Our Vision

Nearly sixty years ago, Confederation Centre of the Arts was founded to honor the Fathers of Confederation. At this pivotal moment in our history, we are embarking on a transformative journey with the creation of a cultural leadership institute. This bold initiative will reshape how we create, collaborate, and connect, fostering a vibrant and inclusive future for the arts.

How This Project Evolved

This ambitious project reflects years of planning and community engagement, shaped by voices from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. We’re committed to celebrating our cultural heritage and deepening connections with Canadians from all walks of life.

What This Project Will Do for Canada and PEI

The Charlottetown Forum will provide a dynamic space for exploring Canadian Confederation and national identities. Fostering inclusive discussions and diverse perspectives, it will deepen our understanding of Canada’s past, present, and future.

Nearly 60 years after Confederation Centre of the Arts first opened, we’ve reached a turning point in our history. Built in 1964 as Canada’s national memorial to the Fathers of Confederation, the Centre has grown into a place where people can learn about how our country was formed and how it continues to grow and change—always with the arts at the heart of it.

Through world-class art exhibits, original theatre performances, music, dance, education, and heritage programs, millions of visitors from across Canada and beyond have experienced the cultures, stories, and identities that make up our past and present. Now, we’re looking ahead to the Centre’s biggest transformation yet.

Confederation Centre of the Arts is holy ground for a kid from Petty Harbour. For a young Atlantic Canadian like myself, I needed a place close to home that showed me that we out here on the edges of the country could make great art, too. Maybe I would not have to move to Toronto or Chicago to make it. Maybe I could tell my own stories and sing my own songs. One step down the hallowed halls of this place and I knew I could be me.

Alan Doyle

Musician and actor

What does it mean to have a national arts centre right here on P.E.I.? Through engaging visual arts exhibitions, theatrical performances, music, dance, education, and heritage programming, Confederation Centre of the Arts (CCOA) provides you with an opportunity to experience multiple cultures, histories, stories, and contexts of Canada’s origins and evolution. This is your arts centre and we hope you will explore and experience all it has to offer.

Steve Bellamy

CEO

$0 $17.75M $35.5M $53.25M $71.5M

Goal: $71,500,000 Raised: $55,000,000 Progress: 76%

Learn More & Get Involved!

Case For Support

Renovation Information

At the heart of the Shared Voices Capital Campaign is the launch of a cultural leadership institute that blends discussion of national identities with the creation of new work, and community and professional learning. Adding to the Centre’s world-class theatre and gallery programming, the new institute will enable the Centre to lead through three central levers and their respective spaces:

Create

The Arts Innovation Hub will significantly support the growth and development of new Canadian work in theatre, visual arts, and artist residencies.

Collaborate

The Arts Academy will actively strengthen the national arts sector as a training ground for artists and arts industry professionals, while building capacity in the Atlantic region, and serving the local community with accessible arts classes for everyone.

Connect

The Charlottetown Forum will provide a dedicated space and events for the discussion of Canadian Confederation and national identities. Whether a more inclusive account of our shared history or wide-ranging perspectives on Canada’s potential for the future, the Charlottetown Forum will facilitate a deeper understanding of the many identities of Canada.

Donate to our Shared Voices Campaign

Amount: $

Working with nationally-recognized architectural firm, Abbott Brown, the revitalization of Confederation Centre of the Arts will remove barriers to entry and engagement, and provide welcoming spaces for diverse communities. The original Brutalist architecture will be updated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, and integrate the structure more seamlessly into its surroundings. The resulting spaces will be inviting, transparent, fluid and inclusive

Key to this new-generation sustainable addition is not only what has been planned for the future, but how we get there. The entire project prioritizes sound environmental stewardship through leading carbon-reduction standards for retrofits of historic buildings, maximizing the Centre’s ability to reduce our carbon footprint.

AS CANADA EVOLVES, SO MUST THE CENTRE

As this nation continues to learn, grow, and improve, the Centre has a duty to do the same. We believe in learning from the voices of all Canadians. We lead by listening.

Part of this journey began with our most recent strategic planning process, in which, together with a chorus of voices from a broad representation of stakeholders including Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, we refined the Centre’s priorities under three pillars: Artistic Excellence; Engaged Diverse Communities, and Organizational Sustainability. This road map expands on the Centre’s rich cultural heritage and guides us as we plan for tomorrow.

More than ever, we are committed to realizing these important goals. We can do this by increasing the ways we connect to one another.

NATIONAL CULTURAL HUB AND CONVENOR—FUELED BY INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

We must continue to tell stories in new ways, provide spaces for diverse cultural experiences and perspectives, and remove barriers to participation for all communities. This is the inspiration behind our largest capital infrastructure initiative since inception: the creation of a cultural leadership institute.

This project will engage greater audiences through performing and visual arts, reflect our vibrant and rich cultural communities, ensure accessibility, and represent our shared voices–all while reducing carbon in a facility redesigned to showcase Canada’s commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability.

This is the moment to define our role as a convenor for exploring an evolving Canada; responding to increasing divisiveness with initiatives focused on intercultural understanding, sharing and learning from one another through excellence in arts and heritage programming. A focal point—for all.

Thank you for adding your voice to this important undertaking.

Donate to our Shared Voices Campaign

Amount: $

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Province of Prince Edward Island.

Learn more about Supporting the Centre

Contact Mary Ellen Davies, Director of Development
902-628-6139 or [email protected]