Summer Students at the QAC

The QAC office welcomed three students to the team for the summer: Johanna Schaly, Social Media Community Manager, Amber Davidson, Special Events Coordinator and Mikaela Thomas, Communications Assistant. 

Johanna has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is pursuing her Bachelor of Education at Queen’s University. She has a passion for helping others and is dedicated to uplifting members of the arts community. Johanna created “Spotlight Sunday,” a project for QAC to highlight community members. As Social Media Community Manager, she spent her summer handling all the QAC’s social media platforms and learning how to use social media to engage with the community. 

Amber graduated high school in June and is attending the University of Ottawa this fall to study Fine Arts. She is a visual artist and her time at the QAC taught her about working in a gallery and connecting with artists. Amber spent her summer with the QAC creating member profiles for the website, and she coordinated the 1000 Words Show, a student art show in August. The student show had the highest attendance for a QAC art show post-pandemic.

Mikaela is a graduate of Nicholson Catholic College. She attended the University of Ottawa and was majoring in Visual Arts before changing her focus. She plans on enrolling in the winter semester at Loyalist College. Mikaela is an innovative and imaginative person with a passion for art in all disciplines. She spent her time at the QAC working with the events app: What’s On Quinte. Mikaela connected with downtown businesses and organizations to learn what the Quinte region has to offer and to learn about the talented local artisans who sell their pieces in Downtown Belleville. Mikaela also helped organize some of the QAC archives, not an easy feat considering the council has been around since 1967. 

Funding for the student positions was generously provided by the Canada Summer Jobs program and the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health. The staff at the QAC want to thank the students for their hard work this summer and wish them luck with their future endeavours.

Janet Jarrell, QAC’s Executive Director, says, “As part of our mandate, we are here to support the new generation of artists by offering quality artistic experiences and opportunities. We value our partnerships with the Canada Summer Jobs Program and the Enrichment Centre as their support allows the QAC, a not-for-profit organization, to offer these valuable job opportunities. The skills acquired empowers art workers to achieve creative success with viable, sustainable careers and builds a stronger arts community.”