This Town Is Small

As part of their Test Press project, 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧, Derrick Carl Biso will be hosting a salon to discuss this recent work and to exchange ideas about personal relationships to grief and mourning and artistic practices that help us relate to loss.

The artist hopes to receive feedback about the work and learn more with others about different forms of relating to grief and rituals of memorializing and meaning making.

WHEN: Thursday, October 22, 5:00-7:00 PM
WHERE: This Town Is Small (at the Hilda Woolnough Gallery in the Arts Guild ) 111 Queen Street, Charlottetown

Image courtesy of the artist.

Test Press is made possible thanks the generosity of our funders: Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Charlottetown, and PEI Creates (Innovation PEI)

⭐️ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Phil Mercier

Phil Mercier is an artist and photographer living in Brookfield PEI. His work explores themes of DIY, rural life, and archives. He can often be found developing film in his basement or tending to his plants.

Phil will be working in the TTIS gallery space until November 1st. Drop by during gallery hours to see what he’s working on!

📷 🎞️

ABOUT TEST PRESS
Test Press is an artistic development opportunity for artists to use the gallery for self-directed experimentation. It is a celebration of trying new things, embracing failure, fine-tuning ideas, and testing new approaches. Throughout the months of September and October, participating artists will utilise the space to create new work, explore new processes, conduct research, and more!

Test Press is made possible thanks to the generous support of the City of Charlottetown, PEI Creates (Innovation PEI), and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Don't miss these performances at TTIS during this weekend! Tickets and showtimes can be found at:
islandfringe.com

Men Love Horsies: The Musical
Just a man singing songs about horses.
(Written by and Starring: Devin Bateson, Produced by: Devin Bateson)

Passing the Cold in Montreal
Venture into the dark, cold, magical and sometimes unexpectedly bright times of passing the cold months of winter. A interdisciplinary show that uses clown, dance, accordion, live soundscaped and physical theatre to tell the story of hibernating in the city.
(Written and Performed by: Claire Mongrain, Produced by: Five Handz)

⭐️ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Sofia Cervantes Romero

Sofia Cervantes Romero is a contemporary abstract painter based in Epekwitk(Prince Edward Island). During Test Press, Sofia intends to advance her practice by experimenting with subtle colour palettes in a large-scale painting. Her inspiration comes from romantic notions of the sublime and a dream of the moon. As a part of the project, Sofia hopes to create a space that stirs a sense of awe and wonder. She encourages visitors to enter the space and respond to prompt questions meant to incite reflection and capture the ideas, emotions, and images emerging from the audience’s imagination.

Sofia will be working in the TTIS gallery space until November 1st! Drop by during gallery hours to say hi and check out what she’s working on.

🌕🌙

ABOUT TEST PRESS
Test Press is an artistic development opportunity for artists to use the gallery for self-directed experimentation. It is a celebration of trying new things, embracing failure, fine-tuning ideas, and testing new approaches. Throughout the months of September and October, participating artists will utilise the space to create new work, explore new processes, conduct research, and more!

Test Press is made possible thanks to the generous support of the City of Charlottetown, PEI Creates (Innovation PEI), and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Last month we welcomed .bridger into her new role as Programming Coordinator at This Town Is Small. Hannah has worked with us previously in 2024 as the Communications Coordinator for Radiant Rural Halls (and is the designer behind our logo & branding!)

Hannah Bridger is a multidisciplinary artist and graphic designer based in Charlottetown. Her visual arts practice has spanned sculpture/installation, printmaking, video, and drawing, and the resulting work tends to explore simulacra & uncanniness in relation to themes like memory, identity, and time. She is also the bassist & vocalist of Charlottetown-based emo band, Dazey. Hannah received a BFA from Mount Allison University in 2020 and was awarded the J.E.A. Crake Performance Award in Fine Arts. In 2020-21, she was the Alex Colville Curatorial Intern at the Owens Art Gallery, and has since been working in the non-profit arts sector on PEI.

This Town Is Small is closed today, Sept. 30th, in observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Image credits: Melissa Peter-Paul, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦, 2023. Installation shot from the exhibition 𝘌𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘬𝘢’𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘯𝘦’𝘭 (2025).

📸:

⭐️ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Becca Griffin

Becca Griffin (she/they) is a local artist, educator, and administrator! They design and direct youth productions with The Victoria Playhouse Theatre School, and the Stratford Youth Centre (Currently working on The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe). She’s also been a part of the River Clyde Arts Community since 2019. Becca loves to make new things out of found and repurposed materials, to create masks and puppets, and collaborating and connecting in community! You can find her work at Becca Griffin - Art, Puppets, n’Stuff, or check out their pei.art profile, pei.art/becca-griffin

Becca will be working in the TTIS gallery space until October 6th! Drop by during gallery hours to say hi and check out what they’re working on.

📸: Andrew Lewis

🎃🐈‍⬛

ABOUT TEST PRESS
Test Press is an artistic development opportunity for artists to use the gallery for self-directed experimentation. It is a celebration of trying new things, embracing failure, fine-tuning ideas, and testing new approaches. Throughout the months of September and October, participating artists will utilise the space to create new work, explore new processes, conduct research, and more!

Test Press is made possible thanks to the generous support of the City of Charlottetown, PEI Creates (Innovation PEI), and the Canada Council for the Arts.

We’re closed today! Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll see you next week!

Artists Becca Griffin and Sofia Cervantes are using the gallery as a studio space, to test ideas and experiment, as part of our Fall program called Test Press! Come drop by next week when we’re open again if you’re curious to take a look. 👀

Arts Guild PEI Sofía Becca Griffin - Art, Puppets, n’Stuff

🫟🎨 Test Press is up and running in the gallery this week and we’re excited to announce this years’ batch of self-directed artists’ projects!

Becca Griffin (Becca Griffin - Art, Puppets, n’Stuff)
Sofia Cervantes Romero (Sofía)
Phil Mercier (Phil Mercier)
Derrick Carl (Remedy the Drag Queen)
Carlie Howell (C a r l i e H o w e l l)

The gallery will be open regular hours for visitors to observe or engage with artists working on in-progress artworks. Test Press is a way for artists to experiment with process, test out new techniques, and work through problems using the space and equipment that This Town Is Small has to offer.

Stay tuned for upcoming events and more information about this years’ artists and their projects ⭐️

TTIS would like to thank Canada Council for the Arts, City of Charlottetown, and PEI Creates (Innovation PEI) for their generous and continued support of our programming.

⏯️ 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 closed last week and we’re sad to see it go! Featuring media artworks by nine artists, this exhibition reflected on endings and persistence, exploring grief, memory, biology, defence mechanisms, and the shifting boundaries between the personal and the planetary.

Participating artists: Millefiore Clarkes, Nancy Cole, Andreas Fobes, Marti Hopson, Adam Gallant, Adam Hill, Sarah Noonan, Lee Rosevere, and Ezra Saad.

Photography: Anastasia