Creative bent

I recall, back when I lived in the city, being warned I’d be bored out of my skull.

Those concerned for my sanity were warning me about moving to Belleville from Toronto when I decided to go to school at Loyalist College. I was born in a city, I grew up in a city, and although Belleville is—technically— a city, it is dwarfed by Toronto.

At the time, I was travelling in artsy circles. The type of people who are naturally drawn to cities. So far away, I was told, there simply isn’t anything to do.

It might come as a surprise to those who warned me that I’ve moved even farther from a city and am thriving in Wellington.

There is something about the County that draws the same type of crowd, it seems. There is something happening here that has happened in countless places before, an undercurrent that stirs excitement before it breaks the surface, and here it arguably already has.

The art scene here has been noted, by locals, certainly, but also more and more by those who travel here from the cities for the wine and the beaches and the real estate.

And of course, by creative types who are driven out of cities by the overwhelming cost of living and the saturation of artists. There are, of course, the painters, the sculptors, the fabric artists, those who sell in galleries and in craft shows.

There are the flower arrangers, the furniture craftspeople, the pottery and glass artists. But it stretches beyond that. It stretches to the musicians, the dancers, the actors who find an outlet in the County. In the past year, the County has seen the new Hayloft, the County Canteen in Picton and Stache in Wellington all open their doors to performance.

New creations are swirling in cafes like cream in coffee, quickly becoming a homogenous part of the culture here. And, boy, is there ever culture here.

Perhaps I’m biased. I live here, after all, and I chose this place. Perhaps such a creative undercurrent exists everywhere, really. But I’d propose the County has developed its own artists’ ghetto— a place that draws creative types for its concentration of art and its affordability.

But it’s not affordable, you might say. That’s true. The more people take notice of a place, the less affordable life becomes there. But that is a characteristic of an artists’ ghetto. Look at Queen West in Toronto or Williamsburg in New York. Why not an entire county?

And besides, it is still more affordable here than in the city.

So they were wrong, those naysayers. I was not bored, and I am not bored. With all the theatre, music, pop-up shops, tours and festivals, with all the stores and galleries and all the opportunities for creation and inspiration and collaboration, this is a great place to be artistic.

Welcome to the artists’ quarter, everyone.

mihal@mihalzada.com