Alumni @ Work Talk: Building a career after graduation. NSCAD alumni understand how to work equally well with their head, hearts and hands. How does that unique formation carry into the workforce? Two recent graduates, Lila Gorey McSorley (BFA 2025) and Danaé Lavallée (BFA 2025) share how they carry these skills into their careers and navigate the realities of sustaining a practice or livelihood. The discussion highlights how critical and professional development at NSCAD is not separate from making work, but essential to helping it exist, circulate, and endure. The talk is Thursday, May 28 at 1 p.m. To register in advance.

Installation: On May 12, David Peters (BDes 1976) concluded his week-long More Than Wishes artist residency/duration performance featuring a vintage fax machine in the NSCAD Library. Invitations went out to NSCAD alumni and supporters everywhere, asking them to send messages, drawings, recollections, and more to the Class of 2026. Many answered the call! Fax messages were received from alumni, including Cathy Busby (BFA 1984), Steven Holmes (MFA 1994), Randy Laybourne (BFA 1997, BDes 1999), Jennifer Fisher (BFA 1977), Luc Courchesne (BDes 1974, DFA 2022), Emma Allain (MFA, 2019), Bruce Barber (Professor Emeritus, MFA 1978) and dozens more.  Check out the faxes.

Performance: Congratulations to Max Newroth (BFA 1992), master fabricator with Factioned, for producing multi-disciplinary artist Jordan Roth's latest narrative fashion performance during the 2026 Venice Biennale. In this site-specific performance at the Palazzo dei Fiori, Roth merged, tore, and reassembled vinyl prints  by Irene di Spilimbergo, a Renaissance painter and musician. Roth used corsetry and reflective vinyl surfaces to turn his body into a living collage, blurring the lines between art, fashion, and performance. Read more.

Award: Signy Holm (MAAE 2025), recently received the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies (CACS) ARTS SIG Masters Thesis Award (Supervisor: Dr. Nicole Lee; Committee Member: Dr. Joshua Schwab-Cartas; University Examiner & Chair: Tara Mills). Signy's thesis is titled: Wayfinding Through Waste: A Collective, Living Archive of Coastal Plastic. Signy was inspired by a solitary practice of beachcombing as an embodied research-creation method. She saw an opportunity to transform plastic waste into unique artifacts. Read more.

Film launch: Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts), written and directed by Bretten Hannam (BFA 2008), opened in theatres in mid-May.  Set entirely in Nova Scotia, this genre-bending, dreamlike drama follows two adult Indigenous siblings as they take a journey to discover why spirits connected to past childhood trauma are haunting them. The movie also challenges audiences using narrative and time-shifting techniques that interweave Mi’kmaw culture and the colonial history of the East Coast. Read more.

Exhibition: how to be....excerpts from how to be 57, 2018 is a new solo exhibition of work by NSCAD faculty member Lucie Chan (BFA 2001). The exhibition will centre on how to be 57, a massive, paper-based installation that exemplifies Chan’s practice of expanded drawing. Created in response to stories gathered from numerous sources — including one-on-one interviews with strangers, conversation with people, and responses to listening to the news — how to be 57 is a collection of works bearing witness to stories that Chan describes as, “far from my own…that point to inequities and human fragility.” The exhibition runs until June 13 at The Blue Building, 2482 Maynard Street, Halifax, NS. Read more.

Event: Critique as Gift Crit Club is launching pilot crit program open to the arts community in Halifax and beyond. Critique as Gift is an ongoing research project exploring new ways of practicing critique by collaborators Laura Bucci (BFA 1992, MAAE 2025) and Katherine Diemert (MFA 2025). Three in-person sessions are scheduled for May 26, June 28, and July 26 at Wonder’neath, 2482 Maynard Street, Halifax, NS. To learn more and register.

Exhibition: After Hours is an exhibition of textile works by Adrienna Matzeg (BFA 2014), a photography graduate who creates photo-inspired embroidery images using a punch needle technique. The pieces depict Adrienna's time spent in Kyoto, Tokyo and Seoul during the height of summer. "The afternoons were intensely hot and humid, so much of our exploration happened after dark." Her new work draws directly from photos from late-night walks, when illumination transformed each city. Convenience store runs, snacks from night markets, and brief detours before returning to the hotel were moments of pause within the constant motion and unfamiliarity of being somewhere new. The exhibition runs May 8 to 30 at Abbozzo Gallery, 32 Sousa Mendes Street, Toronto, ON. Read more.

Exhibition: Out of Bounds: Passion and Tenacity in Art & Sport is a reflection of ongoing conversations between multi-disciplinary artist and designer Duane Jones (BDes 2004) of Art Pays Me and textile/quilt artist Andrea Tsang Jackson, who runs 3rd Story Workshop. Out of Bounds looks at passion, tenacity, discipline, risk-taking and creativity in both art practice and commitment to sport. There will be an opening reception with light refreshments on Thursday, May 21, 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. in The Sunroom, Floor 5, Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, NS. RSVP to the opening event here.

Exhibition: Corner Brook, NL-based artist Jane Reagh (BFA 1986) will show her figurative work in Mahone Bay this summer. Since her return to painting over a decade ago, she has focused on the spectacular landscape of Gros Morne National Park, but she also works on portraits. Her work will be displayed alongside paintings by the late Brian Burke (1974), RCA, who was known for his work on series' such as Mr Man (1996) and Dead Man’s Pond (2009). The opening reception is Saturday, June 6, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mahone Portrait House, 572 Main St., Mahone Bay, NS. Read more.

Exhibition: The Chester Art Centre is featuring Fishers, a solo exhibition of work by Curtis Botham (BFA 2017). The exhibition features large-scale charcoal artworks depicting the realities of Nova Scotia's commercial fishing industry. Curtis started this project in 2022, while in Chester Art Centre’s Artist-in-Residency program.The exhibition runs June 11 to 28, with an opening reception on Friday, June 12 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Chester Art Centre, 60 Queen St., Chester, NS. Read more.

Exhibition: Between The Ditches, an exhibition of paintings by Jack Bishop (BFA 2007). Inspired by drives between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, this new body of work transforms the landscapes surrounding the Trans-Canada Highway into sensitive spaces where color, light, and gesture take center stage. Moving away from realism and photographic references, the artist embraces an intuitive approach informed by memory and lived experience. Tree lines become ornamental forms, while thick impasto and fluorescent palettes activate the painted surface, creating landscapes that oscillate between figuration, abstraction, and sensation.
Between the Ditches opens Saturday, May 23, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Galerie C.O.A., 6405 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC. Read more.

In the news: David R Harper (BFA 2006) was recently featured in Madison, Wisconsin's newspaperThe Cap Times. The story revolves around David Harper's newest exhibition Good Morning Sweetheart at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA). The exhibition evokes themes of time, sleep, memory, longing and stillness, taking shape through the careful curation of sculpture, stained glass, ceramic re-creations and found materials. It will be on view until August 30 at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 227 State St, Madison, WI. Read more.

On screen: Woven textiles by Johana Cordero (BFA 2016), Founder and Educator at Loom Studio in Toronto, has recently been featured in Hulu's The Testaments. An evolution of The Handmaid's Tale (book by Margaret Atwood), The Testaments is a dramatic coming-of-age story set in Gilead. Throughout the series, weaving is a prominent, symbolic activity performed by young girls in Gilead's schools to depict their forced domesticity, piety, and preparation for roles as Wives. Johana was brought on to create a series of hand woven pillows for the set, adding warmth, texture, and a hand-crafted feel to the space. She also collaborated with the set design and props team to develop a realistic and functional weaving learning environment for the school featured in the show. Read more.

Exhibition: The Weatherlore Visual Art and Poetry Exhibition features St. John's area emerging artists and poets, including Julie Clapperton (BFA 2025), Oscar Jarksy (BFA 2025), Emily Claudette Pittman (BFA 2024). There will be a reception and poetry reading on Friday, May 22, 5-7 p.m. The Exhibition runs until May 28 at the MUN Botanical Garden, 306 Mt. Scio Road, St. John's, NL. Read more.

Appointment: Professor Kim Morgan has been appointed as NSCAD's interim academic dean. She joined NSCAD’s Fine Arts Division in 2008 and has been working as a full professor in sculpture, installation, and public art. Professor Morgan previously served as NSCAD’s associate academic dean from January to July 2024, a role in which she supported curricular planning, academic matters related to teaching, and stewarding articulation agreements.“I’m looking forward to closely collaborating with our students, faculty, staff, and leaders to creatively imagine how we will work transparently through this challenging time together and promote a culture of shared responsibility for NSCAD’s future," she said. Read more.

Awards: NSCAD University hosted its first-ever NSCAD Design Week as part of the MAYHEM Year-End Festival (April 27-30). At the centre of NSCAD Design Week was the Design Shift Awards, presented by Verecan. With the theme, “future forward design” participants were challenged to submit projects that reflect the role of design in a rapidly evolving technological and social landscape. One standout design among the projects was XO Care, created by Junwen Hu (MDes 2025), who won both the Thrive Award category and the competition’s grand prize, the Impact Award. As the grand prize winner, Hu received $3,500 in addition to the $1,500 Thrive category prize. Undergraduate student, Greer O’Rorke won $1,500 in the Resolve category for their project, Step Stool. While MDes student, Yang Shuhan won $1,500 in the Venture category for Nushroom. Read more.

This Town Is Small, an artist-run centre dedicated to fostering contemporary visual art and supporting local artists, is looking for media artworks (video/sound art/media art installation, + more) created by PEI-based visual and interdisciplinary artists for an upcoming group exhibition. There are no thematic restrictions. Artists are encouraged to submit work that represents their current practice. Works in progress and project proposals are welcome; please refer to the timeline below to ensure your work will be completed in time for the exhibition. Artist fees will be provided. The deadline to apply is Sunday, May 24, at midnight. Learn more.

Call for submissions: Tides Art Gallery in Kentville, NS is now accepting submissions for Featured Artists for 2027. Emerging or established artists in Nova Scotia have the opportunity to be featured at Tides Art Gallery for one month. Preference will be given to Annapolis Valley artists. The deadline to apply is Monday, June 22, at midnight. Learn more.

Residency: The Cartoonist Cooperative is presenting the very first residency program of its kind in comics and illustration. The Digital Residency program offers cartoonists both $1000 USD and a hosted virtual canvas to play with. Applications are due by Tuesday, June 30 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Learn more.

Thanks to our sponsors: That's a wrap. MAYHEM 2026 was a huge success. We couldn't have done it without our amazing sponsors, who donated to support events like the NSCAD Student Film Screening and Film prizes, Student Art Award, the Design Shift Awards presented by Verecan, and the Fashion Showcase at Alderney Landing. Special thanks to TD Insurance, Verecan Capital, BMO, and Simon's for their significant support of our key events. Thank you for supporting NSCAD students!

Student Art Award winner Abby Spooner (BFA 2026) with TD Insurance Relationship Manager Ryan Fanning.

Alumni Survey: Thank you to all alumni who took part in our recent survey. While we're currently reviewing your responses in more detail, we wanted to share some highlights. Alumni describe NSCAD as promoting and supporting ways of thinking, rather than vocational outcomes. Respondents say NSCAD helped them develop into critical, independent, and reflective creative thinkers. They became more confident articulating ideas, experimenting, and dealing with ambiguity and critique. NSCAD helped them build capacity for self-directed, non-linear careers.
“NSCAD fundamentally changed how I think, how I question, and how I solve problems — far beyond just making art.” 
“I learned how to articulate my work and defend my ideas. That skill has stayed with me no matter where I’ve worked.” 
We'll keep you up to date on the full survey findings very soon.

Support the Summer Studio Project: Studio spaces in NSCAD’s historic buildings are what makes our university exceptional. It's where students come up with ideas, test techniques and build their practices. Studios are also some of the most heavily used spaces on campus, leading to wear and tear. This summer, a small group of students will be hired to undertake improvement work across studios and campus environments, under the direction of the NSCAD Studio Manager John Deal. The vision is to update the spaces that matter most to students with painting, minor repairs, organizing storage, improving signage, and restoring furniture. By contributing to the new Head, Heart, & Hand Fund: Powered by NSCAD Alumni, we can help to make this possible. A shared commitment from alumni now will help pay student salaries and buy supplies and equipment to complete the work, producing immediate, visible improvements while laying the groundwork for a program that could be strengthened in the years to come. Please donate here.