About

Meet Us Halfway: a Journal of Arts and Culture is dedicated to art writing in Epetkwitk / Prince Edward Island and its surrounding region. Meet Us Halfway aims to serve as a journal of record, documenting the efforts of artists on the Island and elsewhere. We recognize the importance of public commentary and critical exchange within an art ecosystem. 

Meet Us Halfway is developed from the particular concerns of a specific place, with its own qualities and difficulties, its own particular obsessions and filters. It is also formed from a need to connect with a larger world. Insularity and isolation are not only an issue for residents of islands or small places; increasingly, in the silos of self-reinforcing, algorithm-curated online communities they have become a dominant feature of public life everywhere. For this reason our journal aims especially to support writing that builds dialogue across barriers and boundaries, whether based on geography, exclusivity of knowledge or identity.

Our Backstory

Meet Us Halfway was a response to the  need for a platform for art writing on P.E.I. since the demise of Arts Atlantic in 2004. A small group of writers organized a conference on the subject, which took place June 30 to July 2, 2023 in Charlottetown and Annandale, P.E.I.

Among the most important takeaways from the Meet Us Halfway Conference were that there was immense interest in writing about art and culture in Epetkwitk, and also that a journal focused on bringing new voices into the conversation about art could be vital in the process of diversifying the art community here. 

Complementing the existing publications in the region, Billie and Visual Arts News, who provide the essential service of reviews and features about contemporary art in the Atlantic provinces, and The Buzz, which aims for comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the arts on P.E.I., we have opted to follow an eclectic approach, open to various kinds of writing, but anchored by the format of the short essay, with its emphasis on personal observation, focused discussion, and open-ended curiosity.

Anti Racism Commitment

Meet Us Halfway recognizes that as publishers, we have a particular responsibility to recognize and model anti-racist behaviour.  We commit to deep self-reflection around how we have been socialized to understand ourselves in conversations around race and racism and to make the changes necessary to be anti-racist leaders, as difficult as that might be. 

We understand the importance of including BIPOC individuals in all activities at Meet Us Halfway because their perspectives and insights are invaluable and unique. We seek to develop a genuine understanding of - and authentic, equitable relationships with - BIPOC communities; we know that without relationships of trust, writer recruitment from BIPOC communities may fall short. We understand that to serve a diverse community, calling on people we already know will probably not lead to that end. We recognize that to recruit more diverse contributors we need to develop relationships of trust with BIPOC communities as well as do targeted recruitment in those communities; without these extra efforts, our recruitment may fall short. We recognize that racialized experiences often intersect with religious and cultural differences; we commit to striving for a workplace culture that is inclusive of the religious and cultural diversity within our community. Meet Us Halfway commits to building and maintaining relationships with BIPOC communities that can stand the tests of time (and funding fluctuations), recognizing that meaningful change moves at the speed of trust.

We have a skills, attributes and competencies matrix for selection of writing published in Meet Us Halfway; on this matrix, BIPOC lived experiences will be recognized as essential cultural competencies in addition to other more formally recognized competencies, skills, and qualifications. We commit to valuing lived experience, informal education, and transferable skills in addition to formal education and certifications. BIPOC writers and artists will be integrated into Meet Us Halfway whenever possible. We will be mindful that BIPOC creators and readers need to know that the spaces they are entering are safe. We commit to unlearning our biases (i.e. who is considered an insider vs outsider), particularly when this falls along racial lines. 

We recognize that our anti-racism commitment must continue regardless of project timelines and funding limitations and resources; continuity of our efforts is possible when anti-racism is a lens through which we see all our work.

Meet Us Halfway will continue to adapt its structures and functioning to promote BIPOC participation.  We commit to working with BIPOC writers by valuing their contributions in discussions as well as providing mentorship if needed. Meet Us Halfway will explore various ways of reducing barriers to participation (i.e., language, economic and cultural). We will embed flexible working arrangements that build capacity and allow contributors to thrive at Meet Us Halfway.  We will ensure that BIPOC contributors are supported in their career development within Meet Us Halfway. This support can be demonstrated through reciprocal mentorship and editorial collaboration. 

Meet Us Halfway will endeavour to better understand the racial/cultural composition of the regional arts sector. This data can then inform our benchmarks for representation. Meet Us Halfway understands that ethically collecting and analyzing race-based data and evidence in our communities and organization are essential to identifying and addressing inequities. We commit to exploring - and implementing - how data and evidence will help us better understand who makes up our communities, who we are currently serving, and who is being left out. We recognize that only by knowing these things can we take evidence-based corrective action and then measure progress. In Meet Us Halfway’s preparation for race-related data collection, we will consider how this work will be done ethically.

Meet Us Halfway is committed to seeking out regular anti-racism training, particularly approaches that deepen understanding of local BIPOC communities’ histories and realities; networking with other groups committed to anti-racism and creating and fostering a culture of individual and organizational accountability as it relates to anti-racism. Anti-racism requires ongoing learning and education, even for those familiar with anti-racist practices. We commit to continued capacity building in this area.

Meet Us Halfway will explore what issues and/or emerging public events are affecting local BIPOC communities and would, therefore, benefit from our organization’s private or public act of authentic allyship.  Meet Us Halfway commits to using inclusive and anti-racist language and imagery in its regular external communications; we value the input of BIPOC communities when they approach us with feedback on either.

We recognize that we may not have all the in-house knowledge and skills necessary to know how to implement and maintain these policies; we will seek external expertise and resources when necessary.

We recognize the centrality of continued anti-racism capacity building to the sustainability of Meet Us Halfway.

Meet Us Halfway gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Sector Network of PEI and Social Fabric Institute in articulating these commitments.

Acknowledgements and Funders

We are publishing from the island of Epetkwitk, located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people, who have occupied this land for over 12,000 years. We honour the Treaties of Peace and Friendship, which recognized Mi’kmaq rights and established an ongoing relationship between nations. We are all Treaty People.

Innovation PEI has been the primary funding partner throughout the process of building Meet Us Halfway, through the PEI Arts Grants program and Web Presence Assistance Program. Key support, financial or in-kind, has also come from Bookmark, CreativePEI, Annandale Artist Residency, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, and Charlottetown Library Learning Centre. 

Certain individuals have helped us in important ways, including Amish Morrell, Christel LeBlanc, David Garcia Jiménez, Davion Dennis, Doug Dumais, Duncan Brooks, Elizabeth Iwunwa, Jane Affleck, Jenna Powell, Kirstie McCallum, Krystal Dionne, Mackenzie Hope, Mark Sandiford, Michelle MacCallum, Ray Cronin, Shannon Pratt, Sky Goodden, Trevor Corkum, Yvette Doucette, the Shevlen family, all of the participants of the Meet Us Halfway Conference, and all of our writers.