Trans individuals have a hard enough time outside of LGBTQIA spaces, so it’s another blow when you don’t see yourself reflected in events at a festival that’s meant to celebrate trans identities among others. Last year Halifax Pride hosted only one event specifically reaching out to transgender individuals. This year that’s expanded, with events aimed […]
Laura Kenins
Posted inArts + Music
Take me to church
Religion has typically been at the root of many homophobic arguments, but for many religious leaders in Halifax, those attitudes are out of date. St. John’s United Church has been one of the leaders in paving the way for LGBTQIA-friendly religious spaces in the city. It initiated an affirming process with a committee in the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Sharon Jones: The hardest working woman in show biz
Sharon Jones’ success has been a long time coming. At 58, the soul singer received her first Grammy nomination this year. But working so hard for so long, Jones doesn’t take her success for granted. While she’s been singing since childhood and recording for 20 years, Jones’ passionate soul tunes only started to receive wider […]
Posted inArts + Music
Upstream Music veers in new directions
Rivers and streams can change their course with time, and after 25 years, it’s time for Upstream Music to flow away from its source a little. Director and founding member Paul Cram is stepping down after 19 years at the helm of the experimental music association, and Diving For Pearls will celebrate those achievements and […]
Posted inArts + Music
New Music issue 2015
Twenty-seven new bands to sink your teeth into this summer. From metal, rap, blues, jazz, rock, pop, punk, folk and some new genres that haven’t been invented yet, there’s something for you. Do yourself a favour—support live music and new, local bands. So much better than a Netflix binge. Anteater (Improv jazz) Arsoniste (Dance pop) […]
Posted inArts + Music
Bridget Moser’s worker persona
The patch of river rock tucked under the stairs at Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery may never have caught your eye, but it’s one of the first things Bridget Moser mentions when she talks about her upcoming show. “The gallery has this really nice mezzanine setup, and then this river rock, and I thought […]
Posted inArts + Music
Above Standard Play
Somewhere in a basement, two sisters have fallen asleep with the television on. A dirty VCR distorts voices. These banal vignettes set the stage for video artist Emily Pelstring’s solo exhibition Standard Play at the Khyber, a narrative multimedia show that looks at ideas of gender, media history and technical processes. A Montreal-based artist and […]
Posted inArts + Music
Art infestation
The Art In Fest festival brings a visual arts component to the Obey Convention underground music festival, adding five sound and media-based projects to the festival (including Emily Pelstring’s Khyber exhibition and performance as The Powers). All projects are new work created specifically for the festival—Khyber director and Art In Fest director Hannah Guinan has […]
Posted inArts + Music
Waiter, there’s a grant in Halifax Soup
Hungry for a little more culture in the city? A new micro-grant initiative, Halifax Soup, is looking to fill your stomach and mind with a basic funding model that has already taken root in other cities. The idea is simple: community groups submit proposals, which are voted on by diners at a bimonthly communal meal. […]
Posted inArts + Music
Arrhythmia nation
Hip-hop and spoken word artist Hermitofthewoods might not be the first artist who springs to mind for improvised jazz, but that’s part of what excites jazz musicians Tim Crofts, Norm Adams and D’Arcy Gray about their upcoming collaboration, Arrhythmia, the final concert of suddenlyLISTEN’s 2014/15 main series. “Every year I look for interesting artists that […]
Posted inArts + Music
Mocean Dance’s survival in a wild land
The barren, windswept landscapes of Sable Island have inspired artists and travellers for centuries. Among its recent devotees is Vancouver-based choreographer Serge Bennathan, who joins forces with Halifax’s Mocean Dance to create a new piece, Sable Island, which premieres as part of Mocean’s new show, Close Reach, debuting this month at Alderney Landing Theatre, along […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax crafters
Local crafters are a growing and vital community, including everyone from hobbyists who went pro, people who studied in the NSCAD ceramics department to those who took up felting as a hobby while completing a physics degree. It’s a movement as vital as Dumbledore’s Army arrayed against Delores Umbridge’s venom, a major moment of DIY […]