Cup of Joe – Art Matters
This October marks the 20th anniversary of the Art Matters Symposium I hosted for TVCOGECO (now YourTV).
The event was recorded for repeated broadcasts on community television, presented in partnership with the Arts Council Windsor & Region. The symposium stood as a pivotal community gathering, exploring the intersection of arts, culture, and urban revitalization. At the time, Windsor was grappling with significant manufacturing downturns, and the conversation focused on how art is not simply a “luxury” or a “frill,” but is fundamental infrastructure for a healthy city. Leaders and luminaries from the Windsor Essex arts community joined forces with civic stakeholders, urban planners, and the public to emphasize art’s essential role in city life.
Over the past two decades following the symposium, our region has demonstrated a strong commitment to the arts and culture sector. As a border city and one of Canada’s most ethnically diverse communities, Windsor’s arts scene reflects a distinctive combination of industrial heritage, international perspectives, and longstanding local traditions.
Grassroots efforts have played a central role in driving this progress. However, there is a continued need for greater support from the municipal government and some educational institutions.
from the Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada (MBNCanada) and recent local reports reveal Windsor’s per capita spending on cultural grants remains among the lowest nationally.
With approximately $1.54 allocated per person compared to the national average of $7.39, the 2022 MBNCanada benchmarking report observed that Windsor invests significantly less than the median for participating Canadian municipalities.
Unfortunately, the University Players — a distinguished theatre company at the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Art — ended its operations in 2024 after an impressive 65 seasons, a result of
budget cuts at the university. And the previous year, Migration Hall in Kingsville also closed its doors after three decades of theatre performances, following the sale of the former Kingsville District High School property.
The performing arts community has been significantly impacted by these two events.
“Art” is broadly categorized into Visual Arts — painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture — and Performing Arts, which encompasses music, theatre, dance, and spoken word. Other subsets include literary, media/digital, culinary, and urban arts, but visual and performing arts remain the most prevalent and recognizable forms. Several organizations are dedicated to nurturing the arts in Windsor and Essex County. These include the City of Windsor Culture Department and three not-for-profit organizations: the Arts Council Windsor & Region, Windsor Endowment for the Arts and Artcite Inc.
The city’s main venues for the Performing Arts are the Capitol Theatre (home to the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Windsor International Film Festival, and various theatre groups), and the Chrysler Theatre
(the performance home of Windsor Light Music Theatre).
Smaller venues include Shadowbox Theatre, Korda Artistic Productions, Green Room Theatre, Shō Studios, The Bank Theatre (Leamington), and The Rum Runners Tour (a local 3.5-hour bus tour).
Windsor is home to numerous performing arts groups, such as Arts Collective Theatre Windsor (ACT), Windsor Light Music Theatre, BRC Theatre Co. (Cardinal Music Productions), Post Productions,
Korda Artistic Productions, Encore Productions of Windsor (The Rum Runners Tour), HNM Dance, Windsor Dance eXperience Inc., and the Music Theatre Performance Program at St. Clair College. The two main venues for Visual Arts in Windsor are Art Windsor-Essex and the Windsor Sculpture Park. Both are located along Windsor’s scenic riverfront.
Other venues include the not-for-profit galleries like Artcite, Common Ground and ArtSpeak, various private commercial galleries, and in the county, the Leamington Arts Centre and Gibson Gallery
(Amherstburg).
One notable annual event is Art in the Park at Willistead Park, scheduled in 2026 for June 6 and 7.
The visual artists residing here reflect the area’s rich and varied community. Notable names include Donna Jean Mayne, Melanie Janisse-Barlow, Eric Faraci, Daniel Bombardier (DENIAL), Ron Suchiu, Dennis K. Smith, Shirley Williams, Paul Murray, Kris Knight, DERKZ, Christy Litster, Nancy Johns, Dennis White, and
Nadia Silvestri.
Alongside those listed, there are countless other gifted and innovative artists contributing to our thriving visual arts scene. (Note: The names and organizations shown above, are by no means exhaustive).
This vibrant creative momentum was evident in a recent ArtSpeak Gallery special exhibition from April 13 to 26, 2025.
SIX WORKS — FIVE DECADES featured a distinguished selection of artworks by Jim Mroczkowski, highlighting 50 years of his artistic practice.
His work consistently explores themes related to religious and artistic iconography, idol worship, and spiritual symbolism. The breadth and enigmatic quality of his work engage both emerging and established art audiences.
Based in Windsor, Mroczkowski recalls: “I began my creative journey at the age of five when a family doctor provided me with tempera paints, brushes, and paper as a form of support for my mother during her recovery from postpartum depression. This formative experience shaped my ongoing conviction that art possesses the power to heal, transform, and enlighten — a philosophy that continues to influence my artistic approach.”
Mroczkowski adds: “This exhibition highlighted one artwork from each decade of my career, beginning with a mixed media painting from 1975.
The exhibition offered an exclusive preview of my newest multi-panel piece from 2025, ‘far from the truth,’ which reflects on the tragedy of the Iraq War from 2003 to 2011.”
In conjunction with the exhibition, Mroczkowski presented an artist’s talk during the closing reception on April 25 and elaborated on his creative processes and the influences that have informed his longstanding body of work.
For further information regarding his formal education and academic achievements, 33 years of teaching experience, exhibitions, collections, and numerous honours, including significant commissions, please visit online.
I hope many of our readers attended this exhibition last year and continue to support the strides the Windsor and Essex County arts community has made in the past 20 years — and will make in the future
— because truly, “Art Matters”.
See this story, and many more in the March issue of Biz X magazine
