Fredericton's Grid City Magazine folds, but creator is hopeful about future of local arts scene

After 10 years in operation, Fredericton's Matt Carter has decided to end Grid City Magazine anonline publication that began as a way to bring attention to the city's arts scene.

Carter made the announcement earlier in the week with a final post on the website titled, "Thank you and good night."

"It was really tough," he admitted.

"It was harder than I thought it would be. It was a lot of tears by myself, writing and rereading and trying to make sure that I could say goodbye properly."

The idea behind the publication was to inform people about local arts events, and to include photos and videos to capture more attention. When it launched in 2014,Carter said he was working with Theatre New Brunswick and part of his job was to find media opportunities to promote the organization's productions.But it wasn't easy.

Carter said one thing that always bothered him was when people would say, "Nothing ever happens here." He hoped Grid City would show people the many things that were happening in the Fredericton arts and culture scene.

"The more I did that stuff, the more layers of the Fredericton arts and culture onion I got to discover," he said. "I learned so much. I learned, you know, different arts experiences, different places that I didn't know."

Despite a good 10-year run, Carter said it became more difficult for him to find the time to write and look for events.

Ten years ago, Carter said he wasunmarried and had his evenings free. After he got married, he said his wife was understanding and supportive of his passion.

Then, at 45-years-old, Carter became a dad.

"At that age, I thought, 'well, you know, I've got my schedule figured out.I think I know what my life is.'But I really wasn't prepared," he joked.

"As time went on, I wanted to spend more time with our son. The fun that I used to get from Grid City is now [something] I get from my six-year-old best friend."

While at the time he started Grid City, Carter felt that the arts community wasn't well represented, he said he believes that's starting to change now, making it an OK time to step away.

He said people are posting more photos and videos of local arts events in Facebook groups and elsewhere online. And even though his coverage on Grid City has become less frequent over the years, he doesn't feel that the arts community is suffering from alack of exposure.

"We're appreciating arts and culture a lot more these days," he said.

"In a world that's divided, that's the one thing that can really bring us together. We might disagree on our choice of political leader, but we can both agree that it's awful fun to sit down with some watercolours and make a mess, or, you know, it's awfully exciting to go and see a big band play together in a room and experience that.

"That's a unifier."