Creativity is a key ingredient of the secret sauce that makes Newfoundland and Labrador a vibrant, modern, and compelling place in which to live, work, and play. We believe that when creativity and commerce converge the results are transformative for all. Our mission is to facilitate meaningful dialogue and purposeful partnerships between the arts and business communities, generating positive impact and cultivating a vibrant, creative, and resilient province like no other.
Active since 2014, we are a non-profit organization working to:
- Foster Partnerships and Collaborations that connect and inspire artists, businesses, and creatives and build understanding, mutual respect, and strengthen our collective voices.
- Elevate Awareness of the vital role of art and creativity to enrich and improve our communities, lives, and our future as a province.
- Build Capacity in the Arts community and strengthening its role as the centerpiece of our cultural vitality.
We run 9 active programs, connecting a growing roster of community, arts and individual supporters.
In 2022, we:
- Launched programs that train and match volunteers and arts boards, help arts organizations find and retain volunteers, and an audience engagement pilot program
- Welcomed hundreds guests to events focused on how to unlock creative potential, conversations between arts and business, featuring Rick Mercer and Taylor Young, and Horizon Maritime’s Indigenous Artist Residency
- Strengthened 19 arts organizations’ fundraising through 190 hours of one-on-one coaching with fundraising professionals through ArtSupport NL
- Helped organizations like the Genesis Centre, Horizon Maritime, Memorial University, and the St. John’s Airport work with artists to commission new works, bring people together, and inspire passersby and customers
- Helped over 1200 customers shop local and handmade online through our Holiday Gift Guide, featuring 60 NL artists
…and much, much more!
Business and Arts NL Staff
Amy Henderson (BMus, B.Ed., MMus)
Executive Director
ahenderson@businessandartsnl.com
(709) 745 1611
Amy founded her first arts nonprofit at the age of 17. “Young at Art Music Society” was established to support a summer arts camp that ran for 7 years. Since then, she has worked with 12 music and education organizations in Ontario, Montreal and St. John’s as Artistic Director, Executive Director and Board Member.
A choral conductor and educator by training, Amy enjoys motivating teams of people to work together to make things greater than themselves, be they musical, social, or cultural. She teaches singing rehabilitation classes with Growing the Voices Festival 500 and is the Artistic Director of Projēkt Chamber Voices and the Director of the Bruneau Centre for Excellence in Choral Music at Memorial University.
Linda Browne (BA, BJ)
Writer/Content Creator
projects@businessandartsnl.com
Linda has always been a storyteller at heart, spinning short and tall tales since she was a child. Eventually, she carried her love of the form to Memorial University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Folklore. She also has a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She loves local arts, taking in as many plays, concerts and festivals as she can, and is always on the lookout for the next great story.
Hazel May Eckert, (BFA, Dipl.Des.)
Program Coordinator & Graphic Designer
hazel@businesssandartsnl.com
(709) 745 1611
Hazel received a BFA in printmaking from OCAD University (2008) and a diploma in graphic design from the College of the North Atlantic (2017).
As an artist and graphic designer, Hazel has first-hand experience in the arts, non-profit, and business sectors. Her unique skillset offers creative insight into the specific values and goals of contemporary arts organizations, freelancers, and independent businesses.
Hazel considers business and the arts to be two interconnected fields that need each other to thrive. She hopes to assist Business & Arts NL to affect social change by developing programming that is an exceptional resource for education, innovation, and connectivity.
Lynn Panting
Program Coordinator
programs@businessandartsnl.com
Lynn Panting is a Newfoundland-based artist, arts educator and arts advocate. She brings two decades of arts administration experience to Business & Arts NL. Her specializations include leadership, production, special events, professional development and community building.
Lynn is deeply committed to the growth of creativity and self-confidence through movement and holds a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Memorial University, as well as a Master of Humanities concentrating in performance, dance and the body. Lynn is the owner and Artistic Director of Lynn Panting Dance, the Artistic Director and Producer of Untellable Movement Theatre, and a founding member of Ladies Who Lunch Productions.
