THE GOOD PLACE
Charlotte Street Art Centre is a Place Where Creativity Flourishes
Fredericton’s community hub nurtures anyone with a desire to make art — no experience needed.
By Kate Rae
Learning how to DJ at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE STREET ARTS CENTRE
One of the gallery spaces at the centre. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE STREET ART CENTRE
Step into the Charlotte Street Arts Centre and you’ll find studios humming with activity — dancers rehearsing, painters at work, musicians tuning their instruments. All of the spaces in the former school, built in 1884, are hives of activity. Indeed, they have been since the facility was transformed in 2005 to become what it is today.
Providing affordable artist studios is a central part of the centre’s mission. The registered non-profit offers arts entrepreneurs a place to create and present their works.
“Everyone should have the ability to access small things that enrich their lives,” says Executive Director Matt Carter. There are workshops on watercolour and oil painting, linocut printing and zine making. There’s also programming for music, dance and photography. It’s a community hub too. There are yoga classes and Pilates for seniors. Anyone can rent a space for a business meeting, birthday party or celebration of life.
“Everyone should have the ability to access small things that enrich their lives.”
Carter strives to make the tools for creating art accessible. To that end, when he joined the centre three years ago, he “liberated” a grand piano that had been used just once a year during the Fredericton Music Festival. “Instruments are meant to sing,” he says. “They’re not supposed to just be on display.” So he launched a program called Piano Mondays. Now anyone can book an hour with that piano, no matter their skill level. Some have only played on an electric keyboard, some have never played at all, and some are preparing for a recital.
“It’s a nice welcoming program that I’m very proud of,” he says. “I think it does a lot of wonderful things for the community.” And as that community grows, the centre evolves. ArtReach, one of the centre’s main “tentacles,” is youth-focused. It provides free or very low-cost access to classes and workshops, like Afro-Vibes dance classes. It’s delivered through a partnership with the Multicultural Association of Fredericton. The Girls+ Rock Camp helps participants with little to no musical background form bands and record music.
Faster Than Light is a photography class for newcomer youth, with a dozen students learning from a professional photographer. The workshops cover photography skills including composition, framing, movement and post-process editing. “The students explore their new home, taking pictures of places and people that resonate with them.”
At the end of the class, students select the image they’re most proud of, and it’s hung in a gallery exhibition. It’s a remarkable event for the kids, who get to show off what they’ve learned, and for the larger community, who have the opportunity to welcome them in. “And that’s a beautiful thing,” Carter says. CAA
The centre provides space and resources for artistic expression, from dance to theatre to music and beyond. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE STREET ARTS CENTRE
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