Art Borups Corners delivers Northern Ontario Multi and Inter Arts Program
BORUPS CORNERS, MELGUND TOWNSHIP, NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO — On the gravel roads that wind through Melgund Township, where small communities like Borups Corners and Dyment sit quietly among lakes and forest, a new chapter for Northern Ontario arts is underway.
This summer, a grassroots collective of artists and cultural workers in Borups Corners secured a grant from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program — one of just 27 awarded across the province. For Northern Ontario artists and musicians from communities including Ignace and Dryden, the achievement is not only a funding success, but a clear sign of what’s possible when artists come together, build capacity, and begin applying for opportunities often thought out of reach.
Mentorship and Continuity
Intergenerational mentorship remains at the heart of the program. Elders and senior artists work with younger participants to pass on cultural knowledge while adapting to digital technologies. This unique blend of tradition and innovation grounds the incubator in the Far North Ontario experience. It’s the first time the community program has been awarded funding from the Ontario Arts Council.
The collective is also building on its highly successful Incubator for Digital Arts and Cultural Entrepreneurship, originally launched in 2022 with support from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse. Now in its third year, the incubator blends traditional knowledge with digital tools, supporting sustainable self-employment in oral history, cultural entrepreneurship, and digital storytelling in Northern Ontario.
Combining open calls with direct outreach, the incubator ensures artists who have historically been underrepresented can step into leadership roles and opportunities.
Building Northern Ontario Arts Capacity
For many northwestern Ontario artists, the challenge is not a lack of creativity, but a lack of infrastructure and access to programs that often concentrate in southern Ontario. The Art Borups Corners initiative is helping to change that, equipping artists with skills in governance, financial management, grant writing, and project planning.
Leveraging weekly group sessions and scheduled community events, the annual summer program begins in April and runs through to the end of October. Attendees of their events this summer came from across Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Southern Ontario and Minnesota.
Funding is competitive. Out of 174 applications province-wide, 27 were funded — a 15.5% success rate. Yet only two came from the entire Northwestern and Far North region. The message is clear: when Northern Ontario arts organizations and collectives apply, success follows.
Collaboration and Partnerships
Partnerships make the program stronger. Long-standing relationships with musicians, artists, and community groups are now paired with institutional support from organizations like Ottawa-based Global Dignity Canada, the Local Services Board of Melgund, The Arts Incubator and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Creative Entrepreneurship Program.
A Path Forward for Northern Arts
The Borups Corners collective’s Ontario Arts Council grant is more than a one-time achievement — it’s proof that when Northern Ontario artists and communities organize and apply, they can succeed.
“This isn’t just about one grant,” a participant reflected. “It’s about showing that when northern communities build capacity, we can create lasting opportunities in the north — for ourselves, and for the next generation.”
In Borups Corners, that work has already begun: a new model for success in Far North and Northwestern Ontario arts, rooted in resilience, collaboration, and the creative spirit of the region.
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