Newfoundland and Labrador

Viewers of the 2001 film, “The Shipping News,” know Newfoundland for its rugged terrain and harsh winters, but residents of the province know it for some of the finest aboriginal and contemporary crafts in Canada. The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador operates the province’s only public gallery, located in St. John’s, dedicated to the exhibition of fine craft.

The Council’s Web site lists current and past gallery exhibitions and also sells members’ work from the online shop. The Council also runs the only two juried craft shows in the province, the Christmas Craft Fair in St. John’s and the West Coast Craft Fair in Corner Brook.

Nova Scotia

This summer, the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council will assume management of the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design in Halifax that was previously managed by the provincial government. This merger will provide the Council with studios, a permanent gallery, and room for a small retail shop.

The Council-sponsored Summer Craft Festival and Christmas Craft Market, both in Halifax, are the premiere markets in the province. The popular province-wide Studio Rally weekend is scheduled for Oct. 4–5, when the 100-plus art and craft studios listed in the privately produced Studio Rally Map will be open for visitors.

Prince Edward Island

Every year, more than a million visitors flock to Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest and most densely populated province. The Island Crafts Shop in Charlottetown displays work from members of the Prince Edward Island Crafts Council, and many local artists open their studios during the tourist months.

This year, the Crafts Council is hosting a “Celebration of Crafts” to promote the Island’s handcraft sector and also will hold its 40th Christmas Craft Fair in Charlottetown in November.

New Brunswick

The New Brunswick Crafts Council introduces two new festivals in 2003: a Spring Fine Craft Garden Market in Fredericton in May and a New Brunswick Fine Craft Festival in Edmundston in September.

A Studio Tour in Fredericton and outlying areas on Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend, Oct. 11–12, is also new this year.

The Council sponsors the New Brunswick Fine Crafts Festivals in Rothesay and Fredericton along with the summer Buy the Best retail exhibition and the Christmas retail exhibition, Yuletide Treasures, both at the New Brunswick Fine Craft Centre in Fredericton.

Quebec

With more than seven million people, 85 percent of whom are French-speaking, Quebec offers old-world charm along with cosmopolitan Montreal’s vibrant arts scene.

The Quebec Crafts Council (Conseil des métiers d’art du Quebec) has recently renovated its Montreal gallery. The Quebec Council sponsors two big craft fairs: Plein Art, an outdoor show held in early August in Quebec City, and the three-week Christmas Craft Show at Place Bonaventure in Montreal in December.

Exhibitors at the 2002 Christmas show racked up more than $7.5 million in sales from more than 226,000 visitors. The Council also coordinates special exhibitions of Quebec craft in France and the United States, including venues such as ARTForm, an international fair for dimensional fine art galleries and dealers held in Palm Beach in March of this year.

Ontario

One-third of all Canadians live in the province of Ontario, home to Ottawa, Canada’s capital. That comes to 10 million Ontarians, half of whom live in greater Toronto, making that area a popular spot for major art and craft markets.
The Ontario Crafts Council works on a number of fronts to increase the profile of Canadian crafts, including presenting exhibitions at the Guild Shop in Toronto and working with public galleries that are interested in increasing craft exhibitions.

The Council’s online Portfolio of Makers that features the work of over 100 members is popular with interior designers, architects, curators and individuals interested in commissioning craft. In 2002, the Ontario Council also coordinated a Canadian Craft Federation trade mission to the Glass Arts Conference in Amsterdam.

The Glass Art Association of Canada held its 2003 Canadian Glass Conference at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre in May. The Artist-in-Residence program at the Craft Studio in the Centre attracts recent art school graduates who are interested in pursuing a full-time craft career.

Manitoba

In addition to the internationally acclaimed Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba’s capital also proudly claims internationally known ceramist Robert Archambeau, one of seven winners of the 2003 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

The Manitoba Crafts Council operates a retail craft gallery, Craftspace, in Winnipeg and last year opened an adjacent Exhibition Gallery — the only gallery in the province specifically for the exhibition of fine contemporary crafts.

Saskatchewan

Within Canada’s “breadbasket,” (Saskatchewan produces 54 percent of the country’s wheat), provincial artists produce an abundance of fine craft. The Saskatchewan Craft Council’s annual juried exhibition, Dimensions, tours many of the major Saskatchewan galleries.

The Craft Council also operates a gallery in Saskatoon and runs three craft markets: the Saskatchewan Handcraft Festival in Battleford, the Waterfront Art & Craft Show & Sale in Saskatoon, and the annual Christmas Craft Market, Wintergreen, in Regina.

MacKenzie Art Gallery’s Bazaart, an annual mid-June fundraising event featuring over 100 artists and craftspeople, is another popular outdoor arts and crafts show and sale in Regina.

Alberta

Alberta celebrates its Wild West roots with the Calgary Stampede, but more than 80 percent of its population is urban. The province boasts 29 universities and colleges, including the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary and Red Deer College in Red Deer.

The Series Hot Glass Program at Red Deer, which runs weekly workshops May through September, has been called “the Pilchuck of the North.” (Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, Wash., is the largest, most comprehensive educational center in the world for artists working in glass.)

The Alberta Craft Council’s Gallery in Edmonton shows the work of over 300 member-artists in about 20 exhibitions (some can be viewed online at the Council’s Web site) each year and sells work from about 200 members in its shop.
There are many other fine craft galleries in Alberta as well as many provincial and local craft sales. The Edmonton and Calgary Folk Music Festivals, the Old Strathcona Farmers Market in Edmonton, the Millarville Market, the Calgary Stampede, the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, and the Cowboy Poetry Festival in Pincher Creek also feature craft markets.

	At the “Beyond Borders” conference in Nelson, British Columbia, 250 attendees met to work on ways to promote Canadian crafts to buyers in the United States. Pictured from left to right are Dana Boyle, Canadian Consulate General, Minneapolis; Lou Lynn, conference co-coordinator; Helen Sebelius, conference co-coordinator; Irene Frolic, artist/ conference presenter.
Inside the Alberta Crafts Council Gallery Shop in Edmonton.

British Columbia

Breathtaking scenery and temperate climate make British Columbia a magnet for tourists and artists. On Vancouver’s Granville Island, visitors find the Crafts Association of British Columbia’s Crafthouse shop and gallery and The Gallery of British Columbia Ceramics run by the Potter’s Guild of British Columbia.

Vancouver’s annual Eastside Culture Crawl, a popular three-day event featuring over 200 artists, is slated for Nov. 21–23.

The city of Nelson also has a major concentration of crafts artists. Nelson’s Kootenay School of the Arts hosted “Beyond Borders,” a craft marketing conference, in March. Attended by more than 250 Canadian crafts artists from five provinces, this was the largest conference of its kind in Canada’s history. (See also, “Marketing Crafts in Canada,” p. C7).

Linking them all together

The Canadian Crafts Federation, made up of provincial and territorial crafts councils, recently launched its searchable database of Canadian crafts-related events and activities. Users can find information on upcoming exhibitions, festivals, calls for entry, studio tours, grants and awards, etc., as well as add information about events in their communities.

Canadian government provides support

Support for Canadian crafts also comes from the government’s Canada Council for the Arts, which has a broad range of grants and services for Canadian artists and arts organizations. The Arts Council also funds the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, and administers the prestigious Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in fine craft in Canada.

Both the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) work with the Canadian Crafts Federation and craft organizations to improve the visibility of Canadian crafts in foreign markets. Recent DFAIT-funded projects include the “Marketing Guide for Fine Craft in the United States” (available only to Canadians), an updated “Guide for Canadian Exporters of Aboriginal Arts and Crafts,” and the “Sector Profile and Development Strategy for Craft in Canada.”

Canada’s government also provides assistance for Canadian galleries wishing to participate in markets such as SOFA (Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art) Expositions, and programs to assist American galleries wishing to learn about Canadian crafts.

Grace Butland is market coordinator for the Novia Scotia Designer Crafts Council.