About The Arts Incubator

A Community of Practice and Care For Participatory Arts and Indigenous Creative Leadership

Launched in 2021, the Incubator for Digital Arts and Cultural Entrepreneurship was designed to empower the next generation of Northern and Indigenous artists through immersive training and mentorship in media arts, cultural production, and technology-integrated art forms.

We blend traditional knowledge systems with contemporary digital tools to foster sustainable self-employment and artistic expression. Our programming supports reconciliation through the arts, and advances the role of creative economies in community well-being, youth engagement, and self-determination.

Urban & Remote: Bridging Land-Based and Digital Practice

Operating across Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Minnesota, Nunavut, British Columbia, and beyond, our programs support urban, rural and northern communities, youth, and urban collectives. We specialize in hybrid models that bring together land-based knowledge, digital tools, and collaborative arts practices—including AI research, and the creative use of storytelling and media production.

We facilitate artist residencies, collaborative exhibitions, and cultural research labs—helping amplify voices often left out of the mainstream creative economy and cultural policy frameworks.

Our Core Goals

Creative Leadership Through Arts-Based Recreation

• Build youth leadership, climate entrepreneurship, and local capacity through art and culture-based recreational programming using music, immersive media, and performance.

Culture-Driven Community Research & Resilience

• Explore how cultural production, creative storytelling, and arts-based methods can inform community-based research, climate resilience, and inclusive local development.

Digital Skills Training & Cultural Entrepreneurship

• Deliver hands-on training in media arts, virtual reality, AI-powered art, and digital storytelling for artists and youth in underserved and remote communities.

What We Do

Empowering Artists Through Tools, Training, and Technology

Since our launch, we’ve delivered over 177 weeks of training, mentorship, and collaborative creation, both online and in person. Our approach combines asynchronous and real-time learning, enabling flexibility for rural and northern participants.

Core activities include:

• Indigenous artist residencies and mentorships
• Climate storytelling workshops
• Participatory digital media production
• AI and immersive technology training
• Youth-led cultural entrepreneurship labs
• Land-based and place-based community arts programs

These initiatives help participants build careers, strengthen community ties, and create meaningful digital content rooted in place and identity.