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Fogo Island Arts Joins National Gallery of Canada Initiative to Celebrate Abbas Akhavan as Canada’s Representative at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

May 5, 2026
Press Release
Abbas Akhavan  script for an island
Photo Credit: Abbas Akhavan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fogo Island, Newfoundland, May 5, 2026 — Fogo Island Arts announced today a new partnership with the National Gallery of Canada in celebration of artist Abbas Akhavan, who is representing Canada at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, opening May 9th.

Building on its long-standing relationship with Akhavan, Fogo Island Arts is proud to be partnering with the National Gallery of Canada and other institutional partners, organizations and individuals in honouring the artist as he receives this international recognition.

The International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia is the largest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibition in the world with more than 80 participating countries. Abbas Akhavan: Entre chien et loup is commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada and presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts, with thanks to supporting sponsor Hatch and exhibition partners the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Orto Botanico di Padova.

A Decade of Engagement with Fogo Island

Abbas Akhavan’s relationship with Fogo Island Arts spans more than a decade and three residencies — in 2013, 2016, and 2019. According to Akhavan, these visits were formative to his development as an artist. The remote character of Fogo Island, an island off an island, sitting at the edge of the North Atlantic, offered the artist a context attuned to his preoccupations: the specificity of place, the weight of landscape on history, and the fragile ecologies, both social and natural, that sustain the environment.

His 2013 and 2016 residencies brought him into contact with the island’s communities, its vernacular architecture, and the particular quality of light and life at the far edge of Canada. In 2019, this relationship culminated in a solo exhibition at the Fogo Island Gallery: script for an island.

“Abbas is one of the most thoughtful artists working today; his methods ask us to slow down and attend to the world and all living things with care. He is an artist who is at home on the world’s stage and his presence in Venice is a moment for great celebration.” said Kitty Scott, Director, Fogo Island Arts.

The Canadian representation at the Biennale Arte 2026 is made possible through the Canadian Artists in Venice Endowment at the National Gallery of Canada Foundation and with the generous financial support from Canada Pavilion Patron Reesa Greenberg, C.M. and the Canadian Artists in Venice Endowment Patrons, as well as Institutional Partners from across Canada, including Fogo Island Arts.

ABOUT FOGO ISLAND ARTS 

Fogo Island Arts is a residency-based contemporary art venue situated on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Founded in 2008 by Shorefast, a registered Canadian charity, Fogo Island Arts has brought artists, curators, filmmakers, writers, and thinkers from around the world to Fogo Island to live, research, and make new work. Combining contemporary art, iconic architecture, and community engagement in a singular setting, Fogo Island Arts is rooted in the belief that artists and thinkers are visionaries with a unique capacity to reveal and respond to the complexities of our time.

Visit fogoislandarts.ca 

ABOUT SHOREFAST 

Shorefast is a Canadian registered charity (#85883 0904 RR0001) forging new pathways at the intersection of economic development, business, art and philanthropy. Its initiatives include the Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Arts, the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies and programs focused on food systems, the environment, culture and heritage.

Through work on Fogo Island and beyond, Shorefast builds, learns and shares economic development practices that activate the intrinsic assets of communities, towards a vision of more prosperous economies that serve people, nature and culture in more places.

Visit shorefast.org 

Media Inquiries for Fogo Island Arts:

[email protected]

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Fogo Island Arts Announces Shore Time: Art Design Place 

March 31, 2026
Press Release
Photo Credit: Justin Parsons ©2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

International gathering of artists, designers, and thinkers 
on Fogo Island, October 1–3, 2026 

FOGO ISLAND, NL — March 30, 2026 —  Today, Fogo Island Arts announced Shore Time: Art Design Place. 

This year’s edition of the biannual gathering first held in 2024, will take place October 1–3, 2026, on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador. The event brings together artists, curators, critics, architects, and designers to explore human-centred making and the specificity of place. This year, art and design are the lenses through which the present and future will be explored.  

Over three days of conversation, artists and designers will share how they live, think, and make in these changing times. The communities of Fogo Island, each with their rich tradition of local makers, will provide the context that grounds these conversations in lived reality. 

The event is organized by Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts, Zita Cobb, Founder and CEO of Shorefast and Todd Saunders, architect of Fogo Island Inn and Fogo Island Arts studios. Co-organizers include Stephan Weishaupt, Founder of Avenue Road and Man Of Parts, and Ernst Hupel, Partner at 2H Interior Design. 

“Both art and design entail more than the creation of discrete objects – they also model new entanglements of people, places and things. Fogo Island, the location of the event, is itself an argument for the recognition of the value of specific places, and communities, as well as the knowledge that lives in both.” said Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts.

Shore Time brings together an internationally renowned group whose work spans art, design, architecture, and critical writing. Confirmed speakers include Leonor Antunes, Sebastian Herkner, Hella Jongerius, Tom McDonough, Glenn Pushelberg, R.H. Quaytman, and Tommy Smythe. Shore Time is made possible thanks to the generous support of Stephan Weishaupt, of Man Of Parts, and Andrew Grimes, of Grimes Handscomb Asset Management, RBC Dominion Securities. 

REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION

Registration for Shore Time 2026 is now open.
To register or learn more, visit shoretime.fogoislandarts.ca 

ABOUT FOGO ISLAND ARTS 

Fogo Island Arts was founded in 2008 as a founding program of Shorefast, a registered Canadian charity dedicated to place-based economic development on Fogo Island and beyond. Fogo Island Arts is an international contemporary artist residency program located on Fogo Island, off the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Founded on the belief that artists are visionaries with a unique capacity to reveal and respond to the complexities of our time, FIA has grown into a globally recognized institution encompassing residencies, exhibitions, public programs, publications, and research projects. FIA uses four off-the-grid studios designed by Newfoundland-born, Norway-based architect Todd Saunders.

To learn more, visit fogoislandarts.ca 

ABOUT SHOREFAST 

Shorefast is a Canadian registered charity (#85883 0904 RR0001) forging new pathways at the intersection of economic development, business, art, and philanthropy. Its initiatives include the Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Arts, the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies and programs focused on food systems, the environment, culture and heritage. 

Through work on Fogo Island and beyond, Shorefast builds, learns and shares economic development practices that activate the intrinsic assets of communities, towards a vision of more prosperous economies that serve people, nature and culture in more places. 

Visit shorefast.org 

Media contact:
Sorya Gaulin
Chief Marketing Officer, Shorefast
[email protected]

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Scott Stirrett to join the newly launched Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies

February 3, 2026
Press Release

Venture for Canada Founder to serve as Senior Advisor,
helping drive growth and capacity

TORONTO, ON – February 4, 2026 – Shorefast, a Canadian registered charity pioneering place-based economic development, today announced that Scott Stirrett would be bringing his experience to the Shorefast Institute in a Senior Advisor capacity.

As Canada looks to new approaches to strengthen its economy, the Shorefast Institute, which launched in December, is working at the ground level to advancing place-based models of economic development, towards a more durable and prosperous future.

Stirrett brings a decade of experience building a national movement for economic opportunity. He founded Venture for Canada in 2013 and created programs that have supported over 10,000 young professionals in launching businesses and careers, while raising more than $80 million to expand entrepreneurial opportunities across the country.

Beginning February 4th, Stirrett will work with the team, lending his expertise and advising on establishing the Institute as a national leader in community economic development. He will contribute to driving the Institute’s agenda across government, business and community sectors, with key areas of responsibilities including:

Building the Institute’s financial capacity through fundraising and strategic partnerships
Scaling the Institute’s impact by advancing policy and advocacy initiatives
Developing community finance mechanisms to support local start-ups and businesses

“Scott brings a wealth of relevant experience working with diverse stakeholders at every level. And the work of the Shorefast Institute is about building a working framework across governments, markets and communities of all sizes.” said Zita Cobb, Founder and CEO of Shorefast. “His proven track record in establishing collaborative processes and structures makes him exceptionally well-suited to advance our mission.”

“The Shorefast Institute’s vision to harness local community assets and bring regenerative prosperity to more Canadians is exactly the kind of innovative approach our country needs right now,” said Stirrett. “I’m excited to contribute to this important work.”

Prior to founding Venture for Canada, Stirrett worked at Goldman Sachs in New York City. A graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, he has been recognized as a TELUS LGBTQ Innovator of the Year, a Young Impact Leader by Future of Good, a Globe and Mail Changemaker, an Action Canada Fellow and an Ashoka Fellow. Growing up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, shaped his understanding of community and opportunity.

Learn more at institute.shorefast.org
Watch the video: shorefast.org/work/the-shorefast-institute/

Media contact:
Sorya Gaulin
Chief Marketing Officer, Shorefast
[email protected]

Download the Press Release
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Press Release
Photo Credit: Justin Parsons ©2025

Launch of new national economic engine

The Shorefast Institute

for Place-Based Economies

New initiative aims to grow Canada’s economy from the ground up

(Ottawa, ON – December 3, 2025) – A new initiative launched today to address Canada’s complex economic challenges by equipping communities with proven tools and networks to steward local prosperity, drive innovation, build economic momentum and bring local innovations to a countrywide scale and impact.

Shorefast, the Canadian charity known for more than two decades of pioneering place-based economic development on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, today announced the launch of the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies at the State of Canada’s Cities Summit in Ottawa.

The Institute will strengthen Canada’s economy by advancing place-based approaches to economic development and by building a working framework across governments, markets and communities of all sizes. As Canada looks for fresh ideas and durable solutions to build a more resilient future, the Shorefast Institute will work across sectors to build and share proven models, activate entrepreneurship and develop coordinated strategies and tools to create the conditions for communities to thrive.

“We have an opportunity to evolve our economic systems so that markets, governments and communities work more effectively together for ground-up and top-down economic development,” says Zita Cobb, Founder of the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies. “No single organization or sector can drive economic growth alone. We created the Institute so people who live in Canada’s communities can access the tools they need to be economic innovators and active contributors to nation-building.”

Shorefast was founded in 2004 by Cobb and her brothers in response to the economic and cultural crisis facing Fogo Island following the collapse of the cod fishery. Through community-led entrepreneurship, brand-building, philanthropy and partnership with government, Shorefast has established a suite of social businesses and initiatives – including the internationally recognized Fogo Island Inn – that has contributed more than $250 million to the island’s GDP over the past decade, generating lasting social and economic impact.

The creation and launch of the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies has been supported by several generous Canadian families and foundations including the Arthur and Sandra Irving Foundation, The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation, River Philip Foundation, and others. We are also grateful to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Choice Properties REIT, and The Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation for supporting this work.

Watch the video:
shorefast.org/work/the-shorefast-institute/

Media contact:

Sorya Gaulin
Chief Marketing Officer, Shorefast
[email protected]

About Shorefast

Shorefast is a Canadian registered charity forging new pathways at the intersection of economic development, business, art and philanthropy. Its initiatives include the Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Arts, the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies and programs focused on food systems, the environment, culture and heritage.

Through work on Fogo Island and beyond, Shorefast builds, learns and shares economic development practices that activate the intrinsic assets of communities, towards a vision of more prosperous economies that serve people, nature and culture in more places.