Small Town Creative Communities of Conviviality: A Case Study of Sackville, New Brunswick

This project uses Sackville, New Brunswick as a case study for small town creative communities, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of small towns for cultural workers, also offering insight into what draws artists to these communities. A tension exists between cultural producers and urban life, as the rising cost of living in cities jeopardizes affordable rent for arts venues and housing for cultural workers. The town of Sackville is home to a liberal arts university, artist-run centres, galleries, music festivals, and many urban expat artists, with a cost of living well below that of cities. Engaging Sackville’s artist population to collect oral histories, this project identifies themes regarding their reasoning for seeking out a small town community. Culminating in an hour-long audio documentary, this project addresses how smaller communities foster creativity, collaboration, and conviviality, and how a lower cost of living and rural landscape impact the cultural producer.