Art Borups Corners: Our Northwestern Ontario Hub

Nestled in the heart of the Kenora District, Art  Borups  Corners is our living Land Lab & Arts Incubator hub where creative practice grows alongside the land. Launched in 2020, this community-rooted collective has cultivated immersive programming that blends land-based art, oral history, music, and climate-focused storytelling.

In 2021, strategic arts innovation funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse helped launch our formal incubator model, and today we’re supported by a regional network that includes youth, artists, Elders, researchers, and creative partners. From pioneering eco-friendly installations and food security initiatives, to AI-enhanced participatory art, our work reflects a deep connection to place.

Art  Borups  Corners is stewarded by a community-led, youth-informed collective. We prioritize co-learning, governance, and digital-skills training so northern arts projects truly reflect northern voices. Guided by intergenerational care, accountability, and reciprocity, our incubator builds both creative and cultural infrastructure with integrity and intentionality.

Here, music is everywhere. More than a creative outlet—music is a powerful connector. In our community arts programming, music plays a central role in bringing people together, creating space for joy, collaboration, and cultural expression. Whether it’s through workshops, live performances, or collaborative projects, music helps participants share stories, celebrate identity, and build lasting connections.

Our Community Promise

We believe that when communities are equipped to shape their own creative futures—with respect for place, culture, and care—they build something more enduring than any external program can deliver.

Whether you’re an artist, community member, researcher, or supporter, there are many ways to contribute:

• Join an upcoming workshop or artist residency
• Collaborate on experimental art, food systems, storytelling, or climate initiatives
• Share expertise in governance, ecology, or digital tools
• Support the hub through donation, sponsorship, or volunteer time

What We Do

Building creative infrastructure means growing more than art—we’re cultivating long-lasting arts ecosystems, sustainable programming, and shared digital tools that endure beyond one-off events. Our workshops, governance training, and creative entrepreneurship labs create replicable models for rural and northern arts development, environmental art, and place-based innovation—making our hub a model for decentralized cultural infrastructure.

• Land-Based Art & Climate Entrepreneurship: We support participants in creating works that reflect ecological resilience, food sovereignty, and sustainable design—everything from eco-installations to living food gardens.
• Digital Storytelling & Traditional Knowledge: Through audio, video, and AI-driven tools, we surface oral histories, craft land-based narratives, and preserve traditional wisdom in community archives and digital media.
• Workshops, Residencies & Community Events: Seasonal programs include artist retreats, pavilion build days, summer markets, and Canada Day celebrations—each designed for hands-on engagement and public participation.
• Research Partnerships & Regional Exchange: We collaborate with institutions like MCAD and the University of the Arctic, leading pilot programs in food systems, biosystems design, and climate diplomacy that bridge northern and southern hubs.

As part of a growing ecosystem of arts and technology organizations, the Winnipeg hub contributes to national conversations about digital equity, arts-based climate entrepreneurship, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. From AI-powered curriculum development to land-based art retreats, we are creating space for artists to imagine—and build—the futures they want to live in.

The Spirit of Our Program

At the heart of our work is participatory arts practice that values every voice—especially those of Elders, youth leaders, and rural community. The creative process is collective: storytelling circles, community workshops, and intergenerational mentorship sessions are designed to strengthen creative collaboration, incubate community-based research, and build a shared sense of agency and identity.

We embrace the future while honoring tradition—from oral history to digital arts, AI tools, and a culture of creativity within a land-based context. From grant-writing workshops to gamified virtual heritage archives, our hybrid approach positions rural and northern arts projects at the crossroads of digital inclusion, media arts innovation, and cultural resilience.

Through resilience arts and transdisciplinary workshops, participants explore how creative expression can heal landscapes and communities alike. We emphasize digital-analogue hybridity, combining land-based installations with interactive storytelling techniques, ensuring that each project is as much about process—like seed-to-installation cycles or oral-history sound walks—as it is about final outputs.

In this space, innovation is rooted in the soils underfoot: from emergent design and climate entrepreneurship to cross-media archives that document the always evolving relationship between people, place, and culture.