When Sacha Stephan comes home from work, her routine is probably close to yours: She fixes a cup of tea or pours some wine, descends from the day onto her couch and logs into Netflix (“I’ve been watching a lot of reality TV that’s just garbage,” she says). Then, Stephan picks up a sketchbook, laying […]
New Art
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Ben by nature
Flipping through Ben Waye’s sketchbooks feels like bringing an image into focus—the NSCAD student’s fashion designs come together slowly, from colour palettes, material samples and collages into stunning completed looks. Waye, 19, says his first two years at NSCAD have been a whirlwind. Since moving to Halifax from Mirimachi in 2016, he has grown his […]
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Kelsey Borden stitches her anxiety
Kelsey Borden, Thoughts and Confessions February 27-March 3 Anna Leonowens Gallery 3 1891 Granville Street Kelsey Borden’s interest in embroidery didn’t click in one moment. It unfolded slowly: “I come from some very crafty women. My grandmother was Depression-era, so she sewed all her kids’ clothes, and my mother grew up with the craft of […]
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Kevin Cormier lives through paint
“I had this one really turbulent Tinder date where they decided ‘Let’s meet at your studio at 12 o’clock in the morning on a Friday.’ We had this big bag of booze and we were just tearing through my work and this boy was like ‘You’re Taylor Swift!’” Kevin Cormier laughs, leaning forward in his […]
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Shary Boyle and Emily Vey Duke’s epic feminist poem
Shary Boyle & Emily Vey Duke, The Illuminations Project To April 29 Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 1723 Hollis Street “Meet Bloodie,” reads the promotional material for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s latest exhibition. A naked, dirt-encrusted girl stands in murky darkness as colours burst from her body: Rainbows stream from her arms and […]
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Emmanuel Nwogbo’s digital riffs
Emmanuel Nwogbo’s favourite James Bond is Sean Connery. Growing up on tales of spy missions and perfectly gelled hair, he’s seen all the Bond films, but it’s Connery’s ’60s capers that stand tall above the rest: “I keep watching those ones because they’re so ridiculous. Some of the names are hilarious, stuff that you could […]
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Eyelevel Gallery’s steady outlook
The last few years have seen some serious redesigns for Halifax’s artist-run centres. Around the same time that the Khyber was pushed out of its home on Barrington Street, Eyelevel Gallery—one of Canada’s oldest artist-run centres—also moved out of its space downtown, due to high rent costs. The Eyelevel board and then-director Katie Belcher took […]
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Waka Okabayashi wants to be a plant
Waka Okabayashi, I want to be a plant To February 17 Anna Leonowens Gallery 2, 1891 Granville Street In the mind and work of Waka Okabayashi, life really does imitate art. The NSCAD student, who moved from Japan to Canada after middle school to begin studying English, says she draws inspiration for much of her […]
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New Art 2017: Xiaoyi Dong says art is international
Xiaoyi Dong has made strides since moving to Halifax for an arts education. Known as Patrice to her Canadian friends and teachers, she’s found a medium she loves and confidence as a community leader. Dong is a second-year graphic design student at NSCAD, and is the international student representative on SUNSCAD, the school’s student union. […]
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New Art 2017: Abby Bent
“Being a sculpture student, I always felt like I had to be working with materials, but I don’t actually like to make anything,” states artist Abby Bent. “Sometimes I gather materials that I am drawn to and then I try to find patterns between them, through definition, use and how my body can interact with […]
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New Art 2017: Raven Davis leads the tough conversations
From the tartan to the Canadian flag, Raven Davis’s latest project is taking time-honoured Canadian symbols and challenging their place. Through gallery pieces and public performances, the 2-Spirit Indigenous multidisciplinary artist is creating a critique of Canada’s 150 festivities, The De-Celebration of Canada. By highlighting everyday reminders of colonization–such as the noon cannon at the […]
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New Art 2017: Going Gonzago
FLIM FLAM To February 4 Panel discussion February 4, 6pm The Khyber Centre for the Arts, 1880 Hollis Street In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The House of Gonzaga—an old royal family that ruled in Northern Italy—is the inspiration for his play-within-the-play. The play is called The Murder of Gonzago. “It’s basically the idea of a thing […]
