Community Programs
At the Creative Community Impact Association (CCIA), our community programs bring socially engaged adults together to explore creative practice, build connection, and engage in meaningful civic life. Each program is designed to be inclusive, accessible, and values-driven, offering space for participants to learn, create, and connect in ways that support positive change in their communities.
We offer in-person programs throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality (Kjipuktuk) and rural Nova Scotia, along with virtual programs open to adults across Canada. Our online programming helps people from diverse communities connect, learn, and collaborate. As we grow, we are committed to expanding thoughtfully and sustainably while maintaining accessibility and a strong focus on community experience.
Most of our community programs are offered free of charge to ensure they remain accessible. Some sessions may include a small fee depending on program needs or partnerships. All programs are intentionally kept small to support meaningful participation, accessibility, and a strong sense of community. This work is made possible through the support of our partners, volunteers, and team.
As a grassroots organization, we welcome donations to help sustain and grow our programming. Contributions directly support program materials, delivery costs, and community events. If you are able to support our work, we would be grateful for your contribution.
Our programs are categorized into four core streams, reflecting our mission and community values.
Creative Connections
Focused on community-building through arts, dialogue, and storytelling. Participants explore creative practice while connecting with others, sharing experiences, and cultivating belonging in safe and supportive spaces.
Inclusive Arts Practice
Designed for artists, educators, and socially engaged creatives to explore accessibility, equity, and inclusion in the arts. Participants gain practical skills, reflect on inclusive practices, and engage with peers in mission-aligned training and creative exercises.
EcoArts Labs
Creative explorations that address environmental awareness and eco-innovation. Participants engage in multidisciplinary arts activities while considering how creativity can support sustainability, ecological literacy, and positive environmental action.
Pride Pedagogy
2SLGBTQIA+ centered and exploring identity, culture, and social change through arts-based learning. Facilitated by queer arts professionals, these sessions provide a safe, affirming space for discussion, creative practice, and connection for socially engaged adults. Allies are welcome to join respectfully and support inclusive dialogue, while the focus remains on 2SLGBTQIA+ voices and experiences
Community Note:
If you are no longer able to attend, we kindly ask that you let us know as soon as possible by email. Our free programs often have waitlists, and this allows us to offer your spot to another community member.
We are committed to creating accessible and welcoming spaces. If there is anything we can do to support your participation, please get in touch and we will do our best to accommodate within our available resources.
What's Next:
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Special Event | Cinema & Changemakers Panel
Presented by Creative Community Impact Association, in partnership with Halifax Public Libraries.
Free event | No registration required | Suitable for Adults
Date/Time: Monday, July 13, 2026 | 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Halifax Central Library, Paul O’Regan Hall
Complimentary snacks and refreshments will be available while supplies last, generously provided by The Q Creative Network.
About the Event
This is a free evening of film and conversation celebrating queer history, resilience, creativity, and connection. We will screen Parade: Queer Resilience and Love, a National Film Board of Canada documentary about the history of Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ movement, followed by a lively panel with local changemakers.
Together, we will explore storytelling, the arts, community building, grassroots activism, and intergenerational knowledge in a welcoming and relaxed space designed for connection and reflection.
Featured Panelists
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Kenney Fitzpatrick - Founder of The Q LGBTQ Creative Network, host of Out Loud Radio, Executive Director of Dance Nova Scotia.
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Daniel MacKay - Community activist, Chief Editor of Wayves Magazine, and member of Elderberries.
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Jacquelyn Miccolis - Executive Director of Creative Community Impact Association, multidisciplinary artist, and community leader.
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Art Ross - Trans, non-binary songwriter and lead vocalist of Pillow Fite.
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Jay Aaron Roy - Trans advocate, entrepreneur, and founder of Cape & Cowl Comics & Collectibles.
Accessibility
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Wheelchair accessible venue
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ASL interpreter for panel discussion
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All-gender washrooms onsite
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Located on major Halifax Transit routes
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Paid underground parking available ($3/hour)
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Film language: English, with English subtitles provided for increased accessibility
Whether you are a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community or an ally, you are warmly invited to attend. If this event resonates with you, please consider sharing it with your community. Every share helps support free, accessible programming.
Past Events:
Radical Queer Joy Artivism | Virtual
Facilitator: Kirsten Bashir
Date/Time: Thursday, June 11th, 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM AST
Location: Virtual Google Meet)
Price: Free | Registration required
What if joy is not just celebration but resistance?
Radical Queer Joy Artivism is a vibrant and affirming virtual gathering for 2SLGBTQIA+ community members who believe creativity can be both playful and powerful. In a world that often asks queer communities to focus on struggle, this session invites us to centre joy as a quiet and sometimes bold act of rebellion.
We begin by setting the tone with a curated queer joy playlist, welcoming participants into a warm low-pressure space grounded in safety, creativity, and connection. No artistic experience is necessary, just curiosity and openness.
Together we explore questions such as: When we celebrate queer joy, is it simply for fun, or can it be a radical act? Participants are invited to share a line of poetry, a thought, or even just a feeling in response. Reflection is encouraged but always optional.
The heart of this gathering is a collective creative moment. Each participant will craft a tiny Six-Word Artivist Manifesto, a micro-declaration of queer joy, resistance, belonging, or becoming.
Artwork created by a participant in our Pride Pedagogy community program.
Community in Colour: Exploring Connection | Roots & Resilience Gathering (Debert, NS)
Facilitator: Jacquelyn Miccolis
Date & Time: Saturday, May 9th, 2026
Location: Debert Hospitality Centre
Address: 130 Ventura Drive, Debert, NS
Price: Free | Registration required
Join us for our Community in Colour: Connecting Through Watercolours during the opening session of Day 1 at the Roots & Resilience Community Gathering in Debert, Nova Scotia, in collaboration with X Helping Hands.
This free two-day gathering centers the voices of on BIPOC, and other racialized community members, with programming focused on wellness, climate resilience, storytelling, land-based learning, and community connection.
This session offers an accessible, hands-on creative space for reflection and dialogue. Participants will explore what community means to them through group discussion, watercolour-based activities, and basic skill-building. No prior art experience is required. The session is designed to be inclusive and low-barrier, supporting both personal reflection and shared conversation through creative practice.
Special Event | National Canadian Film Day Screening & Talk
Film: Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 15th, 2026 | 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM (Doors Open at 7:00 PM)
Location: Patagonia Halifax, 1496 Lower Water St #408, Kjipuktuk (Halifax)
Price: Free | Registration required
We are proud to serve as a screening partner for National Canadian Film Day, hosting an evening of film, conversation, and community.
Following the screening, Charlotte Genge of EnsembleCo will facilitate a discussion on environmental leadership, circular systems, and the creative practices that support communities in protecting Canada’s natural landscapes.
Phenology Wheel: A Circular Economy Creative Lab | In collaboration with EnsembleCo
Facilitator: Charlotte Genge
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 10th | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 1256 Hollis Street, Kjipuktuk (Halifax)
Price: Free | Registration required | Capacity: Sold Out
During this two-hour creative lab, participants will reimagine the traditional Phenology
Wheel as a tool for exploring the life cycle of materials within a circular economy.
Blending scientific observation with artistic experimentation, this workshop invites
participants to rethink waste as a resource and to consider how everyday design choices
connect to larger environmental systems.
By the end of the session, participants leave with a completed circular systems artwork and a creative framework for thinking more expansively about sustainability. No prior art experience is required. All tools and sustainable materials are provided.
Writing for Accessibility in the Arts | In partnership with Visual Arts Nova Scotia
Instructor: Jacquelyn Miccolis
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb 25th | 2 :00 PM - 3:30 PM AST
Location: Virtual Workshop (Zoom)
Suitable for: Artists & Arts Organizations
Price: $15 (2 people from the same organization $25)
Registration required | Capacity: Sold Out
This mini workshop (+ Q&A) supports artists and arts organizations in making
their art and communications more accessible to diverse audiences.
Participants will learn how to:
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Write effective alt text,
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Create accessible image captions,
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Develop accessible exhibition and promotional materials, while honouring artistic intent
Imagining a Better World: Creating & Connecting | In partnership with Mirror Form Photography
Facilitator: Meghan Weber | Assistant: Jacquelyn Miccolis
Date/Time: Sat. Jan 10th, 2026 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Location: Open Book Coffee
Address: 3660 Strawberry Hill St. Kjipuktuk (Halifax)
Price: Free | Registration required | Capacity: Sold Out
This is a gentle space to create and connect while looking both inward and outward
as we consider what a kinder and more just world could look like.
It begins with a brief guided Loving-Kindness meditation, followed by hands-on
vision board creation. Through creative practice, we explore how rest,self-compassion,
and slowing down can act as forms of resistance thatchallenge capitalism, hustle culture,
and the expectation to constantly produce.
Rooted in a gentle and accessible social justice lens, this offering provides space to reflect on how personal well-being is connected to collective care. It is ideal for adults interested in creativity, social awareness, and personal reflection. No art experience is needed and all supplies are provided.
This gathering is facilitated and photographed by Meghan Weber of Mirror Form Photography.
Queer Art as Pedagogy: Creative Practice for Justice and Community
Facilitator: Karlee Campbell (Ontario)
Date/Time: Thurs. Dec 4th | 7:00 - 8:00 PM AST (6:00 - 7:00 PM ET)
Location: Virtual (Google Meet)
Price: Free | Registration required
This virtual gathering invites artists, educators, cultural workers, and creative,
mission-driven people from across Canada to explore poetry as a tool for learning,
connection, and collective imagination.
Together, we approach art not only as self-expression but as a way of thinking,
reflecting, and growing in community. This practice can help us envision more just,
caring, and inclusive worlds.
Rooted in the belief that art is both personal and deeply connected to the world around us, we will use poetry, world-building, and gentle writing prompts to explore how queer creativity can open space for care, justice, and collective transformation.
Who This Is For
This workshop centres 2SLGBTQIA+ voices and experiences.
We welcomes allies who want to learn, imagine, and create in community.
Accessibility & Participation Notes
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Free to attend
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Live auto-captions available
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You are welcome to keep your camera on or off
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Gentle, 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming space
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No prior poetry experience is required
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Participate in any way that feels right for you
To honour participant privacy, we did not capture group photos. This photo shows our facilitator prior to the start of the session.
Community in Colours: Exploring Connections in collaboration with Halifax Public Libraries
Facilitator: Jacquelyn Miccolis
Date/time: Sat. Nov 1st | 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Bedford Public Library
Address: 15 Dartmouth Road, Kjipuktuk (Halifax)
Price: Free | Registration required | Capacity: Sold Out
What does community mean to you? How do art and connection intersect?
Join us for a reflective, hands-on session that uses watercolour as a tool for exploring
ideas of community, connection, and creativity. Together, we will create a collaborative
doodle mural, reflect on what community means to us as individuals, and explore how
art can foster connection.
Participants will receive friendly step-by-step guidance in basic watercolour techniques and individually create a community-inspired spiral painting to take home as a keepsake.
