Art Pays Me

In this throwback to my chats with the participants in our 2023 collaborative exhibition with  Haliente – Arte & Movement, I spoke with artist Colin Cook .

In this throwback to my chats with the participants in our 2023 collaborative exhibition with  Haliente – Arte & Movement, I spoke with artist and educator Kim Cain about the importance of movement in her creative practice and what concepts she feels kids need earlier and more frequent exposure to in the classroom. Hot yoga sequence: standing to down dog   Hot yoga sequence: supine to bridge

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the  2024 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . Presented annually by  Arts Nova Scotia  and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council , these awards celebrate artistic excellence across Mi'kma'ki. This would not be possible without the fantastic production work of Heist and Keke Beatz . On this episode I spoke with playwright, m...

Multidisciplinary artist Ibe Ananaba describes getting early inspiration from his older brother, exploring different mediums and why his approach to painting is similar to carving. He also takes us on a deep dive into the thinking behind one of his paintings and a lesson he helped me learn from my first experience as a curator.

In this throwback to my chats with the participants in our 2023 collaborative exhibition with Haliente – Arte & Movement, I spoke with Gloire (John) Aelfaz about his multi-disciplinary practice. Despite being relatively new to the Halifax art scene at the time, Gloire managed to find diverse ways to get his work seen while also exploring multiple mediums of expression. I also reveal the start of a...

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the  2024 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . Presented annually by  Arts Nova Scotia  and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council , these awards celebrate artistic excellence across Mi'kma'ki.   In this episode I interviewed Oriana Duinker, Executive Director of the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia about the amazing ways t...

Jennifer O'Connell is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. We talk about Jennifer's approach to making art, why it brings meaning to her life and how an unexpected Instagram co-sign from art critic, Jerry Saltz impacted her art practice. Jennifer also talks about fear and the double standards applied to women in the art world.

Marissa Sean Cruz is a digital multimedia and video performance artist from Kjipuktuk (so-called Halifax). Cruz's topics of interest are related to labour, power and surveillance as seen through digital platforms and pop culture. Their experimental videos comprise found footage, 3D modelling, sound design and costumed performances to look at value systems with critical sensibility. These satirical...

Lydia Zimmer, a graduate of The Boston Conservatory (BFA '11), is a dancer and choreographer in Halifax, NS. Lydia has created several works supported by Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia. These include 'Bonne Nuit,' Live Art Dance (2016); 'Embankment,' Votive Dance (2017, 2021); 'Sonderlings,' Nostos Collectives (2018), 'Sonderling,' Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal (2019) & 'Extr...

Nancy E. Oakley is a Mi'kmaq/Wampanoag artist who was raised in Mashpee, Massachuttes but now lives and works on the Eskasoni First Nation Reserve in NS She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian arts in Santa Fe, NM and studied for a year at NSCAD, taking courses in Photography, ceramics, weaving and jewellery making. Through softly curved pottery forms created by hand or by the wheel....

Juanita Peters is known by many people, as many things. She is an actor, journalist, news anchor and playwright, film and theatre director. As a writer and director some of her films include: I Made a Vow Hannah's Story Africville Can't stop Now 8:37 Rebirth…which has picked up multiple awards in Canada, New York, London and Paris. Juanita Peters directed two seasons of the Film Nova Scotia Award...

Jah'Mila is a reggae singer from Kingston, Jamaica, now based in Atlantic Canada. With a deep-rooted love for traditional roots reggae, her music blends the vibrant spirit of Jamaican roots music with elements of jazz and modern soul. She has been blessed to share stages with renowned acts like The Wailers, Black Uhuru, and Groundation, which has enriched her journey as a reggae artist and cultura...

Garry Williams is an actor, director, singer, writer, musical director, and composer-lyricist. He received a Merritt Award for his performance as Polonius/Gravedigger in Hamlet, and for his original score for KAMP. Previous nominations include Gloucester in King Lear, Ambrose in The Miracle Man, and Isaac in A Tournament of Lies. His Merritt-nominated scores include Pinocchio, as well as Crypthand...

Arte & Movement is a series featuring artists who exhibited work during the Halifax Salsa & Bachata Festival . Dedicated to the crafts-womanship of monster making, Elanor's practice focuses on creating other worldly creature masks and coordinated prosthetics aiming to animate the uncanny in the film industry.  

Moses Diallo is the director and owner of Haliente Creative Studio , an organization in founded in 2017 to increase the awareness of Afro-Latin dance in Nova Scotia, especially in the City of Halifax.  He started the Halifax Salsa & Bachata Festival (formerly "Salsa on Argyle") to encourage community engagement through the medium of dance. Moses believes this event proves that the language of danc...

African Nova Scotian Music Association (ANSMA) are recipients of the 2023 Creative Nova Scotia award's Community Impact Award. On this episode, I chat with Julien Matwawana, their first Executive Director about who they are and their impact on Nova Scotia's music industry. This series of Creative NS award winner interviews would not be possible without the support of Arts Nova Scotia, The Creative...

Meet Amanda Spriggs a Halifax/Dartmouth based comedian. Amanda and I have been pocket pals as she puts it for a long time and it was nice to get to know more about her views on life, the Halifax comedy scene and relationships. 

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2023 Creative Nova Scotia Awards .  Presented by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council , the Creative Nova Scotia Awards celebrate excellence in artistic achievement.    Award categories are as follows: Creative Community Impact Prix Grand-Pré Established Artist Emerging Artist Black Artist Ind...

On this episode, I chat with a chef for the first time on the podcast! Michelin-trained Gabrielle LeGuerrier, Head Chef of GourmetGab Events and Pertu gives some insight into the private dining events that she hosts with her husband, European Sommelier, Gabor Bodo.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council . The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the  Portia White Prize . Winners of the  Prix Grand Pré , the  Established Artist , Emerging Artist , Indigeno...

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the  2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . The awards are presented annually by  Arts Nova Scotia  and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council . The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the  Portia White Prize . Winners of the  Prix Grand Pré , the  Established Artist ,  Emerging Artist ,  Ind...

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council . The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the  Portia White Prize . Winners of the  Prix Grand Pré , the  Established Artist , Emerging Artist , Indigeno...

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council . The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the  Portia White Prize . Winners of the  Prix Grand Pré , the  Established Artist , Emerging Artist , Indigeno...

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards . The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the  Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council .   The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the  Portia White Prize . Winners of the  Prix Grand Pré , the  Established Artist , Emerging Artist , Indige...

On this episode I chat with Ash Young, the Executive Director of the Inverness County Centre for the Arts . They are the recipient of the Creative Community Impact Award for. Ash gives some insight into the centre's beginnings, their program offerings and why they are important to Inverness County and Beyond.