David Tallis' On LIne Off Line was one of many works featured in the group exhibition I Spy at Corridor Gallery in October 2011

David Tallis
Based in Nova Scotia, David Tallis graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor’s in Fine Art from NSCAD University. Drawing from an intermedia and conceptualist practice, Tallis’ work investigates trace, mark and absence. As a VANS member for the last year, Tallis has attended and benefited from VANS workshops, information sessions, participated in peer discussions and exhibited his work in i Spy: a group exhibition in the Corridor Gallery in 2011.

1-year
I have been a VANS member for about 1-year now. What I like most about my VANS membership, is learning about opportunities which extend my practice. I attend VANS workshops and events. In the fall, I participated in a peer discussion on artist talks, called Open Mic, and practiced giving an artist talk. I find there’s a nice group of people that will frequently go out to VANS events, so I can meet up and discuss my practice with my peers. I also enjoy borrowing resources from the VANS library; I particularly like signing out art magazines. I think VANS is a great membership, especially for the opportunities that come through the Virtual VANS newsletter.

Thunderclap
A piece I had in the NSCAD graduation show in 2010 was directly influenced by Nova Scotia weather. It was called Thunderclap. It was a result of experiencing rainy weather here. I had been trying to create work outside because of not having a studio, and it had been raining all the time, so I decided to use the experience in some way.

Studio Space
A lot of my work is created outside. It can be really tricky not having an indoor studio, because what I find most difficult in maintaining a studio practice is the weather. The lack of sunlight can be a deterrent, too.  Days where it’s gorgeous outside, extends the hours I’d want to be in the studio. I still create work in my apartment during the winter, so I still produce indoors, but I find that most of my studio inspiration and productivity comes from just being outside and walking around.

Trace and Mark and Absence
When I think about my work, I think about things like trace and mark and absence. In my perspective, a trace is just as much there as it is not. My work also has a performance element, not so much necessarily a bodily performance, but an activity, like a performance of objects. I also like to deal with subjects that are contradictory to each other, or there’s a contradictory element. It allows me to think it through more… like this give and take. When I’m editing a project, I always take it too far, and then bring it back. I always take the work as far as I can and then strip it down; this allows me to think about the essential elements of my work. When there’s the contradictory element, there’s more for the viewer to consider from various angles, rather than just making a statement.

NATO Brevity Code
Since this past winter, I’ve been working on a body of work using NATO brevity code words. Brevity code words are the procedural words that try to pack in tactical information. For example, if there’s a missile launch, there’s a NATO word that would give that information, usually quite separate from missile, like wolf, for example. Another one I know is daisy for a mine. What I find interesting it that there are these violent and heavily loaded words that are given words that have completely separate meanings. I find that really interesting that separation, that humanizing aspect of those destructive processes. So, my plan is to take those code words and superimpose them over NATO member flags to play with their aesthetic elements.

Artist-in-Residence
I’m keeping my practice very open at the moment. In June, I’ll be an artist-in-residence at Artscape in Toronto for “Renouncing the Art Object” and I will be heading to Toronto in May.  The residency will provide a great opportunity for me to experiment in the studio and outside of my normal context. I’ve also applied for the 2012 Nocturne: Art at Night in Halifax and a few galleries, so we will see what turns up.

For more information, visit David Tallis.

VANS Artist Profiles aim to identify, promote and educate the public about current members of Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS). Artists who are profiled are current members of VANS, have participated in a VANS program(s) and maintain an active practice in the visual arts. Each profile explores the impact of VANS programs and services and the interests of our membership, in general.

Call for Artist-in-Residence: Re-Focus Sustainable Art
Submission deadline: June 10, 2012

The environmental impact of urbanization and industrialization has reached a critical point. It is now clear that our relationship to nature has drastically changed over time and that sustainable ways of living are necessary in order to deal with the complexity of the environmental challenges intrinsic to our subsistence; artists continue to fulfill a role of creating new forms of representations that illustrate, embody and propose different ways of understanding our relation to Nature.

Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS) in collaboration with the Ecology Action Centre (EAC) and the Khyber Centre for the Arts are hosting an artist-in-residency and public presentation of ideas that brings together contemporary artistic practices and current environmental research and engagement.

Description of Residency
The selected artist’s proposal will outline the production of a site-specific artwork that challenges audiences to re-consider the idea of Nature and to explore new representations of ecological thinking. The challenge to the artist(s) will be to create a work that can be considered ecological in itself (and not necessarily the subject of the work.) For example, by considering an artwork’s material or immaterial origin, production process and future sustainability.

The duration of the residency extends for 4-weeks taking place within the province of Nova Scotia between September and November 2012, (the exact dates are negotiated with artist and committee).  The selected artist will be expected to complete the proposed work and to engage with different community groups in his/her process of production and dissemination, including staff and members of EAC and VANS. During the residency, the artist will be encouraged to conduct a manageable number of studio visits with members of VANS.

In the final week of the residency, the artist will present the documentation of their process at the Khyber Centre for Arts in Halifax, NS through exhibition, an artist talk and a master class, and also, engage in organized public discussions on contemporary eco-art practices and the intersection of contemporary art and environmental practices.

Eligibility
Proposals will be accepted from artists across Canada who have experience in producing art work for public discussion and within professional contexts. Artists submitting must be a current member of Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS), even if they are applying from out of province. Please note that artists can attain a VANS membership at the time of application.

Support
A $2000 artist fee will be paid for the 4-week residency, as well as a small project material stipend and a per diem. Accommodation will be provided as well as any travel necessary in and around Nova Scotia. For such purposes, it would be ideal if the artist had a valid driver’s license.

Submissions
All artistic media is welcome. It is recommended that artists research environmental projects initiated by Ecology Action Centre, current environmental issues, and consider these in their proposed concept and materials, before submitting their proposal.

All submissions must include:

• A 1-page proposal detailing the project and referencing supporting research;
• 5 JPG (500 kb max) images of previously completed work related to your proposal and up to 5 digital images of the proposed project sketches [or a selection of time-based work not exceeding an accumulated duration of 10 minutes of previous and proposed work (max)] (CDR or DVD only);
• A corresponding complete annotated documentation list (numbered, title, media, date,   dimensions, description of work);
• Curriculum Vitae CV (3 pages max);
• An artist statement (500 words max);
• A project materials budget.

Complete proposals will be reviewed by a peer committee. Please send your submission electronically to the Re-Focus Residency Committee c/o VANS at vans@visualarts.ns.ca or by mail at 1113 Marginal Road Halifax, NS B3H 4P7.  

Submissions must be received by June 10, 2012 at 5pm.

If the artist would like the submitted exhibition proposal returned, they must include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) with their submission.

Selections
Selected artists will be notified by email, within 3-weeks of the submission deadline

About the Partners

Ecology Action Centre (EAC)
Since 1971 the Ecology Action Centre has been a vital and independent voice for environmental sustainability in Nova Scotia. The EAC is proud to be a membership-based, grassroots organization with an effective and unique structure and approach; we have over 1,200 members and 300 active volunteers. The EAC’s environmental work has a strong emphasis on environmental education and community development. For more information, visit www.ecologyaction.ca.

Khyber Centre for the Arts
Established in 1995, the Khyber Centre for the Arts fosters critical thought in society by operating an artist-run centre that presents non-commercial contemporary art and facilitates dialogue, social interaction and information exchange for professional and emerging artists and interested members of the general public. For more information, visit www.khyber.ca.

Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS)
Working for the advancement and rights of the visual arts and artists in Nova Scotia, VANS is an inclusive organization established in 1976. The non-profit service organization provides exhibition, marketing and educational opportunities and support to the visual arts sector across Nova Scotia. Recognized as a critical resource for the visual arts in Nova Scotia, the public frequently consults VANS about Nova Scotia-based artists and the visual arts sector, in general. Since 1978, VANS has published Visual Arts News, the only magazine in Atlantic Canada dedicated to contemporary art. As a primary resource for visual artists, providing access to a community of peers, VANS fosters excellence, skills development and lifelong learning in the arts.

Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS) gratefully acknowledges the support of the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage and their grants to small organizations program for supporting this project.

Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS)
1113 Marginal Road Halifax, NS B3H 4P7
t” (902) 423-4694, 1-866-225-8267, f: (902) 422-0881
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2011 AGM in Lake Charlotte, Nova Scotia

Please join us on Saturday, June 2nd for the VANS 2012 Annual General Meeting at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Learn about all that VANS was able to achieve in the last fiscal year and help contribute to VANS direction into the future.

All those attending the actual meeting must be current VANS members with voting privileges. To join VANS, click here.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) begins with a catered lunch at Noon in the MSVU Faculty Lounge where members and non-members alike can socialize before the meeting begins at 1pm.  Following the annual general meeting, there will be an artist tour at MSVU Art Gallery with Sara Hartland-Rowe at 4pm. At 6:30pm, there will be a  social dinner at Foggy Goggle in Downtown Halifax.

Please RSVP your attendance to the AGM and AGM activities, by completing the attached registration form electronically and emailing it to vans@visualarts.ns.ca or by printing and mailing it back to Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS) at 1113 Marginal Road Halifax, NS B3H 4P7.

To purchase a catered boxed lunch, visit the VANS Shopping Cart.

Should you require overnight accommodation in Halifax, VANS will be posting options here shortly.

For your information, Mount Saint Vincent University is located at 166 Bedford Highway in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For driving directions from out of town, please consult Google Maps.

The Gatherer

Bundles for Healing
Sarah Burwash
May 2 – 29, 2012

New drawings by emerging artist Sarah Burwash fill the Corridor Gallery from May 2- 29. Describing the exhibition, Burwash explains:

My work is guided by my desire to give voice to dormant and disguised histories, depicting people and places from another time through open-ended narrative drawings. I draw upon my personal history, literature, old newspapers, myths and tales told first hand. My interest lies in how history and the contemporary moment collide, and how this might be portrayed through human interactions, social behavior and relationships to the land, nature, family and community. My work seeks the threads that connect the past and present, weaving imagery that urges people to wander through the drawings, discovering more upon each view and unfolding questions about the foundations on which our communities are built.

Sarah Burwash graduated from the University of British Columbia Okanagan in 2009 with a BFA, spending a semester abroad in Hamburg, Germany at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. Her work is included in private and public collections and has been shown in Canada, the United States and Europe. She has participated in residencies in British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Colorado and is Yukon-bound next to attend the KIAC residency. Sarah recently had a solo exhibition at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts and completed her first animation through The Centre for Art Tapes Media Arts Scholarship program in Halifax where she currently resides, working full time as an artist and freelance illustrator.

Located inside the Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS) office at the Halifax Seaport, since 2000, the Corridor Gallery is complimented by a historical legacy of Nova Scotia culture, simple yet modern architectural elements and an array of current cultural activity in the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia office. The Corridor Gallery is located at 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia and is open Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.

For further information regarding the Corridor Gallery or this exhibition, please contact:

Becky Welter-Nolan, Programming Coordinator, Visual Arts Nova Scotia, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7, 902.423.4694 1.866.225.8267 f: 902.422.0881, communicate@visualarts.ns.ca.

Submission Deadline: June 1, 2012, 5pm
Exhibition Dates: July 4^th to August 29^th, 2012.

The HUB Gallery

The Hub Gallery is located in The Hub at 1673 Barrington Street, Halifax, 2nd floor. The Hub is a fresh take on the traditional business-centre, offering shared workspace and giving entrepreneurs, freelancers and small initiatives a platform to connect with creative colleagues. Open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 6pm, The Hub’s shared environment transpires in a classically designed architectural space with arched windows providing abundant natural lighting. The environment lends itself to be an ideal exhibition opportunity for artists. VANS in the Hub is a peer juried exhibition available to VANS members twice annually, each exhibition spanning two months.

Eligibility

To be eligible, participating artists must be a VANS member who is enlisted in the VANS e-studio directory or media library. Artists may become a member and enlist when applying. Visit http://www.visualarts.ns.ca for more information.

Exhibition Space

In the main space, works are hung from cable hanging systems on three walls – two walls are brick and measure at (width x height) 12ft by 4ft and another wall (not brick) measures 7ft by 5ft. The separated solo space wall measures at 12ft by 6ft. There are additional wall spaces which may also be considered for use by the selections committee, should additional work be selected.

Submissions

The selection committee encourages submissions of large scale two-dimensional works, but will also consider any two-dimensional and low-relief works that can be hung easily and securely on a wire hanging mechanism. Along with your submitting cover letter, please send a word document (.doc) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) proposal package that includes the below information and checklist:

• A maximum of 5 high quality images of work to be considered for the exhibition (CD, DVD, photographs, digital images titled and numbered in jpeg format) – all electronic files must be jpeg and be numbered in sequence – 01title.jpg… 05title.jpg, etc. The sequence must correspond with your attached image list;
• A complete image list, numbered in order with (01) title, media, date, dimensions corresponding to the provided support material;
• Artist statement (max 150 words);
• Description of the work (max 100 words)
• Description of hanging mechanism or any installation considerations

(Note: all work submitted must be completed and have a strong mechanism affixed for secure installation).

Please send your submissions electronically to communicate@visualarts.ns.ca or by letter post to Visual Arts Nova Scotia 1113 Marginal Road Halifax, NS B3H 4P7, by June 1, 2012.. If the artist would like the submitted exhibition proposal returned, they must include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) with their submission.

Selections

An exhibition committee comprised of Visual Arts Nova Scotia members reviews all submissions. All artists that submit will be notified regarding the committee’s selections, by email, two weeks after the submission deadline. Selected artists will be provided with an Exhibition Agreement, provided by the Programming Coordinator which must be included, when work is delivered and retrieved from the VANS office a week prior to the exhibition installation.

Installation & Dismantling

All work must be available for exhibition and ready to be displayed upon approval of the committee. Exhibiting artists are expected to drop off their selected work, ready to hang, at the VANS office as requested by the Programming Coordinator. Artists must also retrieve their work from the VANS office after the dismantling of the exhibition. VANS recommends the framing of paper works. Works on canvas do not need to be framed, but must have a secure and proper wire backing.  If the work is delivered not following these procedures, the work will not be exhibited. Installation and dismantling will be executed by the VANS Exhibition Committee.

General Exhibition Information

For more general information on The Hub, including images of the space, please visit http://thehubhalifax.ca/.

For additional information about this call for submissions or other VANS exhibition opportunities, please contact:

Becky Welter-Nolan
Programming Coordinator
Visual Arts Nova Scotia
1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7
t: 902.423.4694    1.866.225.8267   f:902.422.0881
communicate@visualarts.ns.ca

Any nominees who put their name forward will be elected in by the membership at VANS Annual General Meeting on Saturday, June 2, 2012.

Overall, a regional representative believes wholeheartedly in the importance and value of VANS to the visual arts community and the representative should be able to endorse the mandate and objectives of our organization without reservation.

Being a regional representative also offers visual artists and members of the visual arts community an exceptional volunteer opportunity to contribute to the advancement of the visual arts in Nova Scotia and the ongoing sustainability and direction of VANS, in general.

If you are interested in nominating a member or putting your own name forward and would like additional information, please contact Crystal at  director@visualarts.ns.ca.

Practices of Looking

Practices of Looking
Natalie Boterman
April 10 – 27, 2012

This installation of new drawings by emerging artist Natalie Boterman engages the Corridor Gallery from April 10 – 27, 2012. Describing the exhibition, Boterman states:

The act of seeing and the act of looking are two very different things. Seeing is something we do without any real consideration, but the act of looking is an activity that involves purpose and attention. ‘Practices of Looking’ is a new installation piece that uses text and mirrors that when placed together, requires the viewer to look in order perceive.

Natalie Willow Boterman is a Full-Time Dreamer. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1983, Boterman currently lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia as an Artist and in Arts Administration. She has exhibited her work at the Anna Leonowens Gallery, Khyber Centre for the Arts and Eyelevel Gallery, where she also curated the 2011 Y-Level emerging artists’ exhibition Come From Away. Boterman graduated from NSCAD University in 2011 with a BFA majoring in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts and is currently participating in the Visual Arts Nova Scotia Mentorship Program.

Located inside the Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS) office at the Halifax Seaport, since 2000, the Corridor Gallery is complimented by a historical legacy of Nova Scotia culture, simple yet modern architectural elements and an array of current cultural activity in the Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia office. The Corridor Gallery is located at 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia and is open Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.

For further information regarding the Corridor Gallery or this exhibition, please contact:

Becky Welter-Nolan, Programming Coordinator, Visual Arts Nova Scotia, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7, 902.423.4694 1.866.225.8267 f: 902.422.0881, communicate@visualarts.ns.ca

disCOMFORT Zone

Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS), in conjunction with Annapolis Region Community Arts Council (ARCAC), is pleased to announce an exhibition mounted by the artist members of the Annapolis West Region, from Middleton to Bear River.  The artists were challenged to create work outside of their “comfort zone” by working with media or in genres outside their norm, or to address issues and topics that they – or viewers – might find uncomfortable.

Exhibition committee member Susan Malmstrom said, “We wanted painters to try sculpting, realists to explore abstraction, and so on.  As an artist, if you’re not experimenting, you’re not growing.  We’re particularly excited that some members are presenting performance works and installation pieces for the first time.”  Many of the VANS members attended a workshop by renowned artist Michael Fernandes, presented by VANS and ARCAC, which educated members about the genre of performance art, while also offering inspiration to first time performance artists.

disCOMFORT Zone will open with a reception on April 8, 2012 from 2 to 4 PM at ARCAC’s ARTsPLACE Gallery, 396 St. George Street, Annapolis Royal, free to the public.  The show will run through May 6, and will also travel to Yarmouth in October of this year, where it will be exhibited in the Community Room Gallery of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s Western Branch.

To view exhibition documentation, please click here.

For more information on disCOMFORT Zone, contact Susan Malmstrom at theartist@susanmalmstrom.com, or 902-982-4645; for information on VANS, go to visualartsns.ca; for information on ARCAC, visit arcac-artsplace.weebly.com.

March 16, 2012 – From March 9 – 11, 2012, the 2011-12 Mentorship Program participants – Anne Macmillan, William Robinson, Natalie Boterman, Peter Dykhuis, Robert Bean and Ariella Pahlke – went to the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts for the 2^nd inaugural VANS Mentorship Program retreat.

The two day retreat intensive is intended to enhance and deepen the experience of peer mentorship through group discussion, collaboration, sharing of experiences and resources, critical reflection, and creating a supportive environment removed from daily responsibilities.

VANS coordinated the travel of a visiting facilitator – artist, writer and curator Christof Migone fostered participant reflection through inventive discussion processes. With Migone’s support, participants had the chance to build on their understanding of the mentorship experience, learn how they define themselves as artists, reflect on their practices, and test perceptions of successes and challenges. With new and outside perspective, the facilitator connected with the current program participants on diverse ideas and practices, teaching strategies and community building to enhance the experience of mentorship.

In addition, the retreat offered experiential reflection through collaborative creation, yoga, spring meanders through the woods, and experimentation with interactive artworks, allowing program participants to further develop confidence in identifying and asserting their program goals while advancing their practices.

Overall, the VANS Mentorship program retreat-intensive provided focused time, the sharing of resources and knowledge across the group in a natural and process based setting. Program participants were able to focus on their visual arts practice away from their usual environments, and experience process based discussion and activity to further enable reflection on their own artistic processes and goals.

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Since 2006, the VANS Mentorship Program has tailored to meet individual artistic concerns, concepts, working methods and ambitions for emerging artists. By investing intensely in a few individuals, for the last 4 years, the VANS Mentorship Program continues to contribute on a wider scale to the overall strength and sustainability of the Visual Arts in Nova Scotia.

The 2011-12 Mentorship Program Retreat was made possible through a Professional Development grant available to Small Organizations through the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. VANS would also like to acknowledge program supporters, the RBC Emerging Artist Foundation, the Craig Foundation and the 2011 Nova Scotia Portia White Protégé Prize.

Please visit the VANS Mentorship program for more information.

The Spring 2012 workshop Series kicks off with a new series of workshops that recognize a growing interest across Nova Scotia to present visual art in public and often unconventional spaces. The Public Art Development Series will be facilitated by artist Ilan Sandler in Halifax and through satellite to Cape Breton. The Spring 2012 Workshop Series also will also offer career development opportunities relating to  understanding artist fees, portfolios for commercial art galleries, preparing for your taxes, exhibition shipping and installation, free and easy online marketing and so much more.

This spring 2012, VANS is also happy to offer an additional opportunity for visual artists or those working with visual artists to learn about contracts and copyright from a legal perspective through an Information Session provided by the Artists Legal Information Society (ALIS). ALIS is offering this information session in-kind and suggests a donation to the VANS Artist Emergency Fund. Those that donate over $10 will receive a charitable tax receipt from VANS.

In tandem with its workshops, VANS offers Peer to Peer Discussion forums also during the fall and spring workshop series. Peer to Peer discussions uncover the successes and difficulties experienced by visual artists in their practices and consider strategies to build on these experiences. The first free peer to peer discussion of the Spring 2012 workshop series is an After School Special that will bring together emerging artists with NSCAD graduating students to discuss what the options are following graduation.  VANS peer forums are free and open to the public and offer a great opportunity for artists to talk about their practices.

In an ongoing effort to provide accessible career development training for visual artists,  VANS continues to offer discounts to current VANS members which ensures that the resources necessary for the advancement of their visual arts practices are accessible.

Visit the VANS website for full details on the Spring 2012 workshop series, including fee specials, registration forms and how to become a VANS member to access discounts and other special programming serving visual artists.

Since 2004, VANS continues to offer a fall and spring workshop series focused on professional development and art career practices based on member requests and recognizing a void in this particular training available to artists outside of the academic institutions. These workshops discuss interrelationships of topics across commercial and public sectors and in relation to the self-employed artist’s creative practice. By offering workshops such as this, VANS keeps visual artists informed and aware of their opportunities, while at the same time providing applicable skills to visual artists and those working with visual artists to advance the visual arts in Nova Scotia

For further information on the VANS’ Workshop Series or other programs, please contact:

Becky Welter-Nolan
Programming Coordinator
Visual Arts Nova Scotia
1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7
902.423.4694    1.866.225.8267   f: 902.422.0881
communicate@visualarts.ns.ca
http://www.visualarts.ns.ca