Our New Horizons Grant Application
When you turn history into art and place it in a public space it continues to speak to the community.
Despite the firehouse of information inundating us from the Internet, we are losing our history. Publications like the Cape Breton Magazine used to collect stories about the life on the island: the local grocery stores, dance halls, and markets; the farriers, the the doctors, and cooks; and so much more.
We miss those publications that arrived in the mail and honoured the contributions of its subjects, but even those magazines would be put on shelves and the information lay dormant.
The problem with books, recordings and photographs is that they usually spend their entire existence on shelves or in archives.
So, we put in a proposal the get a grant for an art project that would include all generations. We’ll learn in February if we got it. Below is an excerpt from the proposal we submitted.
About the program
Many seniors in Richmond County face isolation due to distance, limited transportation, and few opportunities for cultural participation. Yet, they hold valuable knowledge and memories of gathering places—general stores, halls, churches—that embody community life and resilience.
The Richmond County Community Art Project will bring these stories to life through 6–8 workshops across the county. Each session will be led by a senior artist-facilitator, supported by coordinators Elaine Mandrona and Archie Nadon, with seniors as the main participants and students and younger community members invited to join.
Workshops will use painting, collage, textiles, mixed media, and sculpture to transform memories into art, while food and conversation help build connections. Transportation support will ensure accessibility.
Unlike archives that sit on shelves, community art stays visible—whether a painting or a sculpture in a cultural centre—serving as a living archive that bridges personal memory and shared heritage.
The project will culminate in a collection of artworks, a short video, and a chapter book of community art, celebrated in a final public gathering. This could be the first county-wide, seniors-led art initiative and the beginning of an annual tradition to honour creativity, reduce isolation, and preserve Richmond County’s living history.
