norway and establishing Saunders Architecture in Bergen in 1998. Todd lectures worldwide and was a guest lecturer at Harvard University. His work has been the subject of three books, including Todd Saunders: New Northern Houses. He has been a visiting professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and continues to combine teaching with practice.

Tom Power

Title: The Art of the Interview: Curiosity, Creativity, and Connection

Tom Power is the award-winning host of Q (CBC Radio One) where his thoughtful, conversational interview style has earned international acclaim, alongside multiple Gold medals (New York Festivals) for interviews with Michael J. Fox, Bono, and Mick Jagger.

Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Tom became the youngest national radio host in CBC history at 21 with Deep Roots. He later moved to Toronto to host Radio 2 Morning before stepping into his current role.

Tom hosted the national TV show What’re You At? which premiered in the spring of 2020. He is the co-creator and host of Toy Heart, (The Bluegrass Situation) featuring conversations with legends like Del McCoury, Alison Krauss, and Jerry Douglas. He’s also a founding member of The Dardanelles, a band central to the revival of traditional Newfoundland music.

Regardless of the reason, Tom brings warmth, depth, and curiosity to everything he does- including his snooker game.

Kellie Walsh

Title: Leading with Heart: Creativity, Culture, and the Next Generation

Kellie Walsh is one of Canada’s leading choral conductors, recognized for her vision, creative artistry, and her deep commitment to building community through music. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the award-winning Lady Cove Choir, Artistic Director of Shallaway Youth Choir, and co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Newman Sound Men’s Choir. Most recently, she co-founded Ullûgiagatsuk, the Inuit Youth Choir from Nunatsiavut, Labrador.

A passionate advocate for the transformative power of collective singing, Walsh’s work spans Canada, the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia. Under her leadership, her choirs have achieved international acclaim, winning top prizes at world-class competitions and performing on the global stage at prestigious events, including multiple World Symposia on Choral Music.

Walsh, a past President of Choral Canada, believes choral music has the power to cultivate empathy, explore cultural identity, and unite people beyond geography or circumstance.

Benjy Kean

Title: Motion Canvas

Benjy Kean is a visual artist and experimental media creator based in St. John’s, NL. His work explores the intersection of technology, sound, and movement through interactive installations, generative art, and performance-based digital media. Drawing on practices of painting and drawing, Benjy extends his work into immersive environments that respond to audience presence, motion, and sound, creating living canvases that blur the line between viewer and artwork.

Benjy’s work has been shared in galleries, festivals, and online spaces, reflecting his commitment to pushing creative boundaries while maintaining an accessible, playful approach to art and technology.

Jing Xia

Title: Guzheng performance

Jing Xia is an award-winning guzheng (Chinese zither) artist based in Newfoundland, renowned for her dynamic performances and genre-blending approach to music. Born and raised in Hunan, China, she began her musical journey at the age of six, mastering the guzheng and eventually earning degrees in Music Performance (B.A.), Arts Management (M.A.), and Ethnomusicology (Ph.D.). With a deep foundation in traditional Chinese music, she pushes artistic boundaries by incorporating elements of world music, jazz, and experimental sounds, creating a unique sonic experience that transcends cultural and musical barriers. Whether on stage as a soloist or collaborating with orchestras and ensembles, her performances are immersive journeys that bridge past and present, East and West, delivered with emotional depth and technical mastery.

Rebecca Feaver

Title: Woven Narratives

Rebecca Feaver is a Newfoundland-based, LGBTQ+ artist who grew up in the outport community of McCallum, Newfoundland. She currently resides in Corner Brook following the completion of her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Grenfell campus. She enjoys contributing to the art community in Corner Brook and currently sits on the board of two local non-for-profit arts organizations: League of Western Artists of Newfoundland and The Cloud Factory. She largely works with photography, textiles and mixed media. Her artistic practice frequently incorporates elements of nature; utilizing both natural and found materials in her works. which have been featured in various exhibitions and festivals in Canada and the UK. .