About

La série Stone & Sky Music & Arts (Stone & Sky, en activité depuis 2012) propose un centre culturel extérieur accessible, ouvert trois saisons, proposant des performances multidisciplinaires d’artistes professionnels**.

The Stone & Sky Music & Arts Series (Stone & Sky, operating continuously since 2012) creates an accessible outdoor three season cultural centre through live multi-disciplinary performances by professional** artists. A disused, fossil filled limestone quarry amphitheatre and former landfill on Pelee Island (a distinctive venue with magnificent acoustic properties), is our original performance venue. The Suzanne Turnbull Memorial Amphitheatre (the Quarry) creates an “art park” where established and emergent professional artists can perform in a natural, matchless, and accessible setting. The provision of professional artists act as a cultural bridge between the Island and the artistic world at large. This is a unique project without parallel within our community, or indeed, within Canada, and we intend to recreate this successful model in other rural, remote, and underserved communities.

Stone & Sky has created, developed, produced, and presented scores of professional artistic and ground-breaking events to thousands of participants. Our season consists of numerous multi-inter arts concerts featuring classical, jazz, and experimental music, spoken word, visual art, dance, the Greek Revival Theatre Festival, Flutter Fest: A Community Migration Festival, Coming Together: a Collaborative Arts-based Reconciliation Celebration and artists’ residencies throughout the year.

Our inclusivity embraces underrepresented individuals and prioritizes reconciliation. Stone & Sky invites community participation, and provides paid opportunities for professional artists through live performance, specialized workshops/master classes, artists’ residencies, and original productions. Stone & Sky is the founding organizational member of The Lollipop Guild, an association of non-siloed professional artists who seek payment for their work. Live performance art events include: Entre’Acte, Magiquecal, Flutter, Tranquilité, Équilibre, Alchemy, Moonscapé, The Hidden Fairy, and The Waste Land.

Artists we have engaged include members of the Federation of Musicians, CARFAC, the Writers Union of Canada, and the League of Canadian Poets. Consultations with community members, participants, and partners since 2009 have collaboratively developed this unique model distinguished by slow growth towards sustainability

**The OAC (Ontario Arts Council) defines a professional artist/arts professional as someone who has developed skills through training or practice, is recognized by artists working in the same artistic tradition, has a history of public presentation or publication, seeks payment for her or his work and actively practises his or her art. Short breaks in artistic work history are acceptable.

**CARFAC (Canadian Artists Representation Le Front des Artistes Canadien) defers to The International Artists Association who define a “professional artist” as one who:

earns a living through art making;
or possesses a diploma in an area considered to be within the domain of the fine arts;
or teaches art in a school of art or applied art;
or whose work is often seen by the public or is frequently or regularly exhibited;
or is recognized as an artist by consensus of opinion among professional artists.

MISSION STATEMENT

Bringing elite arts to underserved communities through artists’ residencies and performances.

CORPORATE OBJECTS

To provide paid opportunities for professional artists to participate in live performances, artists’ residencies, and other related events;
To provide opportunities for the general public to become aware of and appreciate professional arts, including youth engagement;
To encourage curiosity of life through the arts in rural, remote and underserved communities.

Vision Statement

“A community that has access to, and celebrates the arts and artists.”

Governing Core Values

An Artist Centric Framework – We recognize, esteem, & support professional artists.

Engagement – We encourage active participation with artists, crew, and our audience.

Learning – We foster collaborative relationships within our organization and our communities.

Partnerships

Our longevity and many successes are due, in part, to the valuable partnerships we have formed with many individuals and organizations. These partnerships have enabled a more immediate penetration and intimate engagement with the communities we oblige. These important partnerships include working with other organizations in a non-performance specific manner to create respectful and healthy arts communities. The significant partners we are currently working with include:

The Township of Pelee Island

Initiative: Development of a disused quarry and landfill into the Suzanne Turnbull Memorial Amphitheatre.

Support for Performing Arts in Rural & Remote Communities (SPARC)

Initiative: uniting non-siloed multi-disciplinary performance artists in the formation of a regional association, The Lollipop Guild.

Pelee Island Winery

Initiative: cash donation to build the natural stone seating to create the Suzanne Turnbull Memorial Amphitheatre.

Awards & Grants

Canadian Heritage, The League of Canadian Poets, Ontario Arts Council, Windsor-Essex Endowment for the Arts, City of Windsor Arts, Culture, & Heritage Award, Mayor’s Award, United Communities Credit Union, The Ontario Aggregate Resources Corporation, Pelee Island Canada Day Parade, Theatre Ontario.

Corporate Sponsors:

2025 Board of Directors

Pamela Cole (President)

A local wine industry specialist for more than 25 years, Pamela was intrigued with classical sacred music and vocal performance when she was a young member of the St. Alphonsus Choir downtown Windsor. She began studying classical voice as a hobby at 14 years old and continued training intermittently and performing until her early 30’s. Pelee Island is one of her favourite places in the world and therefore she feels honoured and blessed to participate on the board of directors of Stone & Sky.

Russell Heath (Treasurer)

Russell is the owner/operator of Taxes R Us, now in it’s 30^th year of operation. A lifelong supporter of the arts and passionate about our natural heritage, Russell is happy to contribute to Stone & Sky with his extensive financial expertise.

Ed Janzen (Secreatary)

Ed Janzen is a video, drawing, new media and sculpture artist from Windsor Ontario, Canada. His video-based Ambient Walks have taken place in Canada, US, Cuba, Portugal and Spain. Selected exhibitions and inter-media work include: Nuit Blanche Toronto (Ontario), Art Gallery of Windsor (Ontario), Media City (Ontario), Sphere (India), Kassel (Germany), Thames Gallery (Ontario), Antimatter (Br. Columbia), Onion City (Illinois), Australian Film Festival (Australia), Gallery Project (Michigan), CAID (Michigan), Gallery Lambton (Ontario), Hamilton Artists Inc (Ontario) and Basement Media Fest (New York). Since 2020 Janzen and Collette Broeders have collaborated in performative large-scale drawings and video installations. Janzen holds a BFA degree from the University of Windsor.

Patricia Fell (Artistic Director)

Patricia’s career as a professional artist for more than 30 years has embraced award winning design for the theatre, education, and the promotion of social injustice issues. Her extensive background in community based arts initiatives place her in an educated position from which to project a unique and achievable production outcome. Her body of work includes experience in design for the theatre, installation art, performance art, production management, and all levels of theatre administration. Patricia’s role is to plan the overview of the series, scheduling, act as design head, and liaise with the Pelee Island community. She is proud to volunteer for the Township of Pelee Island’s Funding Advisory Committee, and as a former board member for the Pelee Island Co-operative Association.

Allison Ware (Youth Advisory Committee) Allison Ware is a recent graduate from the University of Windsor’s School of Creative Arts with a BFA in Visual Arts. Allison is an interdisciplinary artist who translates observation and lived experience into visual communication. She has worked as a student fellow with the Detroit–Windsor United Nations Centre for Regional Expertise, the Co-Artistic Director of Synthesis zine, a research assistant with the Noiseborder Multimedia Performance Lab University of Windsor, Production Manager for Flutter Fest’s En Plein Air Painting Competition, a student ambassador for the Visual Arts Department, and a member of Stone & Sky’s Youth Advisory Committee.

Jack Circelli (Youth Advisory Committee)

Jack has worked for Stone & Sky as a crew member for two seasons, and has come to truly appreciate the beauty of Pelee Island which has come to mean a second home. He enjoys stage managing and calmly handling any last minute production challenges.

Éoghan McCullough (Youth Advisory Committee) Éoghan McCullough is a painter and singer from Windsor, Ontario. He is a recent graduate from the University of Windsor Classical Voice program. He makes expressionist paintings and sings classical sacred music with equal enthusiasm. He works on the periodically released downtown windsor zine Underfunded, and is a member of the Vanguard Youth Arts Committee. He is also a member of local emo three-piece Bird Witness, and hopes to bring his experience of organizing with young artists in the city in both classical and DIY spaces to Stone and Sky.

Associate Members/Satellite Series

Tina Newlove continues to be recognized by curators and jurors as an artist who is making a significant contribution to the cultural life of Canada. The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto founded by members of the Group of Seven commissioned Tina to create the annual 1998/99 Executive List. Her abstract oil painting titled Organizing my Mind is in the City of Toronto’s permanent collection. In 2011 Newlove received a First Place Award for her bronze sculpture A Song Grew Through My Rib Cage from Lakeshore Arts and in 2010 an Award of Merit for her painting Step Lightly at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. In 2008 Tina’s sponsors for her PROTECTION exhibition at the Latcham Gallery included Bruce Cockburn and the Ontario Arts Council. Tina Newlove is a founding member of Tribe of One, a Canadian Performance Collective that fuses the soul of Indigenous folk-funk rock with English, French, First Nation and Metis, singers, dancers, painters and musicians. In 2014 Tina has received an exhibition assistance grant for her solo show Nervous Wait from the Ontario Arts Council and was recommended by the Art Gallery of Burlington. After partaking of three residencies and performances with Stone & Sky, Tina was thrilled to be asked to become a satellite series at her home in Campbellville.

Mike Karloff, is one of Windsor’s major musical artists. He is the piano anchor and arranger for the Mackenzie Hall Jazz Series now in its eighth year. Michael has been a University of Windsor music faculty member since 2012 and has been the music director of the St. Clair College Music Theatre Program since 2008. Michael is one of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra’s “go to” pianists for both performances and rehearsals. Recent performances with WSO include Holiday Pops, and Fiery Tango Nights featuring music by Astor Piazzolla. Michael also performs regularly with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Recent DSO performance credits include the celeste book for Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, and Lush Life: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. He also works regularly with Detroit Opera as repetiteur and performance pianist. Recent Detroit Opera credits include: Champion, X: The Life and Time of Malcolm X, Ainadamar, and Breaking The Waves, coming this April. Michael composed the score for a new Canadian musical comedy entitled Raise the Stakes with co-writer, the Toronto actor Taylor Lavigne. In 2023, Mike assumed artistic directorship of Jazz in the ‘Burg (Amherstburg, Ontario), and became an associate member of Stone & Sky, under who’s umbrella the series operates.