Community Programs
At the Creative Community Impact Association (CCIA), our community programs bring socially engaged adults together to explore creative practice, build community, and inspire meaningful civic engagement. Each session is designed to be inclusive, accessible, and values-driven, providing participants with the space, tools, and connections to create positive change in their communities.
Currently, we offer in-person programs throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality (Kjipuktuk) and rural Nova Scotia, as well as virtual programs open to adults across Canada. Our online programming enables participants from diverse communities to connect, learn, and collaborate. As CCIA grows, we plan to expand our reach thoughtfully and sustainably while maintaining our commitment to accessibility, community connection, and participant experience.
Our community programs are primarily offered free of charge to ensure they remain accessible to people from all walks of life, with select sessions offered for a minimal fee depending on program requirements and collaborations. Our programming is intentionally capped at small group sizes to ensure sessions remain accessible, supportive, and community-centred. This work is made possible through the support of our community partners, volunteers, and our dedicated team.
As a values-driven organization, we welcome donations to help expand our reach and strengthen our programming. Every donation directly supports program supplies, program delivery costs, and community events. If you are in a position to support our mission, we invite you to consider making a contribution here.
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 at info@creativecommunityimpact.ca. Our free programming often has waitlists, and this allows us to offer your spot to another community member, helping keep our spaces accessible for everyone. We are committed to creating accessible and welcoming spaces, and if there is anything we can do to support your participation, please contact us and we will do our best to accommodate within our available resources.
What's Next:
Pre-Pride Curtain Raiser | Special Event
Sponsored by The Q (LGBTQ Creative Network)
Film: Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance.
The film is provided courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada
Date/Time: Thursday, July 9th | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: DANSpace Studio | Address: 1800 Argyle St, Suite 321A (3rd Floor) Halifax
Cost: Free (Registration is required) | Suitable for: Adults
Kick off Pride season with an evening of connection, conversation, and community. This special pre-Pride event brings together an impactful film screening, and an inspiring fireside talk. Meet local creators, professionals, and community members, make new connections, and celebrate the diverse voices that strengthen our community. Light refreshments will be provided.
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6:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Doors Open
Arrive early to mingle, grab some popcorn and get seated in a welcoming space.
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6:30 PM – 8:00 PM | Film Screening
Watch a special screening of Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance. This film is generously provided courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada.
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8:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Q&A
Stick around after the film for an inspiring conversation with a panel of queer community leaders. They will share their unique insights, diverse stories, and professional experiences to close out the night.
We welcome opportunities to collaborate with local businesses and community organizations. If you'd like to get involved, we'd love to hear from you.
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.
