About
Tidal River is a queer family-owned home and studio located in coastal Mi’kma’ki, made available to artists to rest, restore, work or collaborate. We give priority to BIPOC, Two-Spirited, Trans, Deaf, Disabled, Mad, Neurodiverse, Crip, &/or Chronically ill artists, but everyone is welcome.
We know that affordable, accessible spaces for artists are difficult to find, and we also know that most artists don’t get paid to rest. This space is offered up to support artists in taking much-needed down time with opportunities for focused work and collaboration.
The retreat includes access to a 4-bedroom, 1.5 story house, a large exterior studio (unfinished) and the surrounding 1acre property. The main house is a spacious welcoming space filled with art, books, games, and a cozy wood stove. Artists will find a wide variety of work spaces and tools, including a wood workshop, painting easel, sewing machine, material trolleys and several large worktables. The exterior studio is not finished yet - but there is lighting and electricity available and the temperate costal climate makes its comfortable to work in during the Spring, Summer and Fall.
The house backs onto a tidal river, which leads to the Atlantic ocean at Mavillette Beach Provincial Park. The 1km untouched beach is a 20 minute walk from the house, by beautiful salt mashes and there are several bikes available to use. For full accessibility details see the Spaces and Accessibility tab.
It’s a great space to restore, rest, gather, or create. Artists can also just stay here cheaply if they need that too.
However, Tidal River is not a space for large events or parties.
Tidal River is a labour of love. We are non-profit, artist-run and we are not publicly funded. Any contributions go directly towards covering basic utilities, maintenance and accessibility costs. We wish we could provide funding to artists, however we are very limited in our ability to access public funding, in part due to the recent cuts made by the Province of Nova Scotia. Increases to utilities costs have also forced us to increase our fees.
Rates are geared to artist incomes and we provide cost flexibility so you can let us know what works for you. We also consider offers of barter or partnerships.
Rates:
Employed or financially supported artists: $300-$500/ week per person
Unfunded artists on fixed or limited incomes: $ 150-$200/week per person
(Support workers and attendants stay for free)
We suggest artists seek out funding whenever possible and we can provide support letters as needed. We do ask that you inform us if you are applying to, or are receiving funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, as this restricts our ability to accept fees.
You can propose stays for 1-6 wks. To see what dates are available please look at the Availability tab at the top.
If you are an artist interested in staying at Tidal River please contact us.
Cost
