Check back here soon for information about upcoming events to be held in the summer and fall of 2024

2023 Completed Events

Ellen White Rook offers this online writing workshop titled “Writing from a Sense of Space” She offers here a way for new and experienced writers to connect with their surroundings through the writing process. (video link coming soon)

Jeighk Koyote created two engaging videos which each capture the essence of Halls Island and offer a glimpse into the creative energy found there. Please take a few minutes to immerse yourself in these wonderful artistic creations.

“Halls Island Artist Residency 9 DAYS in 9 MINUTES”

“Halls Island Artist Residency - Novice Flow with Hania Rani”

Creative Nonfiction Workshop: Writing the Land

Author Kathy Friedmanheld lead a writing workshop that unlocked the stories we attach to local places. This online workshop included a mindfulness exercise, a short reading, a writing prompt, and opportunities for sharing and discussion. There was also time at the end for a Q&A with Kathy about writing and publishing.

Printmaking with Meggan Winsley

Printmaker Meggan Winsley shared the creative process of printmaking. Participants left with a print of local flora and fauna. Meggan shared experiences of her time spent at Halls Island Artist Residency and her knowledge and passion for printmaking.

2022 completed events

Lesia Mokrycke

Lesia presents this online exhibition, “The Island”. Lesia was one of our 2022 Halls Island Artists. Inspiration for their exhibition came from the unique time and place which is Halls Island. Please take a moment to enjoy this exhibition of drawings created by Lesia. This featured image will entice you to view the full exhibit!

CLICK HERE to enter “The Island”

Deborah Burian

2022 Halls Island Artist Deborah Burian created this video which demonstrates Gel Monoprinting. Take a look! You can easily try this technique yourself with very few supplies. Thanks Deborah for sharing your ideas and expertise!

Lori Twining

Using examples and exercises, participants learned how to recognize markets and discover new opportunities to stretch their imaginations. Suitable for all levels, from those just exploring the process to experienced writers. Lori Twining's fiction and nonfiction works have appeared in literary magazines, anthologies, and a variety of media, including Best Canadian Literature, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Blank Spaces Magazine. She lives and writes in Grey County, and routinely blogs at Ascribe Writers.

Jane Selbie

Jane shared photos and highlights of her own experience as a resident of Halls Island. As Jane has participated in other artist residencies, she also offered insight into topics such as, at what point in an artist's career is a residency appropriate, how to find the right residency, tips on how to apply, how to prepare your work plan, tips for taking art supplies.

Lisa Cristinzo

Painter and installation Artist Lisa Cristinzo presented an artist talk and walk at the Haliburton School of Art and Design. We explored Lisa’s painting and walking practice and  what it means to be a painter that uses the environment as a source material while we experience a climate in crisis. This was followed by a walk around the Haliburton Sculpture Forest (weather permitting).

Lisa spent two weeks at the Halls Island Artist Residency located on Treaty 20 Michi Saagigg Territory/Koshlong Lake this past August. Her work considers what Landscape painting looks like now during a time of climate change and how to make ecologically informed decisions when “abstracting” nature for the means of painting. See Lisa’s work at https://www.lisacristinzo.com/

Lisa Ann Wright

Lisa is a singer/songwriter from upstate New York, and is a 2022 Halls Island Resident Artist. She shared her original songs reflecting on current social and political upheavals in the U.S., offering a little social commentary, a little snark, and hopefully more than a little humanity.  Ben Franklin famously wrote: “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Lisa thinks that “Love” has a place in Franklin’s pantheon of certainties.

Cleopatria Peterson

Everyone can make a zine! Zines are small low stress publications that are easy to make and share. In this workshop participants learned how to make a one-page zine with simply one piece of paper, scissors, and creativity! Fill it with writing, art, collage, there is so much you can do with zines. This informative and fun workshop was presented by Cleopatria Peterson, a multidisciplinary artist who writes, printmakes, illustrates and loves self-publishing.

2021 Escape to Halls Island, third in the 6-Minute Escape series now online!

You haven’t missed it! Tune to the Arts Council - Haliburton Highlands YouTube Channel HERE to view the Escape To Halls Island event, the After Party, and other 6-Minute Escape video projects!

By logging on to the Arts Council – Haliburton Highlands YouTube channel viewers will get a glimpse into the unique experiences of artists this past summer at Halls Island Artist Residency. 2021 artists included award-winning author Cathy Marie Buchanan, a creative musical group The River Pilots, and writer and voice actor Marilla Wex. Other artists, from visual to expressive arts, also contributed to this video project.

2019

Telling Your Story by Laura Rock Gaughan

In this informal workshop, participants discussed the need to write our stories and some common obstacles to getting words onto the page. Writers considered selected examples from literature, with a focus on the techniques the authors used to create compelling characters, scenes, and conflicts, and practice writing using prompts.

Laura Rock Gaughan's first book, a short fiction collection called Motherish, was published in 2018. Her fiction and essays have appeared in literary journals and anthologies in Canada, Ireland, and the United States. She has taught college-level creative writing classes and coached clients on clear writing and communications. Laura was a Halls Island Artist Residency artist summer 2019 and lives in Lakefield with her family.

Dahl Forest Videopoem project by Sophie Edwards and Chris Turnbull

We each tend to work in hybrid forms — mixing genres on the page and curating and/or installing installation pieces within landscapes. In celebration of Dahl Forest’s 10th anniversary as part of the land trust, and to recognize its various shared histories, we created a short videopoem that combines written, spoken, and video/audio contributions by community members with pieces that we devise during our visit to the forest.

Some prompts:
How often do you return to Dahl Forest?
Are there particular aspects of the Forest that draw you again and again?
What sorts of things make it important to you?
What are some encounters you’ve had in the forest?
What species and landforms have you noticed?
What things have changed since you first visited the forest?
What kinds of creatures, plants, birds and insects are particularly important in this forest?
What sounds speak to the park’s ecology and/or your relationship to it?

Video by Melodie Acero, September 2019

Click Here to view a short video shot on Halls Island. Melodie highlights inspirational moments and lovely surroundings that made her time at Halls Island special.

Speaking Engagement YMCA Camp Wanakita

On June 27th, Ryan Kasperowitsch presented his thoughts on Outdoor Education and Experiences as they relate to watercolour painting. Ryan is an avid outdoorsman and also a doctoral student at Brock University. A large group of summer staff were present for his session at YMCA Camp Wanakita. The young audience had many very thought provoking and relevant contributions to the open discussion following Ryan’s talk. Ryan also very generously donated a framed watercolour painting to Camp Wanakita’s fundraising auction which helps send kids to camp.

Poetry Reading & Artist Talk with Anna Swanson and April White

Anna Swanson and April White offered a poetry reading and artist talk based on their collaborative project "The Garbage Poems." April and Anna presented their own work from this project and discussed how they came together to work on it. Anna read a series of “Garbage Poems” from the project and talk about found poetry and April spoke about how illustrating this project fits into the context of her practice. April showed images of the artworks in progress including the interactive website that the artists developed together. (https://www.garbagepoems.com/index.php )

We wrote, we painted, we swam. We took underwater footage with a GoPro camera. A magical 2 weeks on Halls Island working on our collaborative project: The Garbage Poems (garbagepoems.com).

Thank you to everyone who made this possible — April White & Anna Swanson

Click here to link to Anna’s video poem project.

Pony Tales: The History and Mystery of the Ojibwa Horse

With Heather M. O’Connor and Lesley English

 The Ojibwe Horse, also known as the Lac La Croix Indigenous Pony, is one of the rarest breeds in the world. It’s also one of the biggest mysteries.

Herds of these Indigenous-bred horses once roamed like deer through the forests of the Canadian Shield. But where did they come from? How did they survive our harsh Canadian winters? And what made the herds disappear?

Who carried out “The Heist Across the Ice,” a daring mid-winter rescue that saved the lives of the last four surviving horses? And who is helping the breed edge back from the brink of extinction today?

Author Heather M. O’Connor travelled to northwestern Ontario to answer these questions. She met Ojibwe Horses and their breeders, searched for clues in the historical archives at Quetico Provincial Park, and spoke to people who remember “The Heist Across the Ice.” Come to The Gathering Place July 29 for the “tail” of her discoveries.

Participants met Heather and learned about these unique creatures. Then Lesley English introduced the group to Maple and Sammy, Abbey Gardens’ own Ojibwe Horses. She pointed out their unique adaptations and explained their importance to Abbey Gardens’ equine assisted learning program.

Reading of “When the Ice Breaks”, a play written by Madeleine Donohue

Madeleine Donohue, play write and screenwriter, will lead a reading of her play “When the Ice Breaks”. Local actors will be reading the various parts. After the reading, stay for a Question and Answer period. Jack Brezina, a Halls Island Committee Member, is hosting this community session at the Haliburton Museum. 66 Museum Rd, Haliburton ON.

“My play is called When The Ice Breaks, and it's set during the war of 1812. It's a drama: a little bit of mystery, little bit of romance.”