Cape Breton Island, NS – The Cape Breton Partnership has come together with leaders from Cape Breton – Unama’ki’s creative sector to create jobs for artists. The Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design, the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative (CBMIC), Celtic Colours, the Gaelic College, and the Highland Arts Theatre participated in the development of two project opportunities. The projects will support up to 20 artists working in any creative discipline, from craft, design, and visual arts to film, literary arts, and performing arts like music and theatre.

“The creative sector has been one of the hardest hit sectors during COVID-19 and artists across the Island have been seeking new ways to live and create,” says Carla Arsenault, Cape Breton Partnership President & CEO. “Understanding the challenges facing the arts community and the collective strength of Unama’ki – Cape Breton’s creative sector, these key arts organizations collaborated with the Partnership to create interdisciplinary projects that would support artists.”

The result is two projects funded through Employment Nova Scotia’s Job Creation Partnerships (JCP) program. The JCP aims to provide participants with meaningful work experience to improve their employment prospects, benefiting communities while helping participants acquire experience that assists them in finding full time employment.

Growth and Transitions: A Pandemic Perspective is a five-month initiative hiring up to ten artists from any discipline who will use their creative talents to respond to the changing realities of our society. The scope of this project has been expanded to include the exploration of subjects related to the recent global activism around racism and the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as a broad range of other pandemic-related topics. Artists will be able to work independently or collaboratively, and the final works will be shared with communities across Unama’ki – Cape Breton.

The Creative Sector Education for Cape Breton∙Unama’ki Communities project will run for eight months. It will hire up to ten artists to design, develop, and facilitate community workshops focused on the arts. Participants will have a unique opportunity to explore their artistic practice through the lens of education and share their talents with community members.

“It’s an exciting project. This is something that artists need and that gives them the freedom to create and develop their work while being paid,” says Wesley Colford, Artistic & Executive Director of the Highland Arts Theatre. “It’s amazing to have different cultural groups working together with the Partnership to make the projects a reality.”

The calls for artists can be found at https://capebretonpartnership.com/jobs/. Questions or proposals for both projects can be sent to Erin Flynn, Creative Economy Development Officer, at erin@capebretonpartnership.com.

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Media Contact:
Megan Tonet
Cape Breton Partnership
902-562-0122
megan@capebretonpartnership.com