About Us

Artword identifies the activities and projects of Ronald Weihs and Judith Sandiford (AKA Ron and Judith).

Artword has been active in the arts for over 30 years. For 5 years we published a magazine, Artword Artists Forum. We created and ran Artword Theatre and Artword Gallery in Toronto for 12 years, producing our own plays and hosting theatre, music, dance and visual art.

We moved to Hamilton in 2008. Until 2019, we ran Artword Artbar, a cozy and well-loved venue for theatre, music, dance and visual art. In 2023, we received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Hamilton.

Ronald Weihs and Judith Sandiford in Artword Artbar, September 2019, photo by Cathy Coward for the Hamilton Spectator

Artword Press is a new. But we are not new to books and publishing. Judith, a visual artist, was a typesetter back in the days of the Compugraphic. Artword Artists Forum was produced on one of the first page layout programs, Ventura Publisher. While producing theatre, we ran a technical documentation company, writing, designing and publishing manuals. We sold books of our plays to our audiences. Now Artword has become an independent Canadian publisher, Artword Press. .

We will publish books that have something important to communicate. These days, many books are written to satisfy a market niche. They offer more of the same. Now, with AI, unoriginality is increasing exponentially.

We are looking for ideas that are new, original and beautifully expressed.

For thirty years, these are the principles we have followed:

ARTWORD’S MISSION:

To provide an environment for artists to create the best work of which they are capable and to share that work with the Canadian public.

Core values:
  • We treat everyone equitably and with respect.
  • We maintain a positive, humane and nurturing environment for artistic creation.
  • We treat our audience with respect, presenting work that is relevant and appealing to them.
  • As artists, we embrace the risks and the responsibilities for what we produce.
  • We respect and encourage a wide variety of artistic expression.
  • We strive to build a spirit of community among artists.
  • We believe that all the arts and creative processes should work with one another.
  • We present work that we believe in, that affirms the human spirit, that embodies artistic energy and commitment, and that strives to improve the human condition.