Musician and cultural force Amy Anderson
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| Amy Anderson, whose business card reads “wearer of many hats”, pauses in the piano room during a busy day at the Centre for Culture and Creativity in Grafton. |
Amy Anderson, who graduated from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Music degree ten years ago, is well known locally as a co-founder of the River Valley Arts Alliance (RIVA), the annual Dooryard Arts Festival and the Valley Young Company. Currently a town councillor and Deputy Mayor, she also sits on Woodstock’s planning committee. Along with her sister, Tracy, she operates the Centre for Culture and Creativity in Grafton NB which offers programs in visual art, music and theatre.
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The Centre for Culture and Creativity
is located on the upper level of the
O'Toole Gallery building in Grafton.
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Amy, in this area with a relatively small population, we’re fortunate to have four thriving cultural centres ─ the McCain Gallery and Studio, the Bath Meeting House, Connell House and O’Toole Gallery where your own business is located. Is that enough?
We need facilities that are the appropriate scale for this area. The expansion of both the downtown Woodstock library and the theatre at the high school are good examples. The school expansion will include an 80-seat black box theatre but I’d like to see another 100-seat performance space somewhere.
We’re also lucky to have a number of arts festivals, notably the Dooryard Fest. Are there any gaps?
We have good offerings in the summer but it would be nice to see more in spring and fall. With a fair number of writers here, what about something literary? A film festival would also have good potential.
We’re very close to the U.S. border and there’s a vibrant arts community there too. You’ve mentioned the Maine-New Brunswick Cultural Initiative that seeks to foster cultural exchanges and cultural tourism opportunities.
We have so much in common with our neighbours but, from what I can tell, that initiative mostly concluded in 2011. I would like to see the next phase of the project move ahead in a way that would facilitate collaborations between local arts organizations and cross-border cultural exchanges. I also feel the provincial government should take a more pro-active approach to exporting our cultural products such as music, fine art and craft. And cultural tourism needs more support. Money for marketing, for example. Thirty million cars go by our town every year on the highway. Woodstock could capitalize on its historic downtown.
I reject the idea that you get an
education and then have to move away.
Where else do you see our cultural opportunities in the next five to ten years?
More people earning part or all of their income from creative pursuits. I’m focussed on creating employment in the arts right here. A lot of young people who worked with us at RIVA and Dooryard moved on because they couldn’t find work. I reject the idea that you get an education and then have to move away. Let’s develop the young people that we have here. They’re just as talented and motivated as anywhere. We also need to support entrepreneurs. Look at what Kerry O’Toole has done with his gallery expansion. That’s generating income for a lot of people now.
Any final thoughts?
When I go to other places, I see how closely knit our artistic community is. We’re building from the ground up. We have goals, we’re working together and forming relationships that will last a long time.