Manitoba Legal Clinic for the Arts Attend Northern Arts Conference
Building Strong Communities and Diversified Economies in the North
From May 7 -9, the Manitoba Legal Clinic for the Arts participated in the Northern Arts & Food Workshop, in Thompson, Manitoba.
Hosted at University College of the North (UCN) in partnership with Creative Manitoba and the imagiNorthern Network the purpose of this event was to explore cultivating a strong, resilient creative economy that honours the diverse cultures, traditions, and talents of Northern Manitoba.
Creating Opportunities Through Collaboration and Innovation
The conference brought together artists, makers, food harvesters, entrepreneurs, as well as creative and cultural organizations from communities across Northern Manitoba, provincial arts service organizations, and First Nations, municipal, provincial and federal government representatives and funders, to learn, share and solve challenges, and connect the people active in the North’s arts, creative, and food sectors for the purpose of creating better opportunities for all, by working together. The goal: to share knowledge, address challenges, build stronger networks and advance innovative ideas through collaboration across the North’s arts, creative, and food sectors.
Art is a Catalyst for Change
Law student Cole Hutchison (2L) highlighted the keynote address by The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General of Canada and the co-founder and cochair of the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, as a stand out moment. Michaëlle Jean emphasized the power of arts and culture to drive social change and collective action in the North and spoke to how strengthening arts and culture in Northern Manitoba can ignite change and collective action for the betterment of all.
Cole Hutchison (2L), The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, and UCN student Emily Bushby
Emily Bushby, a second year UCN student, echoed this sentiment: “Throughout this conference there was many insightful conversations being had, above all the words that truly resonated with me came from The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean: ‘Transformative hope, with open hearts and open minds.’ Times are changing; there is a support network of people striving for better, for the future of tomorrow.”
As a lifelong Thompson resident, Bushby added, “It was refreshing to have a group of like-minded individuals come together to foster a conversation of change, hope, and strategy. It’s time to amplify and empower the voices of the North with dignity, development, and justice.”
Learning from Northern Manitobans
Other highlights of the conference included connecting with Northern Manitobans, and learning of accomplishments, challenges, needs, resiliency, hopes, and initiatives being undertaken. The conference facilitated this learning through one-on-one conversations, as through a range of presentations showcasing what many are doing and can be done to innovate, including to highlight a few:
- Conducting Change: Growing ImagiNorthern by Crystal Kolt and Fiona Rettie, ImagiNorthern Network
- Remote Arts Infrastructure is Feasible: Churchill Creative Hub by Kyle Dingwall and Claudia Grill, Churchill Creative Collective
- Food, Culture and Community by Lester Balfour, Norway House Cree Nation, and Dr. Asfia Kamal, Thompson, MB, and Cheryl Antonio, Northern Manitoba Food, Culture & Community Collaborative
- Growing Pains and Gains: The Mall of the Arts Story by Andria Stephens, Mall of the Arts
- Dreaming Big and Bold: The North Central Canada Centre for Arts and Environment by Lyn Brown, City of Flin Flon and Rachelle Kirouac, Urban Systems
- Creating and Sustaining Strength through Networksby Darcy Penner, a Management Consultant from Winnipeg
Shaping the Future through a Northern Manitoba Arts and Cultural Industries Strategy
There were also opportunities to collaborate and ideate. A key component of the workshop was the collaborative review of the 2024 Northern Manitoba Arts and Cultural Industries Strategy.
Led by Inga Petri of Strategic Moves (Whitehorse, Yukon), participants validated and expanded on the strategy, setting the stage for future growth. The updated 2025 Northern Manitoba Arts and Cultural Industries Strategy, along with Michaëlle Jean’s keynote address, deserves to be read widely, and can be accessed online at: https://strategicmoves.ca/reports-media/northern-manitoba-arts-and-cultural-sector-strategy
Continuing the Journey
Much was learned and accomplished at the Northern Arts & Food Workshop conference; however, the journey towards cultivating a strong, resilient creative economy in Northern Manitoba is not over, continues and much important work remains to be done. The Manitoba Legal Clinic for the Arts remains committed to supporting Northern Manitobans through legal assistance and ongoing collaboration. The workshop reinforced the value of in-person connection and the power of collective effort in building a vibrant, inclusive creative economy along the path to a more prosperous tomorrow.