Leanto is about urgent, action-oriented art simultaneously intersecting social and ecological crisis, with the beauty, joy potential, and awe of our world. It is about pushing into and fighting for system changes in our most full-hearted way.

An artist curated, all and non-disciplinary presentation series of work that reveals, exposes, agitates and challenges our societal structures, that speak loudly and clearly of climate, ecological and social crisis fuelled by colonialism and capitalism, while at the same time inspiring the awe that comes from the magic of our natural world.

Leanto is a project oriented series with a mandate of sustainability, as far as human and spacial resource, time, output, expectations, and logistical loads like travel, carbon output etc. This is a mobilization away from festival models that are so extremely time, resource, and financially compressed.

Leanto will host local and visiting artists for periods of time in our communities with emphasis on and interest in durational, installation, performative and residence-based activities, along with meetings, screenings, community talks and sharing.

Leanto is about supporting artists, for example, finding periods within an artists schedule that are available and/or need to be filled and trying to organize within and for that. Leanto wants to put more value on taking more time.

Leanto is trying to actively decolonize in all ways, one being presentation models and the systems in place that historically support presentation and art sharing.

Leanto will always have an open invitation for proposals, suggestions, ideas, open to all.

With the deepest respect, gratitude, and grief Leanto acknowledges that the land we are occupying is the unceded and ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and that what we currently call the island of Newfoundland, is home to the Mi’kmaq peoples. Leanto also recognizes the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut, and the Innu of Nitassinan as the original peoples of what we call Labrador. Leanto supports and recognizes all Indigenous people, communities and cultures as those we should be listening to and following without hesitation. Leanto supports Land Back and the rights of all Indigenous people, and all 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

Leanto is a long awaited project of Sarah Joy Stoker. A seed idea for over a decade, Sarah is directing and managing Leanto with an advisory collective.

“I remain as committed as ever to the transformative energy of beauty. Every day its light grows and amplifies, and I can feel a momentum building as it evolves from a philosophy into a mission. There is magic afoot.”     Chris Jordan