This article was originally published on: https://steinbachonline.com/articles/soje-opens-applications-to-local-artists- The Southeast Open Judged Art Exhibit (SOJE) is back on at the Steinbach Arts Council (SAC).   Manager of community programs, Cassandra Kornelsen, says it’s a great way to connect artists within the community.   Highlighting the arts  “It’s an exhibit that highlights artists from the whole community that can come and enter a piece of artwork to be judged at the centre.”   Kornelsen says art of many different types can be submitted to the exhibit.   “Anything from pottery to more ceramics or acrylics and watercolour,” she adds.  “Then there’s the adult and the juvenile categories as well. So even the children get to participate in the exhibit this time too.”  Kornelsen explains that everyone who submits on time, and before space runs out, is featured in the exhibit.   “There is a small criteria that we follow just to make sure all the artwork is appropriate for the public. But everyone is welcome to come and submit their artwork in the forms that fall under those categories.”  Front and centre  She explains excitedly that the entire Arts Council is used to display pieces during SOJE.  “Last year we had over 160 entries, which meant that our full upstairs hall gallery our Ledingham studio gallery, our walls on the SCU studio, and our full basement hallway were full of artwork.”  Kornelsen says applications are open now and will close on Jan. 24, 2026.   “So, we collect those applications and then we start welcoming the artists to bring their artworks down. And then we have our opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 28, where we invite everyone to come and see if they’ve placed,” she adds.  She says the judges have not been selected yet but will be shortly.   “Normally we pick people that we haven’t used within the past few years so that it’s a new selection panel. And there is a committee that picks those judges and then through that judging process there’s a scoring sheet and it’s very official.”  All artists welcome  Kornelsen says many successful, local artists have gotten their start at SOJE.   “I have definitely seen some of the artists that have put their artworks into SOJE have their own full hall gallery exhibit before, which is a really neat segue to that, almost like a sneak peek of their artwork.”   She recalls a touching moment from last year.  “Memorably last year, a child that was, I think, in grade 5 put in a piece that was a dinosaur. And when he saw the red ribbon that he had won first, he was so excited, and he was crying because he didn’t understand what that meant to him. So it was, yeah, it was such a cool feeling.”  Kornelsen notes some exciting things for the future.  “We’re out of room. So now (the) next step is a potential satellite program for exhibits, which is a new piece that we’re working on. And we’re really excited to launch that. We’re working on those details for this year.” 

This article was originally posted on SteinbachOnline: https://steinbachonline.com/articles/ian-sherwood-opens-steinbach-arts-councils-2025-concert-series The Steinbach Arts Council is gearing up to kick off this year’s Concert Series with the first of five shows.  Performing Arts Coordinator Tara Schellenberg says the season opener is set for Thursday, October 9.  “We’ve got Ian Sherwood coming. He is from the East Coast of Canada. He’s a singer-songwriter. He’s been awarded for both his singing and his songwriting. He’s won a Canadian Folk Music Award.”  The performance will take place at the SRSS Theatre, starting at 7:30 p.m.  “He’s going to do some singing, play some guitar, play some saxophone. He does live looping at his concerts, which is really cool.”  Schellenberg explains that looping involves recording short instrumental parts and playing them back live to create the sound of a full band, all by one musician.  “It’s a one person show, but it has the effect of a whole band. Very, very cool to see that happening live, and you can only see that when you’re in the room where the magic is happening.”  She adds that during a time when the world feels divided, performances like this help bring people together.  “When you’re sitting in a concert like that, you’re not just being entertained, everybody is having a shared experience. And it’s going to be unique. There are never two shows that are going to be the same. And so, you’re going to walk out of there having being entertained, inspired, and now having a shared experience with a big group of people. And I think it’s really a very lovely way to build connections with your community.”  Schellenberg says this year’s Concert Series will feature a wide range of genres.  “This is the first of five. And this one is going to be kind of like folk pop, and this is the only one that’s like this year. So if that’s kind of your jam, then you want to come out to this one this year, because we’ve got lots of other cool stuff happening.”  Attendees can expect everything from theatre to symphony to classical performances.  “You’re going to get world-class music right here in our community, which is cool. We search high and low, far and wide for the best talent across Canada and even internationally. And we bring it right to your door. So, you’re going to hear top-notch musicianship and you’re going to be inspired.”  Here’s a look at the upcoming lineup in the Concert Series:  “Both of those musicians, David Liam Roberts and Godwin Friesen, they’ve both been named to CBC’s top 30 under 30 classical musicians. So, these guys are going places. We’re kind of getting them on their rise to classical notoriety.”  “And they’re going to come and they’re going to perform actually with the SRSS Chamber Choir. So a bit of community added to that show.”  “We have the Manitoba Theater Center finishing off our concert series with a play called Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, that I think maybe people will be able to relate to.”  Schellenberg says tickets are available online at the Steinbach Arts Council website or by calling 204-346-1077.  “And if all of those concerts sound appealing to you, this is kind of your last chance to enjoy the season subscriber pricing. We still are selling a few season tickets.” 

This article was originally posted on SteinbachOnline.com: https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/steinbach-arts-council-gets-30k-grant-increase-from-city Steinbach City Council has given preliminary approval for a $30,000 increase to the annual grant for the Steinbach Arts Council (SAC) starting in 2026.  Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra says the decision reflects both the growth of SAC programs and council’s desire to recognize the value of the organization’s work in the community.  “We did take a look at the history and the work that’s being done by the Arts Council,” Zwaagstra said. “And so we decided that it was the time, an appropriate time to increase their funding. Their funding had been frozen for several years, at least, in terms of what was coming from the City. And so in 2026, they will have a $30,000 increase on the net grant that they receive.”  He clarified that this funding is separate from the rent arrangement between the two parties. The City owns the building that houses SAC, charges rent, and then provides a grant to cover those rental costs.  “This is completely separate from that,” Zwaagstra explained. “You can think of this as the operating funding that we are giving. And this is a portion of the funding they get. But we felt that because of the hard work that the Arts Council is doing and the expansion and the programs that we’re seeing, we do want to make it clear that we support the Steinbach Arts Council and we value our partnership with them, and that’s why we have decided on the $30,000 increase for the upcoming year.”  SAC responds to funding boost  SAC Board Chair Taylor Brandt says the funding comes at an important time as the organization continues to expand programs and serve more people.  “We’ve had a really great relationship with the City of Steinbach for decades and decades, since really when we started, and the City owns our building,” said Brandt. “Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in our programs and in foot traffic and an increase in cost. And so this is really timely. As we are planning to grow even more, this is coming at a really good time to be able to help us get to that next level.”  Brandt explained that part of SAC’s mission is to ensure programs remain affordable and accessible to as many people as possible.  “This helps our operating budget as a whole and makes sure that we can have the facility that’s needed for the people that we are hosting,” Brandt said. “Making sure that all of our programs are accessible to a majority of people that are in the Steinbach and surrounding areas. So that’s what our operating budget goes towards as well as making sure that we’re able to subsidize to keep things affordable.”  Expansion through satellite programs  Looking ahead, Brandt says the increase will allow SAC to consider expanding programs beyond its downtown facility.  “It’s going to open up some of our doors that allows us to have some more satellite programs,” she said. “So not just programs that are run out of the Steinbach Arts Council building, but some satellite programs as we’ve started to see around the Mennonite Heritage Village and hopefully some other satellite programs that we’re able to run in different areas.”  She added that this growth also has the effect of opening doors to larger grant opportunities. With a bigger operating budget, it makes SAC eligible for more grant opportunities, Brandt explained. “Which is really exciting for the Steinbach Arts Council because we’re getting to be looked at as a non-for-profit at a new caliber, which is just getting us more eyes on the Steinbach Arts Council. As we are in the top 10 per cent of arts councils, of programs that are out of organizations that do what we do across Canada, we are among the 10 per cent.”  Strengthening community impact  SAC Executive Director David Klassen says the additional funding will support long-term sustainability.  “Everything we do is about community impact, and added funding will help us to ensure that we can sustain the level of programming we’ve built over the last few years,” Klassen said. “We’re excited to see how this will benefit all of our participants, allowing our community to thrive. We appreciate that the City of Steinbach sees the value in what we do for residents of Steinbach and surrounding communities.”  Long-standing partnership  For Brandt, the funding decision highlights the strong relationship between SAC and city leadership.  “Thank you so much to the City of Steinbach,” she said. “We have a great relationship with Mayor Earl Funk as well as all of the other councillors. And so we’re just really excited and very proud of that relationship.”  And Zwaagstra says, “We value our partnership with them,” he said. “That’s why we’ve decided on the $30,000 increase.”  The increase is part of Steinbach’s preliminary 2026 budget planning and will be finalized later this year.