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The Arts Incubator

Winnipeg, Manitoba

The project is grounded in a dynamic process of collaborative engagement and capacity building, utilizing arts-based research methodologies to ensure the work is both relevant and empowering. A key focus is Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), which positions young people as leaders in investigating their own economic realities and co-designing their futures. Through a series of co-design workshops, digital storytelling projects, and community forums, ECO-STAR North facilitates intergenerational knowledge transfer, connecting youth with Elders and established creators. This hands-on, community-led approach ensures the resulting toolkit is not an academic exercise, but a living, practical resource built by and for Northern innovators, strengthening a resilient and interconnected creative ecosystem.
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  • New Growth, Old Wisdom
  • Photos and Short Stories

New Growth, Old Wisdom

New pine growth in the northern forest—a quiet reminder of regeneration, seasonal cycles, and the resilience of nature.
Art Borups Corners May 31, 2025
New pine growth in the northern forest—a quiet reminder of regeneration, seasonal cycles, and the resilience of nature. In a time of climate change, these soft green tips speak to our responsibility to harvest wisely, replant with care, and root our work in reciprocity.

New pine growth in the northern forest—a quiet reminder of regeneration, seasonal cycles, and the resilience of nature. In a time of climate change, these soft green tips speak to our responsibility to harvest wisely, replant with care, and root our work in reciprocity.

Honouring seasonal growth, reforestation, and climate resilience

In the northern forests, life reveals itself in quiet, determined ways. This close-up captures the tender new growth of a pine tree—soft, bright, and full of potential. Each spring, these vibrant green tips emerge from the darker, sturdier branches that weathered the long winter. It’s more than just a natural cycle—it’s a lesson in regeneration, resilience, and reciprocity.

The arts have become an unexpected but powerful part of our connection to the land. What started as a few snapshots of the trees we planted or the animals passing through has grown into a full creative practice—photography, journaling, sketching, even short videos that tell stories about the seasons. We’ve come to love documenting the quiet beauty of new pine growth, the return of birds in spring, or the traditional plants we harvest with care. These artistic expressions aren’t just hobbies—they help us slow down, observe closely, and share knowledge in ways that connect generations and deepen our relationship to place.

For those of us working in land-based learning, environmental stewardship, and arts-based climate education, this image carries layered meaning. In regenerative agriculture and Indigenous food systems, trees like this aren’t just resources—they’re part of our knowledge systems. This fresh growth reflects our responsibility to the land: we harvest mindfully, we replant intentionally, and we observe the shifting climate with humility and care.

As the impacts of climate change grow more visible in the North—through shifting seasons, drought-stressed trees, and unpredictable weather—small moments like this offer grounding. They remind us that renewal is still possible. Whether we’re collecting pine tips for tea, replacing the firewood we used last winter, or building youth-led forest education programs, new growth like this signals hope rooted in action.

It’s slow work. Seasonal work. But it’s the kind that builds futures.

About the Author

Art Borups Corners

Art Borups Corners

Administrator

Art Borups Corners is a dynamic participatory arts collective and living lab, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. It's a space where innovation and creativity thrive. The program was founded in 2014, with its arts incubator established in 2021 and 2022 with funding and support from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse. Today, working with students and faculty from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, we fuse traditional and participatory media arts with artificial intelligence, music, storytelling and community-driven, land-based artist residencies to cultivate new voices and bold ideas. Whether through collaborative projects or immersive experiences, our small but vibrant community supports creators to explore, experiment, and connect. Join us at the intersection of artistry, technology, culture and community—where every moment is a new opportunity to create.

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MANITOBA ARTS PROGRAMS

This platform, our Winnipeg, Manitoba hub and programs have been made possible with support from the Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 Program. We gratefully acknowledge their funding and support in making the work we do possible.

Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 Program

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Arts Incubator was seeded and piloted with strategic arts innovation funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse. We thank them for their investment, supporting northern arts capacity building and bringing the arts to life.

Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse Logo

NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO ARTS

This platform, our Northwestern Ontario hub and programs have been made possible with support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program. We gratefully acknowledge their funding and support in making the work we do possible.

Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program
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