Baxter Arts Centre

Community space for arts, education and creativity Bloomfield, Ontario

Where have you found inspiration?

Several Board members attended an excellent webinar that addressed the need to be adaptive while encouraging collaboration among the artists. We clearly saw it was time to re-engage. The Board meeting in early May further motivated us to activate Baxter. We had been quiet for two months and our financial situation was bleak.

How has life changed? What professional opportunities are you seeing for the future?

[We see] more online learning, and stronger development of the lecture series and online classes. One of the benefits of our new normal is we are able to offer our classes and programs to a wider audience due to Online@Baxter. Those of us interested in the arts can access our talented teachers from the comfort of our own homes.

If you have been involved in a collaboration, how did you manage that?

We have been talking to our community a lot. It has been interesting and inspiring how we have all been forced to think outside the box. As artists and students of art it allows us to grow in so many directions all at once.

How has this experience affected your perception of the importance of art and artists?

The news we are consuming today is critical for our society to be well informed but it does not promote joy. Art and art making is important as it is a chance for us to focus on the beautiful and to interpret and process our feelings in these complex times. It has been wonderful to see all the art our community is producing and sharing online as they spend more time at home and create.

baxterartscentre.org