Woodstock: A growing arts scene spurs a cultural transformation

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Smack dab at the junction of two of Ontario’s 400-series highways, Woodstock was a city that always seemed destined for growth.

A municipal staff keen on diversifying an already robust economic base helped cultivate that growth, fostering a Woodstock that’s already exceeded its reputation as the seat of the largely rural Oxford County.

At more than 50,000 people and counting, Woodstock has emerged as one of the fastest growing cities in Southwestern Ontario and, with that population boost, has begun developing the cultural assets that mark important urban centres.

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But signs show that Woodstock isn’t merely on a trajectory to become a more sophisticated city. Woodstock is already in the midst of a cultural transformation that coincides with its twin economic and population booms.

While cultural investments are often more indicative of established metropolises, Woodstock’s stake in its varied cultural initiatives, including a growing arts scene, is a sign of a city that’s more than just another manufacturing hub on the highway.

Stephanie Porter, the Woodstock Art Gallery’s interim director and curator, said officials with the “growing and thriving city” recognize the “importance of investing in the arts” while noting the positive role that art can play in people’s lives.

“Art may not be considered an essential service, but it is essential for one’s well-being because art fosters social cohesion and breaks down physical barriers,” Porter said. “So, the city values the art gallery and the cultural kind of scene here in Woodstock.”

Mirroring the city’s own charmed geography, Woodstock’s cultural destinations enjoy prime locations for residents and visitors, said Karen Houston, the city’s manager of culture.

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“We’re really fortunate in the sense that right downtown . . . you have the Woodstock Art Gallery and the Woodstock Museum,” Houston said.

“In between that, you have Museum Square, and (it) is a space that’s used for events. If there’s also civic things happening, that’s where they occur, and just off to the side from that, you have city hall, but you also have Market Centre Theatre, and so all of these things are incredibly close together.”

But this “cultural campus” isn’t the only factor driving Woodstock’s continuing investments in art and culture.

After the COVID-19 pandemic “hit culture very hard” in Woodstock, “it was like somebody turned on a light switch,” Houston said.

Woodstock has since undergone a resurgence of its cultural scene, Houston noted.

She pointed to the bustling Market Centre Theatre that, in recent years, has boasted sold-out performances by visiting and local performers, as well as Theatre Woodstock, the award-winning community theatre troupe.

“(It) brings lots of people in after hours to the downtown,” Houston said. “We at the museum run escape rooms, so people can come, and they can book a time . . . but you also have those people then go out for dinner and do other things in the core at the same time.”

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Houston said the Woodstock Art Gallery’s programming is also attracting more and more visitors, noting the centre’s recent curation of works created by Betty McCarthy, a Woodstock artist who is known locally but is finding a new audience because of the city’s growth.

Although Woodstock has never been “a bedroom community” and “has had the same families living here for a very long time,” Houston said more and more people have moved to the city in recent years, and “they’re finding these artists and these institutions for the first time.”

“Local people know who Betty McCarthy is, and a whole new group of people are learning who she is and that’s exciting as well,” Houston said.

Houston cited the Woodstock Art Gallery’s expansive space as an alluring feature and a focal point of the city’s cultural investment. She noted the facility boasts four expansive floors, including a top floor slated to be refurbished this year, which she said will be useful for art installations and a means to draw more visitors.

“I do see that these things will be growing in the next decade, and that’s always a wonderful thing,” Houston said.

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Porter also noted the Woodstock Art Gallery’s “collection is growing.” While the city website states there are 1,900 works in its archive, the gallery’s permanent collection is likely nearing 2,500 pieces.

“We just want to share our story with the community,” Porter said.

Porter said she has seen a steady rise in the number of visitors to the Woodstock Art Gallery as the city grows, including longtime community members who’ve never been.

“Every day, we have visitors that come in and say they’ve lived here their whole lives and haven’t been here, and this is their first visit,” Porter said. “Or we have visitors from afar coming and seeing the place, and when they enter, they’re amazed at this little gem in a growing and thriving city.”

Porter credited the former curator, Mary Reid, for putting the Woodstock Art Gallery “on the map for us in the last 10 years.” It’s work that gallery staff are continuing to build on.

Right now, the gallery is working to “produce an exhibition and partner across the ocean” to showcase its feature artist, Florence Carlyle, a Woodstock-born post-impressionist with ties to England who Porter described as a rebel in her time.

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Woodstock’s continuing investments in culture is also evinced by its recent public art program. As reported by the Sentinel-Review in November 2023, the city unveiled a publicly commissioned art installation in the new Florence Carlyle Park. At a total cost of $55,000, Wind Vane by artist Nicholas Crombach was the first publicly commissioned artwork in the park — but there are plans to add another.

Woodstock’s investments in culture and art speak volumes of the community’s reputation as a rapidly growing city, Houston said.

“(Woodstock) is now in a growth spurt, and it’s figuring out what do we have with the new people coming, and how are they going to morph and change and make things richer,” she said. “I’m really excited about it.”

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

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