Arts & Culture Centres

St. John's, NL

Arts & Culture Centres

St. John's, NL

The Arts and Culture Centres are owned and operated by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The first Centre, in St. John’s had its first perfromance on May 22, 1967 – since then, five other Centres have been created, in Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, Stephenville and Labrador West.

Unique in Canada, this chain of theatres provides both rental facilities for local and national performances, and also presents a limited number of provincial tours, for both Newfoundland and Labrador artists, and from the rest of Canada.

The Arts and Culture Centres also exist as a resourse for a number of Community Presenters throughout the province, who present some of the attractions presented in the Centres, to communities not served by an Arts and Culture Centre.

Chris Ball
Aiden Flynn, Manager, Programming & Promotion
P.O. Box 1854 St. John's, NL A1C 5P9 Canada

Corner Brook Arts & Culture

Corner Brook, NL

Corner Brook Arts & Culture

Corner Brook, NL
Krista Hansen-Robitshek, Manager
P.O. Box 100 University Drive Corner Brook, NL A2H 6C3 Canada

First Light Centre for Performance and Creativity

St. John's, NL

First Light Centre for Performance and Creativity

St. John's, NL

The First Light Centre for Performance and Creativity is an Indigenous-led not-for-profit, professional arts centre, operating under the broader umbrella of First Light: St. John’s Friendship Centre. The centre provides a space for the development, exhibition and appreciation of traditional and contemporary art by providing facilities, professional expertise and a supportive atmosphere for arts creation, presentation, and dissemination. The Centre for Performance and Creativity supports all disciplines with a primary focus on music and performance. First Light believes that arts and a strong commitment to cultural preservation and revitalization, as a means of reconciliation, are integral to stronger communities. The centre aims to advance all arts, with a focus on Indigenous-led arts.

Melissa Samms, Arts Administrator
42 Bannerman Street St. John's, NL A1C3M6 Canada

Gander Arts & Culture Centre

Gander, NL

Gander Arts & Culture Centre

Gander, NL
Leslie Hewitt
155 Airport Boulevard Gander, NL A1V 1K6 Canada

Jack Byrne Regional Sport & Entertainment Centre

Torbay, NL

Jack Byrne Regional Sport & Entertainment Centre

Torbay, NL

Tasked with providing sport and entertainment activity for the Northeast Avalon region of Newfoundland.

Lorne Tucker, Manager
Cathy Green
7 Kennedys Brook Drive P.O. Box 1040 Torbay, NL A1K 1K8 Canada

Labrador West Arts & Culture Centre

Labrador City, NL

Labrador West Arts & Culture Centre

Labrador City, NL
Chris Ball, Manager
P.O. Box 69 Hudson Drive Labrador City, NL A2V 2K3 Canada

Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL

Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL

The Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre is a not for profit corporation with a volunteer board of directors who represent all facets of arts and culture in eastern Labrador. This umbrella organization works with a large community volunteer sector to foster the arts and cultural heritage, integrating schools and community groups.

The Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre aims to provide accessible, supportive, well resourced programs and venues for the performing arts, with a focus on the creation, development and advancement of art by local artists and youth in Labrador.

Travis Ford, Manager
15-21 Voisey Drive PO Box 2507 Station B Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL A0P 1E0 Canada

Miawpukek First Nation – TCR Department

Conne River

Miawpukek First Nation – TCR Department

Conne River

MFN was not recognized as an official Indian Act Band in 1949 when Newfoundland joined confederation. In 1984 the Miawpukek Band, after years of political and legal maneuvers and lobbying, succeeded in pressuring the federal government in recognizing it as a Band for the purpose of the Indian Act. In 1987, the reserve at Conne River was officially recognized as an Indian Act Reserve. The Band Council has taken on the mandate of turning the community into an economically self-sufficient community guide by traditional native values. The Band Council has a clear mandate to pursuer economic development rather than being dependent on Social Programs. A number of initiatives have contributed to this goal. For example, approximately 90% of all administrative staff are community members with a significant number having attended training and educational institutions outside the reserve. More that 90% of the Health & Social Services building and the school system is also staffed by trained band members.
MFN places emphasis on economic development initiatives with a concern for environmental issues, and a renewed emphasis in learning the Micmac Language and music in the school program all contribute to a renewed pride in Indigenous Culture within Miawpukek First Nation.

48 Miawpukek Drive

Neighbourhood Dance Works

St. John's, NL

Neighbourhood Dance Works

St. John's, NL

Neighbourhood Dance Works (NDW) assumes an essential leadership role in the advancement of the professional milieu in our country’s most easterly province. We are the front-runner for board-based artistic programming in dance in this province, which informs our connections to artistic allies within Atlantic Canada and peers across the country. We represent the professional sector, alongside the dance service organization (DanceNL), by liaising with regional and national artists, stakeholders and presenters who contribute to NDW’s growth and resilience.

Co-Founded in 1981 by Cathy Ferri and Agnes Walsh as a performance collective, Neighbourhood Dance Works began by creating innovative dance works for stage. It later shifted its focus to presentation, introducing the first Festival of New Dance in 1990, curated by Ann Anderson. Under her direction, and subsequently that of Lois Brown, Anne Troake, Sarah Joy Stoker and now a community-based committee, the festival continues to grow each year.

Neighbourhood Dance Works’ ongoing support and development of Newfoundland choreographers and dancers has advanced the careers of many Newfoundland dance artists and has made the Festival of New Dance a major cultural highlight of the St. John’s performance season.

For more information, about NDW programs please visit: www.neighbourhooddanceworks.com

Photo Credit (Louise Moyes)

Julia Carr, Artistic Director
PO Box 815 Stn. C St. John's, NL A1C 5L7 Canada

Resource Centre for the Arts

St. John's, NL

Resource Centre for the Arts

St. John's, NL

Resource Centre for the Arts is a thirty year old artist-run organization dedicated to the development, promotion and presentation of indigenous Newfoundland art and artists. It makes its home in the historic L.S.P.U. (Longshoremen’s Protective Union) Hall in the heart of the province’s capital city, St. John’s.

Suzanne Mullett, General Manager
Meghan Greeley, Artistic Animateur
3 Victoria St. St. John's, NL A1C 3V2 Canada

So Long to Summer Festival

So Long to Summer Festival

The Town of Irishtown-Summerside held its first annual So Long to Summer Festival in 2022. There were live bands over a period of three days. There was a mixture of games, BBQ and events throughout the labour day long weekend. Festivities opened with Big Talk Same followed by Fine Lads on Friday night, Peter Jacobs and Jesse Hackett band on Saturday night, and Diva Dolls and The Mixed Tapes to close out the festival on Sunday evening. This was the start of our Labour Day Weekend annual festival. Our team is excited to see what the coming years will bring to our community.

Stephenville Arts & Culture Centre

Stephenville, NL

Stephenville Arts & Culture Centre

Stephenville, NL

Stephenville Arts & Culture Centre houses a main theatre which seats 435 and a black box theatre which seats 150. We also have an Art Gallery and other rooms which work great for conferences.

Wanda Cook, Regional Manager
380 Massachusetts Drive Stephenville, NL A2N 3A5 Canada

Stephenville Theatre Festival

Stephenville, NL

Stephenville Theatre Festival

Stephenville, NL

The Stephenville Theatre Festival has become a cornerstone among professional theatre companies in Newfoundland and Labrador providing employment for artists, technicians, designers, along with training and hands-on experience for numerous individuals, many of whom are now counted among Canada’s top professional artists. Stephenville Theatre Festival has enriched the economic and cultural fabric of the Town of Stephenville and has become a major draw for tourism.

Laura Caswell, Artistic Director
Gail Hickey, Office Manager
129 Montana Drive Stephenville, NL A2N 2T4 Canada

The Tuckamore Festival

St. John's, NL

The Tuckamore Festival

St. John's, NL
Krista Vincent, General Manager
P.O. Box 23203 Churchill Square St. John's, NL A1B 4J9 Canada

Writers at Woody Point

Norris Point, NL

Writers at Woody Point

Norris Point, NL

Writers at Woody Point literary festival in Woody Point, Bonne Bay, Newfoundland had its inaugural season in 2004. The festival is organized and presented by Friends of Writers at Woody Point and, each year, has played to sold-out audiences. This August, as in the past, the event will be hosted by CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers, host of “The Next Chapter” a show about Canadian writing and writers.

The lovely and historic western Newfoundland village of Woody Point, on the south shore of Bonne Bay, is surrounded by the breathtaking landscape of Gros Morne National Park. Writers, artists and scientists are drawn here from around the world. Home-grown talent runs deep, too – in art, craft, music and award-winning architectural restoration. In the heart of the community stands the Woody Point Heritage Theatre, built in 1908. Owners Charlie and Joan Payne have carefully restored and renewed this cherished village feature, which has been the lively home of community dances, suppers, meetings, plays and concerts over the years.

Now this unique part of the cultural heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador also provides the stage and setting for the annual Writers at Woody Point events. Firmly rooted in Newfoundland literature, which is itself wildly acclaimed across Canada and internationally, the festival attracts both writers from abroad and those nurtured here at home. They come to Woody Point to read their work to hospitable audiences of villagers and visitors – sell-out crowds, in fact. Here the authors can also connect with other writers over dinner and drinks or on a hike into the pristine hills. And they can soak up the area’s own creative talent at exhibits of art and crafts, musical performances and impromptu after-hours celebrations that combine jam sessions, dancing and lots of laughter.

Pilvi Keto-LeBlanc, Executive Director
P.O. Box 290 Norris Point, NL A0K 3V0 Canada