We believe the arts are a significant and necessary part of a thriving community. They have intrinsic value and contribute to a broad range of economic and social goals.
Active since 2014, we are a non-profit organization working to:
- Identify and foster alliances between the arts and community collaborators in the private, public, and social sectors
- Create & nurture a community that encourages creativity & innovation through collaboration with the arts
- Communicate the benefits of art/community collaborations
- Identify, foster & facilitate access to alternative sources of financial, human, and community capital for the arts
We run 7 active programs, connecting a growing roster of 150 community, arts and individual supporters.
In 2021, we:
- Launched a Public Art App, and a Mentorship Program.
- Hosted a Virtual Design Lab, bringing together entrepreneurs, CEOs, artists, public servants, and nonprofit leaders to imagine how we can embed creativity as a core value in our innovation ecosystem. Check out the final report here.
- Welcomed 300+ guests to two events focused on how to unlock creative potential: conversations between arts and business, featuring Seth Godin and Robert Chafe.
- Strengthened 19 arts organizations’ fundraising through 178 hours of one-on-one coaching with fundraising professionals through ArtSupport NL.
- Helped over 1200 customers shop local and handmade online through our Holiday Gift Guide, featuring 42 NL artists, and hosted artists and craftspeople interested in selling their products at the Art Cart on the Wharf at Quidi Vidi this summer.
Our Board Members
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.
