Confederation Centre of the Arts Reimagines Itself

The Confederation Centre of the Arts is nearing the end of a dramatic renovation. As a neighbour, watching the Centre extend itself out and up over the last two years has been fascinating, and I’ve been endlessly curious about what the new parts will feel like.Having a couple of curious friends in town for the month—one a retired architect, the other a former Charlottetown Festival milliner—seemed like sufficient conceit to ask for a tour of the renovations, and Steve Bellamy graciously agreed to provide one when I did so.And so we gathered, Lisa, L., friends and I, on Friday afternoon for a deep dive into the belly of the out-and-up.It’s an impressive expansion. Parts of it are breathtaking.The use of mass timber throughout is a stark (and welcome) contrast to the sandstone of the original building: it’s simply beautiful, especially as exposed inside the new rehearsal hall that extends out from the old public library pavillion.As a neighbour, the reorientation of the Centre, after…