Each month we will be featuring an organization that works to make our community better. In addition to sharing their story, we will be donating a portion of our online sales each month to the non-profit organization, as well as have a donation prompt at checkout for those who can help support.

April’s Community Newsletter Partner is the Scugog Council of the Arts (Scugog Arts).

For the artists, residents, and visitors of our community, Scugog Arts is an integral leadership organization that works to engage people, organizations, and governing bodies using resources and opportunities to serve and enrich our lives through the arts. They work to fulfill our community’s artistic and creative potential and contribute to economic development and cultural tourism.

We chatted with Melissa Rada, Marketing Coordinator at Scugog Arts, to gain some insight into the work they do to elevate and promote the amazing artists and their crafts in our community.

“Although we sell art, the emphasis is not on retail. We want to make art accessible for all and remove any barriers. Indirectly, we use art to promote well-being in the community. There is a major connection between art, healing, and mental health. We also create opportunities for expression, dialogue, and cultural experiences,” says Rada.

In an effort, to engage the community and promote the art featured in their space Scugog Arts hosts programs, workshops, and festivals, such as a literary contest, Culture Days, and the Lake Scugog Studio Tour.

“We consider ourselves the community's creative hub, and with that comes some responsibility. Our direct impact would be providing a space for the community to view and discover diverse art types,” says Rada. 

The idea of an arts council for the community started in 2005 and came to fruition in 2006. The first Scugog Arts location was the office space between the Township Building and Zaps Hair Salon. Their newest home is in what was once the Home Hardware.

“It's crucial to boost and encourage artists of all types so they continue to make art. A community without art would be dull and boring. Scugog has a very active arts scene, which continues to flourish in part because of community support. Artists don't create art to get rich, they do it to engage with the world. By supporting artists, we can show them that their work resonated with us and we get more art from it,” added Rada.

Scugog Arts has roughly 80 members of varying types including visual, literary, music, theatre, and more; along with 12 resident artists. Scugog Arts carries works from resident artists year-round and members can apply to exhibit their work for a month at a time.

Just like small businesses everywhere, Scugog Arts has been significantly impacted by the pandemic and has been forced to creatively adapt to still help benefit the community. This includes closing during the lockdowns; complying with restrictions and guidelines; losing sponsors and funders; postponing or completely reformatting festivals like the Lake Scugog Studio Tour; canceling workshops; not being able to give the summer hires a proper experience of being able to collaborate under one roof; and pretty much just losing revenue across the board.

“It has been a year of ups and downs, but it's times like these when community support can help pull through the hard times,” Rada concluded.

Keep an eye on our blog posts for features of resident artists!