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Who doesn’t love a good photo? Photopolis is the biggest photography festival in Atlantic Canada and for 31 days in October, the city will be covered with beautiful, provocative and moving photographs in 35 exhibits. Major international exhibits include a glimpse into Andy Warhol’s photography in Little Red Book at the AGNS and Syria before the ongoing civil war in Lorraine Field’s At the Edge of Infinity at Anna Leonowens Gallery. Nova Scotia is examined through a wide range of topics from Steve Farmer’s take on marine life in PILOT: The Marine Compasses for the Port of Halifax at Pavia Gallery, to Declan O’Dowd’s intimate portrait of agricultural business in Valley Farms—opening the festival at Studio 21. This year the festival is expanding with new venues including the Keshen Goodman Library and the Naval Museum of Halifax. On October 25, the festival will host their annual symposium Inside Photography: Issues, Practices & Perspectives about careers in photography, using photography to build a sense of community and photography used for social change. Closing night features a film screening of Everybody Street, a documentary chronicling New York street photography. “We are surrounded by photographs every day, but how often to see photos that show social reality?” says Heather MacLeod, president of Photopolis. “A lot of people know about photography but not the traditions. We want to show how photography can help build communities.” For full exhibit and event listings, visit photopolis.ca —JS
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So you missed Shania in PEI, Martina McBride plays the Dartmouth Sportsplex tonight to ease your pain, 7pm.
The quirky and talented thespians behind DaPoPo Theatre will host their sixth annual Live-In Festival this October. The month-long celebration of Canadian theatre features readings, workshops, panels, community events and live performances in the TNS Living Room on Agricola Street. Festival highlights include the Thanksgiving potluck dinner and the play-reading series. Dan Bray, Best Playwright winner from the 2013 Atlantic Fringe Festival, will offer a promising script called Still Far Still Wide that imagines a fictional encounter between Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Dickinson—a meeting steeped in the supernatural. DaPoPo member Zach Faye says the festival is dedicated to providing accessible programming to the local community, and every performance is offered by donation ($10 suggested). For more information see the festival blog at dapopolivein2014.blogspot.ca or be on the lookout for paper program guides as festival time nears. —JN
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PEI swamp metal fiends Death Valley Driver release their meaty new EP, Carnivore’s Oath, described as “a love letter to the all the heavy metal bands they grew up worshipping” at the Seahorse Tavern \m/
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David for Queen, Halifax Theatre for Young People’s October show, opens. With a script adapted by Haligonian playwright Kristen Slaney, David deals with LGBTQ issues and bullying. Oct 10-12 and 16-18 at Alderney Landing.
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Timeraiser gives you a chance to donate some time in exchange for some sweet art. Beginning at 5:30pm at The Halifax Club, interested parties bid their volunteering time and skills, silent auction style, to nonprofits in order to win some art. That show-stopping sculpture could cost you nothing but time well spent.
Gospel/soul icon and member of The Staple Singers Mavis Staples comes to town to perform at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, 8pm. Get ready for some warmth, strength and sheer vocal talent to fuel your fall.
These artists certainly don’t have idle hands. Making Otherwise is a celebration of the handmade. The exhibit explores the blurring definitions of art and craft, with contemporary artists using handmade techniques. The melding of these worlds is examined through the work of six artists from across Canada, including Ursula Johnston from Eskasoni and Halifax’s Sarah Maloney. Maloney’s “Collapse” is a mix of bronze tulips sadly slumped over after sprouting in an antique fainting couch. Paul Mathieu’s “Odalisque Bowl, Ian/Edouard” (2008) is a unique hand-painted porcelain bowl with a naked portrait of the average man nestled in a living room. Richard Boulet’s “Room Four” (2013) is a classic cross-stitch pattern with an eclectic mix of shapes and colours. MSVU is giving audiences the opportunity to meet the artists. Marc Courtemanche will give an artist’s talk at the opening reception on October 9, 7-9pm. On November 15, Johnston will create a new portrait bust for her “uwelti’k (We Are Indian)” series by using Mi’kmaw techniques to create a basket weave over a subject’s head. To November 30, Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery. —JS
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Baltimore’s dreamy, poppy Beach House wrap up the Northern Exposure tour at 10pm at the Marquee Club. Take in their gentle melodies and minimalist set-up (and maybe some late-night pizza).
Running until February 1, Mary Pratt at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, curated by Mireille Eagan, Caroline Stone and Sarah Fillmore, displays a stunning 50- year retrospective of Pratt’s oil paintings, guaranteed to make you look at sunlight filtering through your kitchen curtains with a little more wonder.
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Montreal dance company Grand Poney, with artistic direction by Jacques Poulin-Denis, performs Cible de Dieu (Target of God) as part of Live Art Dance’s season. The raw, sincere solo piece runs to Oct. 11, 8pm at the Dunn Theatre.
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Tour the Dalhousie Art Gallery and Centre for Art Tapes-partnered exhibit (im)mobile with the artists Edith Flückiger and Germaine Koh, 8pm. Conceptual artwork featuring electronic installation, digital text and video explore ideas of memory and human presence.
Richard “First cassette bought with my own money” Marx plays at the Casino at 8pm.
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Nocturne is a one-night affair, running 6pm-midnight, offering you a chance to experience more in those six hours than you might normally see in a week. The entire city comes alive, as Nocturne transforms everything from galleries to parking lots into destinations for curious art lovers. Have a wander, explore the city and take in as much as you can over the course of the night.
Running to November 30, Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery’s *Camp Fires: the Queer Baroque of Léopold L. Foulem, Paul Mathieu and Richard Milette* shows off exciting ceramic work by three gay francophone ceramicists “linked by shared histories, bonds of affection and a common critical discourse.” SMU Gallery curator/director Robin Metcalfe curated the exhibit for the Gardiner Museum in Toronto, but it comes to Halifax to explore how each artist engages and reacts to the term “camp”
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Halifax Pop Explosion runs for five action-packed days, so drink whatever coconut waters you have to in order to prepare. Two hundred bands in five days, including Lights, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon, Against Me!, Danny Brown, Swearin’, Rich Aucoin (who also will release his album at his HPX show) and comedy courtesy of Jen Kirkman and Good Morning Tonight. There’s a zine fair, there are panels, there are opportunities to see amazing new bands and make new pals, so take it all in.
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Bedford Players open Don’t Dress for Dinner. On the menu: Marital treachery! Comical confusion! At the Bedford Players Theatre until November 15.
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If you are easily frightened, you should probably take a pass on the Craig Gallery’s opening of the Ghost in my Camera photo exhibit. Featuring photographs of the otherworldly from local photographers, expect a lot of floating orbs, mysterious shadows and selfies with Casper. The show opens October 3, closing on Halloween.
