page_title: Art of Newfoundland and Labrador
section_title: Contemporary Art in Newfoundland
hierarchical_section_title: Art of Newfoundland and Labrador / Art in Newfoundland / Contemporary Art in Newfoundland
caption_attribution_description: English: The Meeting of Two Worlds, sculpture, L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Sculptors: Luben Boykov, a Newfoundland immigrant and Richard Brixel, a Swedish national, unveiled on July 5, 2002
context_page_description: The art of Newfoundland and Labrador has followed a unique artistic trajectory when compared to mainland Canada, due to the geographic seclusion and socio-economic history of the province. Labradorian art possesses its own historical lineage.
  While the history of craft and folk art in Newfoundland and Labrador is extensive, fine arts practices have developed primarily since 1949, when the province joined Canada. Prior to Confederation, the majority of fine art was created by visiting and itinerant artists. Newfoundland and Labradorian art developed significantly after joining Canada, with the introduction of government initiatives. Since the 1960s in particular, waves of artists have established practices on the island, many with strong roots in the province. Others have been introduced by professional opportunities, residency programs, art education programs, and galleries. An established community of artists is now widely recognized, and creates work in a variety of media.
context_section_description: From 1980 to present, opportunities for artists continued to develop, as art galleries such as the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador (which later became The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery), the Grenfell Art Gallery, the Resource Centre for the Arts, and Eastern Edge were established. Fine arts education programs were established at post-secondary institutions such as Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, the Western Community College (now College of the North Atlantic) in Stephenville, the Prince Phillip Drive College of the North Atlantic campus, and the Anna Templeton Centre in St. John's. Commercial art galleries such as Bonnie Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, Christina Parker Gallery, Emma Butler Gallery and Red Ochre Gallery, support the work of Newfoundland and Labradorian artists.
  In the 1990s, Bulgarian artists came to this province through Gander Airport as part of a decade-long influx of refugees from the Soviet Block. Notably, Luben Boykov, Elena Popova, Vessela Brakalova and Veselina Tomova arrived in 1990. Ellie Yonova would arrive in 1999. Since then, each artist has contributed to the local creative landscape through their personal practices, exhibit design, publications, and public sculpture.
  In April 2010, the Federal Government announced an investment of more than $1.5 million to assist the City of St. John's to redevelop the Tucker Premises in historic Quidi Vidi village. The Quidi Vidi Plantation was opened in 2012 as a "Craft Incubator," with 10 purpose-built studio spaces for local, emerging artisans.
  The Sound Symposium was started in St John's, Nfld, in 1983. Symposia followed in 1984 and now take place every two years. The event brings together a range of local, national, and international artists working in sound, film, theatre, and dance.
  Newfoundland and Labrador's arts community is now recognized nationally and internationally. Fogo Island Arts, launched in 2008 on Fogo Island, supports a residency-based contemporary art program. In 2013 and 2015, the province was represented at the Venice Biennale as Official Collateral Projects. In 2015, Philippa Jones became the first Newfoundland and Labrador artist to be included in the National Gallery of Canada contemporary art biennial after it was reinstated.
  In 2016, in response to an exhibition featuring work by Will Gill, Philippa Jones, Jerry Ropson and others, author Lisa Moore wrote, "Newfoundland is a malleable idea, constantly being dreamt and reconfigured." "All cultures are in constant flux, of course. But Newfoundland, hyper-aware of being a distinct society, is at the same time riven with a kind of archival anxiety to hold fast to defining myths; the stories we tell to bring ourselves into existence. This anxiety might be a symptom caused by existing on the periphery, subject to constant swings in economic instability and geographical isolation in a sublime but rugged beauty."
  In 2017 and 2019, Newfoundland hosted the Bonavista Biennale, a bi-annual exhibition of contemporary visual art by Indigenous, Canadian and international artists on the Bonavista Peninsula. 2019 Artists include: Jordan Bennett, Bob Blumer, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Ian Carr-Harris + Yvonne Lammerich, Kym Greeley, Robert Hengeveld, Anna Helper, Jason Holley, Thaddeus Holownia, Barb Hunt +Jane Walker, Mark Igloliorte, Wanda Koop, Meagan Musseau, Sean Patrick O'Brien, Paulette Phillips, Meghan Price, Jerry Ropson, Camille Turner, and D'Arcy Wilson.  
  As of 2011, a study recorded approximately 1,200 artists in Newfoundland and Labrador, representing 0.47% of the province's labour force.
caption: Luben Boykov. "The Meeting of Two Worlds" at L'Anse aux Meadows
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