After viewing Robert Lendrum’s installation Living Documents (opening Thursday, November 3 at Eyelevel Gallery) you’ll be a bit closer to knowing him—or at least, a version of him. Lendrum uses a scientific approach to riff on ideas of identity, performance and memory. Partly a reaction to online surveys and profiles, the results are thought-provoking, awkward […]
Jaime Forsythe
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Storied past
As a child in Montreal, musician and composer Joe Sealy was accustomed to hearing stories about the small Nova Scotian community of Africville from his father, who grew up there. In 1956, father and teenage son went on a road trip to visit the aunts, uncles and cousins Sealy had heard so much about. “On […]
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Ami McKay’s doctor’s notes
Ami McKay’s second novel, The Virgin Cure, (being launched Tuesday, October 25 at Bayers Lake Chapters, 7pm, followed by a Q&A) began with her curiosity about the life of her great great grandmother, Dr. Sarah Fonda Mackintosh, one of the first female physicians in 1870s New York City. The painted portrait of Mackintosh that hung […]
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Language art
Bong, Chim-si Bong. Sound familiar? This is just one of the classic film quotes artist Gerard Choy has transcribed from Cantonese to Cantonese-sounding English words for his media installation The Phrase Book of Migrant Sounds Vol. 1, on at NSCAD’s Port Loggia Gallery during Nocturne. Choy will be offering a unique linguistic experience, and participants […]
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Photo finish
Shutterbugs, and those who love them, won’t want to miss this year’s Photopolis. The city-wide photography festival runs for the month of October, and is an opportunity to discover work by local, national and international artists in a variety of venues. The exhibits will showcase a full range of photographic technologies: from images captured by […]
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Fall Arts at a glance
EVENTS & LITERARY AUTHORS Hal-Con November 12-13,hal-con.com The great thing about Hal-Con is not just that it brings big names in sci-fi and fantasy to Halifax but that it also gives local institutions a bigger stage to spread the geek word. Like last year, Hal-Con’s 2011 convention is a mix of Halifamous and Hollywood famous, […]
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Word On The Street puts books on the water
If you’re bussing it to Word on the Street on Sunday, September 25 (11am-5pm), hold on to your transfer—you might need it to hop on the ferry. That’s because this year, Halifax’s chapter of the national book and magazine festival spans both sides of the harbour, with readings and exhibitors located on the wharves behind […]
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Rattle and roll
Hoarse Rattle might sound like a symptom of a fall cold. Or, it might sound like a cello, a guitar and drums combining their sounds in unexpected ways—that might surprise even the musicians themselves. Hoarse Rattle is a collaboration between Norman Adams, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Arthur Bull, who bring an improvised performance to the Bus […]
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Halifax Drum Festival is back with a bang
From 1999 to 2006, the Halifax Drum Festival was a successful event that showcased some of the best drumming, music and dance Nova Scotia has to offer. When the festival’s founder, pianist and percussionist Matthieu Keijser, passed away, a hole was left in the community. Keijser’s friend Chris Kennedy, owner of Goatworks African Drums, decided […]
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One hundred years of Bishop
If you’ve read an Elizabeth Bishop poem before, it’s possible you first encountered her as an American writer, alongside poets like Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath. What may not have gotten much attention in that survey course or anthology is that Bishop spent a couple of her childhood years in the small community of Great […]
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Feed nourishes
Tonia Di Risio’s video installation Feed began as a practical approach to problem solving. She wanted to collect some of her grandmother’s traditional Italian recipes, but it wasn’t as simple as making a phone call or sending an email: “My grandmother’s not the type who writes down a recipe. English is not her first language […]
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Photo copy: Syperek’s Purchased Memories
Imagine if memories were something that could be picked up in a thrift shop, like a hard-to-find record or a pair of vintage earrings. What if you could try a stranger’s recollections on for size, to see how they fit? These are the kinds of speculations NSCAD grad Ginevra Syperek plays with in Purchased Memories, […]