Today marks the beginning of the Prismatic Arts Festival in Halifax, an annual celebration of the multidisciplinary arts by Indigenous artists and artists of colour.
Taking place in venues across the city, the festival features art exhibitions, live music and theatre performances, film screenings, as well as several industry events such as its The TALK conference, masterclasses and workshops.
Perhaps the most anticipated performance from the festival is a concert from Mumu Fresh, the Grammy-nominated Afro-Indigenous musician who, on top of being an Indigenous Music Award winner, is also the musical ambassador of the U.S. State Department and the Ambassador of The Black Music Collective. She’ll take the stage at the Joseph Strug Hall in the Dalhousie Arts Centre on Oct. 4.
But Mumu Fresh is far from the only artist worth checking out during the festival. On the same night as her performance, the Erasure Art Collective, founded by Shauntay Grant and Tyshan Wright, will showcase their inaugural project, BLACKOUT. This project takes slave ads and applies the erasure poetry method to them—removing words from an existing piece to create a visual poem and allow viewers to see it in a different light. Artist Ibe Ananaba will also be showcasing his work at the show, which pushes boundaries to portray the complex nature of our ever-changing world.
And that’s only one day’s worth of performances and art. With some exhibits already open to the public and others not far behind, not to mention the array of theatre and musical performances, there is plenty to see at this year’s Prismatic Arts Festival.
For those interested, here’s a schedule of the events that will be taking place from Sep. 26 to Oct. 6, as well as before and beyond the festival. A full list of events, as well as tickets, can be found on the Prismatic Arts Festival’s website.
Prismatic Arts Festival schedule
Sep. 21 to Nov. 23
- Mark V. Campbell – Still Tho: Aesthetic Survival in Hip Hop’s Visual Art, MSVU Art Gallery
Sep. 22 to Dec. 21
- Shianne Gold Exhibition, Bus Stop Theatre
Thursday, Sep. 26
- Calligraphy + Movement Workshop with Shion Skye Carter, 6pm at the Blue Building
- Stephanie Joline, Women of this Land (artist talkback), 7pm at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s Windsor Theatre.
Friday, Sep. 27
- Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Homelands (artist talkback), 8pm at the Dalhousie Arts Centre’s Dunn Theatre
Saturday, Sep. 28
- Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Homelands (artist talkback), 8pm at the Dalhousie Arts Centre’s Dunn Theatre
Sunday, Sep. 29
- Celebration of Mi’kmaq Porcupine Quillwork Art with the Quill Sisters, 1pm at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
- The TALK: Connection, 8pm at the Lion’s Head Tavern
Monday, Sep. 30
- Shainne Gould Exhibition, 6pm at the Bus Stop Theatre
- An Evening with Prismatic – Dáminí Awóyígà and the Afro Queens, Residuals (住み・墨) with Shion Skye Carter, 6:30pm at the Bus Stop Theatre
Tuesday, Oct. 1
- TRIA Theatre – King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild, 7:30pm at the Neptune Theatre
Wednesday, Oct. 2
- TRIA Theatre – King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild (artist talkback), 7:30pm at the Neptune Theatre
Thursday, Oct. 3
- Ahmed Moneka – Interdisciplinary Creation Masterclass, 2:30pm at the Dalhousie Arts Centre
- TRIA Theatre – King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild, 7:30pm at the Neptune Theatre
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical, 7:30pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre (sold out)
- Ali Enriquez concert, 8pm at CBC Studio 60
Friday, Oct. 4
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical (student matinee), 2pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre (sold out)
- Theatre Conspiracy – Technical Masterclass, 3:30pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre
- Harmonies & Hues: Featuring Mumu Fresh, Ibe Ananaba, Erasure Art Collective, 6:30pm at the Joseph Strug Concert Hall in the Dalhousie Arts Centre
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical, 7:30pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre
- TRIA Theatre – King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild, 7:30pm at the Neptune Theatre
Saturday, Oct. 5
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical, 2pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre
- ANSMA Town Hall with Mumu Fresh, 6:30pm at the MacPhee Centre
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical, 7:30pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre
- TRIA Theatre – King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild, 7:30pm at the Neptune Theatre
Sunday, Oct. 6
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical, 2pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre
- TRIA Theatre – King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild, 7:30pm at the Neptune Theatre
- Theatre Conspiracy – Foreign Radical, 7:30pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre
Thursday, Oct. 10
- Linda Carvery – Watch Over Me, 7:30pm at the Bus Stop Theatre
Friday, Oct. 11
- Linda Carvery – Watch Over Me, 7:30pm at the Bus Stop Theatre
Saturday, Oct. 12
- Linda Carvery – Watch Over Me, 2pm at the Bus Stop Theatre
Friday, Oct. 25
- Jeremy Dutcher with Symphony Nova Scotia, 7:30pm at the Dalhousie Arts Centre, Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
Saturday, Oct. 26
- Jeremy Dutcher with Symphony Nova Scotia, 7:30pm at the Dalhousie Arts Centre, Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
Nov. 12 to 24
- Winter Moons by shalan joudry and Sarah Prosper, 7:30pm & 2pm at the Neptune Theatre (weekends only)
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This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2024.
