VIVID: The NSCAD University Newsletter for Alumni and Friends
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What's Inside?
- A Message from President Peggy Shannon
- A Message from Alumni Association Member-at-Large Ken Rice
- Alumni Events
- Alumni News
- Inside NSCAD
- NSCAD in the Community
Message from President Peggy Shannon, PhD
Hello Friends,
It’s hard to believe we’re in the second half of October! The school year started with a lot of energy, initiative and creativity and shows no signs of slowing down. I’m thrilled to see everyone so engaged in the school. I’ve already had the chance to attend some amazing openings at the Anna Leonowens and Treaty Space Galleries.
During the rest of October, NSCAD will take centre stage in Halifax and at events in Ottawa, Toronto and New York.
This week, NSCAD students, alumni and faculty are taking part as speakers, performers and with projects at Nocturne’s Art-at-Night Festival (Oct.17 -20). Check out our NSCAD-talent showcased around the city.
Our campaign team is travelling this month to connect with alumni and supporters in some major capitals. On October 22, NSCAD will host a reception at the new L.A. Pai Jewellery Gallery in Ottawa, featuring work by some of our amazing alumni. Later that week, NSCAD staff and alumni will be well-represented at galleries throughout the GTA as part of Art Toronto.
At the end of October, NSCAD faculty, staff, students and alumni will connect in New York to showcase their work, learn from each other and absorb some world-class art and performances. We’ll have a chance to view MoMA’s Robert Frank exhibition (DFA 2015) along with alumna Christy Thompson (BFA 1997), senior deputy director of exhibitions and collections at MoMA. That evening, NSCAD faculty member Jordan Bennett will debut a new work that inspired a special collaborative performance by New York’s Ballet Collective in Manhattan.
A group of students from Expanded Media will join professors Jordan Bennett and David Clark in New York to be part of these events and to visit galleries, artists and designers in the city – an amazing opportunity to connect with the art world and see what opportunities lie in the future.
Have a great fall.
Peggy
Message from Alumni Association Member-at-Large Ken Rice
I can still remember how excited and nervous I felt during my first semester at NSCAD. We met some of our best friends in these early days. Some of us were smudged with charcoal or paint and others smelled of developing chemicals or turpentine, but we forged longstanding friendships as we grew into artists and designers.
I bet you can still recall quite a few names of folks who were in your classes or folks you sat with for lunch in the cafeteria (mine were Janet, Jon, Jamie, and Liz). As our paths diverged and our lives filled up with obligations (and hopefully the joy of making art), we all still share a connection as NSCAD alumni.
I’m excited to share that I have returned as Member-at-Large with NSCAD’s Alumni Association and will remain for a second term on the NSCAD Board of Governors. These roles help me stay involved and connected to everything we love about NSCAD.
I hope you’ll join me in staying connected by joining other NSCAD alumni at a local meetup or event in your community this year. I look forward to continuing to be your voice on the Board and representing the interests of our more than 10,000 alumni. Please reach out to me anytime at krice@nscad.ca
You can also stay involved with NSCAD by sharing your updated contact information with our Advancement Office, to stay up to date on local, regional, and international events. It’s also a chance to share your updates, your latest exhibits, and successes, and keep up with news from other alumni. Contact alumni@nscad.ca
When one of us shines, we all shine. We are NSCAD!
Ken Rice
ART WORK: Art & Place
Virtual Talk NEXT WEEK
Oct. 22, 12:30 p.m. (Atlantic)
Join textile artist Jennifer Angus (BFA 1984) & interdisciplinary artist Lou Sheppard (BFA 2006) as they discuss site specific art and the importance of time and place. Register here.
Did you miss an edition of Art Work? Find the recordings on NSCAD's YouTube Channel.
NSCAD Alumni in Ottawa
Oct. 22, 2024 NEXT WEEK
Join President Peggy Shannon for an evening of art and conversation. Engage with works by NSCAD students, alumni and faculty at Pai Jewellery Gallery, followed by refreshments at Play Food & Wine. Alumni, students & friends welcome.
Let us know you're coming RSVP@nscad.ca
NSCAD Alumni in New York
Oct. 30, 2024
NSCAD faculty member Jordan Bennett has collaborated with the NY Ballet Collective, to create a new ballet The Entrance is the Exit. We are so proud and excited, so we're throwing a party and encouraging people to see the show. Please join President Shannon, Jordan Bennet and the NY Ballet Collective for a pre-performance reception! RSVP@nscad.ca
Reception: 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Trinity Place NYC,
115 Broadway,
New York, NY
The performance on Oct. 30 is now sold out. Tickets are still available for Oct. 31 & 1, buy here.
Awards: Congratulations Creative Nova Scotia Emerging Artist Recognition Award recipients Kaas Ghanie (BFA 2016), Jack Wong (BFA 2014) & Lux Gow-Habrich (BFA 2015). Come celebrate them and art in our amazing province during the 2024 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The annual art party that brings together artists across the province and honours all artistic disciplines is a celebration not to be missed. Tickets to the event are free but must be booked in advance. Get tickets here. Nov. 3, 7 p.m. Pier 21, The Kenneth C. Rowe Hall, 1055 Marginal Rd., Halifax, NS. Read more here.
Book: Congratulations to Alain Chevarier (BFA 2001) and Mark McGuire (BFA 2001), who co-created the graphic novel Clay Footed Giants. It was just released in English this month by @Mad Cave Studios.
"A father hopes to rein in his quick temper in the brooding graphic novel debut from filmmakers Chevarier and McGuire. Pat keeps snapping at his elementary school–age kids, Sam and Lily. Though the outbursts—during which he’s drawn as a looming grizzly bear—tend to stem from a protective impulse, he is troubled by echoes of his own father’s alcohol-fueled rages.
Read more here.
Book: Congratulations to Ron Wakkary (BFA 1989) who recently published a book that reveals how speculative reasoning in design research increases the capacity of human-computer interaction (HCI) to address a wider array of social and research challenges. Read more here.
Collection: Congratulations to Katharine Burns (BFA 2009) who recently found a home for her painting CRASHING CURRENTS. You can see the artwork at the new Cunard Residences on Lower Water St. Read more here.
Alumni Talk: Quilting for a Cause. Explore how quilts, and the quilting communities who make them, are building awareness and driving change at local, national, and international levels. Led by Julie Hollenbach (BA/BFA 2008), this panel discussion sheds light not only on quilts as creative and cathartic outlets for makers, but on their power to build resonating narratives, and the role of cultural institutions in raising these narratives for audiences. Oct. 31, 12 p.m. EDT. Virtual talk, RSVP. Read more here.
Exhibition: Paradise, Jazz Keillor's first solo exhibition. Keillor's meticulously rendered, formally composed paintings on paper are thought provoking, as we question how we use nature for recreational experiences. At the same time they are wonderfully playful and tongue in cheek. "I am interested in this containment - the invisible walls that enclose and delineate our collective ideas of wilderness." Until Nov. 5. Katzman Art Projects, 5431 Doyle St., Halifax, NS. Read more here.
Exhibition: Whichcraft, A Biennial Celebration of Fine Craft. This is not your grandmother's craft group (not that there's anything wrong with that). These are Artists/Artisans with a capital "A" - masters in their class.
See works by Marla Benton (BFA 2001), Terry Lee Bourgeois-King (BFA 1995); Berkeley Brown (BFA 2009), Holly Carr (BA/BFA 1988), Deb Kuzyk (BFA 1983), Ray Mackie (BFA 1978), Mary Jane Lundy (BFA 2003), Peter Lawrence (BFA 1984) & Allyson Simmie (BFA 1989). Until Nov. 3. Harvest Gallery, 462 Main St., Wolfville, NS. Read more here.
Workshop: Neo Istoriato: Approaches to Contemporary Maiolica with Lindsay Montgomery (BFA 2006) in Italy. This two-week workshop is designed for all skill levels, from complete beginner to advanced ceramic makers. It will focus on exploring the ancient Italian renaissance ceramic technique of tin-glazed earthenware, or Maiolica. Participants will be housed in the remarkably well-preserved Umbrian hill town of Monte Castello di Vibio. Your workshop package is all-inclusive. Read more here.
Art ID: Is this your work? This landscape was purchased during a NSCAD fundraiser at the Anna Leonowens Gallery about 20 years ago (approx. 2003/4). The owner who has had it in their home is hoping to identify the artist. Do you have any clues? alumni@nscad.ca
In Memorium: Wayne Packer (BFA 1976). Wayne beloved husband, father, and artist, passed away peacefully at home on October 10, at the age of 71, surrounded by his family. He was an early conceptual artist whose work was discovered and included by curators from Documenta in Kassel, Germany and Printed Matter in NYC where his NSCAD press book "Edge" was introduced. He met his future wife, Minna, as a student at NSCAD in 1974. Together, they opened Coup de Grace Gallery in Hoboken. A true Renaissance man, Wayne's hobbies were as eclectic as his taste in music. Read more here.
Call for Nominations: 2026 Doctor of Fine Arts (honoris causa) and Life Fellow candidates. NSCAD’s Honorary Degree Committee is inviting nominations for the 2026 Doctor of Fine Arts and Life Fellow designations. This is your chance to nominate an exceptional leader who inspires, challenges and shapes art and design, culture and higher learning across Canada and around the world.
Deadline: Nov. 15, 2024 Read more here.
Student Awards: Four NSCAD masters students were awarded the 2024 Canada Graduate Scholarship totalling $70,000 in financial support for the completion of studies and to further their respective research projects. Gracia Isabel Gomez
Cantoya, Janelle Ledua,
Katherine Rae Diemert & Rebecca Zynomirski. Read more here.
Extended Studies: Side Hustling for Creatives, a 6-week live online course that will help you to transform your ideas, skills, and expertise into a new line of income. Oct. 29 - Dec. 3, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (AST) Read more here.
Market: Po'ks Pop-Up, Treaty Space Gallery will host a Pop-Up Market, to appreciate and acknowledge our Indigenous Artists’ in Mi’kma’ki. the market will feature unique arts and crafts, such as baskets, beadwork, art prints, and more! “Po’ks” is the Mi’kmaq word for ladybug, (pronounced like PO-KES). Nov. 16 - Dec. 3, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Treaty Space Gallery, 1887 Granville St., Halifax, NS. Read more here.
Work at NSCAD: NSCAD is hiring! Check out our careers page for current opportunities.
Nocturne 2024: Nocturne is once again taking over Halifax and Dartmouth; NSCAD talent is front and centre. From Oct. 17 - 20, see programming from NSCAD students, alumni, staff & faculty including: Sonia Chow (MFA 2022, BFA 1995), Séamus Gallagher (BFA 2019), Woochang Kim (student), Kwame Owusu Brobbey (current student), Jean Serutoke (BFA 2022), Derrick Dixon (2008 - 2013),
Arjun Lal (BFA 2019, current student),
Andrea Rahal (BFA 2004), Daniel MacDonald, Melissa Boucher-Guilbert (current student), Becka Barker (BFA 2000), Graeme Patterson (BFA 2003), Mitchell Wiebe (MFA 1996), Fran Ornstein (BFA 1975 & 1981), Jim Xi (Bdes 2018), Jay Merriott (BFA 2019), Jack Ross (BFA 2012), I'thandi Munro (BFA 2020), Lynn Rotin (BFA 2000), Fenn Martin (BFA 2006), Chris Joyce (BFA 1989), Rebecca Fisk (BFA 1993), David Dahms (BFA 2007), Sara Angelucci (MFA 1997), David Harper (BFA 2006), Gerard Collins (BFA 1981), Onni Nordman (1991 - 1995), Stephen Kelly (BFA 2001), Sarah Maloney (BFA 1998), Norma Jean MacLean (BFA 2011), Kim Morgan (Faculty), Craig Leonard (Faculty), Carrie Phillips Kieser (MFA 2022), Geordan Moore (Bdes 2007), Frances Dorsey (former faculty), Peter Dykhuis (fromer faculty), Sush Kant (BFA
2023), Lara Sturzenbaum (BFA 2023), Frankie Macaulay (BFA 2015), Shayla Bond (BFA 2014), NSCAD Print Club & Cheryl L’Hirondelle - NSCAD Visiting Artist. Read more here.
Exhibition: Tekweywinen tel Wejesultiek (Be With Us In Our Joy), featuring work by faculty member Jordan Bennett & Nelson White. This exhibition is a celebration of that vibrant spirit, offering a space to uplift each other and collectively embrace the joy inherent in Indigenous culture. What brings joy to your inner child? How can we spark curiosity, invite wonder, and see the world with fresh eyes and an imaginative mind? Until Apr, 6, 2025. The Rooms, 9 Bonaventure Avenue, St. John's, NL. Read more here.
Exhibition: From the Cradle of Its Race: Selections from the Heritage Collection, 1775-1965, featuring printed works by instructor, Erica Walker. The exhibition is a new series of spectacular woodblock prints exploring the artistic, historical and future impacts of our collective past. Until Nov. 2. Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, 555 Ross Creek Rd., Kings, NS. Read more here.
Survey: Jewellery Making, Manufacturing and Marketing in Atlantic Canada. Invitation to participate in an exciting research study, initiated by Greg Sims (Assistant Professor, Jewellery) and assisted by Cynthia Fraschetti (BFA 2023) (Research Assistant). The survey is aims to gain
deeper insights into the practices, challenges, and innovations within our regional jewellery industry. Read more here.
TD Insurance: Take advantage of your alumni benefits. As a trusted partner, the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Program is dedicated to helping NSCAD alumni get access to preferred insurance rates on car, home, condo and tenant coverage. For more information or to get a quote here.
Stay in Touch
We want to hear from you! Please send us your news. What are you working on? Where are you living? What inspires you? Any recent achievements? Use the online form, and tag your work on social media with #keepcreatingNSCAD.
Email us at alumni@nscad.ca if you are interested in being profiled for your work or business.
Header image: Cynthia Fraschetti (BFA 2023), image courtesy of Artist.
