Confederation Centre of the Arts
Canada's national memorial to the Fathers of Confederation, with a mainstage theatre and art gallery.
The Confederation Centre of the Arts opened in 1964 as Canada's national memorial to the Fathers of Confederation, marking the centenary of the Charlottetown Conference of September 1864 at which the union of the British North American colonies was first discussed. Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the building on 6 October 1964. It stands beside Province House on Richmond Street, and its blocky sandstone-clad volumes grouped around a sunken courtyard were designed by the Montreal partnership of Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold and Sise.
The complex brings together a mainstage theatre seating around 1,100, the largest auditorium east of Montreal, two studio theatres, Memorial Hall, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and a public library. The gallery occupies more than 3,000 square metres and holds over 17,000 works of historic and contemporary Canadian art, mounting about a dozen exhibitions a year. The Charlottetown Festival has been staged here every summer since 1965 and long featured Anne of Green Gables - The Musical, which ran annually until 2019.
Highlights
- National memorial to the Fathers of Confederation, opened in 1964
- Mainstage theatre seating about 1,100, the largest east of Montreal
- Art gallery with more than 17,000 works of Canadian art
- Summer home of the Charlottetown Festival since 1965
