Checking out the new artist studios on Fogo Island

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Tower Studio

      Fogo Island is undergoing an interesting experiment spearheaded by the Shorefast Foundation which is trying to promote the social, cultural and economic regeneration of Fogo Island. From the development of a new inn slated to open in 2012 to new artist studios dotted around the island, Fogo Island has suddenly been put on the radar as a place where new things are happening. So we decided to have a look at the artist studios through a tour put on by the Fogo Island Arts Corporation. We were joined by our friends Bob and Pat Ballantyne who were visiting from Ontario and had always wanted to visit this part of Newfoundland.

      So far 4 studios have been built and each is located outside of a community along a trail that takes anywhere from 10-20 minutes to hike to and they have a very different look to them. They have hints of traditional architecture (many are built on posts to simulate fishing stages) but also have a strong Scandinavian influence. As you can see from the attached photos they look very different than anything you would normally see in Newfoundland. We visited 4 studios: the Bridge, Tower, Long and Squish . Our favourite setting was the Squish Studio in Tilting which has been placed on a craggy shore with a view to the open North Atlantic.  The tour, led by Peter Decker, is well worth doing not only to see the studios but to see the different communities in which they are located. The tour takes around 4 hours and starts at 1:00-1:30 pm from the Shoal Bay Church. For more information and to book a tour contact: www.artscorpfogoisland.ca.  

The Squish Studio in Tilting

  After our tour we headed to Nicole’s Café which had come highly recommended by almost everyone we met. The setting is relaxed and for dinner we enjoyed fresh seafood (from crab legs to cod) and had a delicious partridge berry tart with ice cream for dessert. This place is popular so you might want to make a reservation for dinner(http://www.nicolescafe.ca/).

Be sure to stop at Nicole's Cafe along the way