Nocturne Artist Talk – Panel Discussion
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October 17 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Dawn Shepard, Ryan Gray, Lance Sampson(Aquakultre), Sonia Chow and Seamus Gallagher build worlds in their art and the communities around them. Curator Shuvanjan Karmaker brought them together as Nocturne 2024 Anchor Artists to create work that inspires us to build worlds of our own.
We will be discussing the impact of matriarchs in African-Nova Scotian families, the place of Circus in Atlantic Arts culture, the concept of Crouching Tiger and, the intersection of gender reveal and climate disasters.
Aquakultre is the artistic voice of Lance Sampson — an uncommonly versatile singer, rapper, composer and storyteller from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has released multiple singles, eps, collabs and two full albums, 2020’s Legacy and 2022’s Don’t Trip, both of which were long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize.
Coming up in Uniacke Square, Aquakultre traces his roots to Africville, East Preston, Weymouth Falls, Liverpool & Delaps Cove; back two hundred years to the arrival of the Black Loyalists from the American colonies. Driven by his passion for history and culture, Lance is currently developing a theatrical production in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed 2b Theatre Company. He recently delivered the first season of GeneratioNS: Black Memories, a TV documentary series that he created, directs, and hosts (airing fall 2024). All the while,he has been doing deep research and collecting oral histories from African Nova Scotian communities for his next record, titled 1783 in homage to his Black Loyalist ancestry.
Aquakultre’s installation for Nocturne is inspired by his deep love and respect for the elders, their long memories and cherished stories of love, loss, hardship, and triumph. Having grown up in a community that experienced so much loss of connection, family lore, and culture in the razing of Africville, he is driven to make art that preserves and celebrates all that remains for the benefit of the next generations.
Through all his works, Aquakultre is on a mission to share his love for his unique and beautiful corner of the diaspora. Through his community work, his recordings, performances, and collaborations, Aquakultre delivers a poignant reflection of his personal evolution and his place in community as a Black Nova Scotian.
Breaking Circus Collective (BCC) is a collection of contemporary circus artists working out of Kjipuktuk (Halifax, NS). Breaking Circus sets and breaks their own rules in order to create, explore and engage with the full spectrum of our human experience. The company reaches into the unknown and finds new ways to weave stories through cross-discipline experiments and integration of technology.
The collective includes 3 core members plus a small roster of artists and new recruits/ interns. BCC is Black-led with at least half of its members being IBPOC-identified since its inception in 2016. The BCC is deeply committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility and was formed out of the desire to create a supportive ecosystem for IBPOC artists and artists from other underrepresented groups.
Dawn Shepherd (Co-Founder, Breaking Circus): Dawn Shepherd is a multi-disciplinary aerialist and former elite trainer at the École nationale du cirque de Montréal. She is also a dancer, rigger, producer, actor, director, and choreographer among other talents which are fully utilized at Breaking Circus. Dawn has also produced her own documentary, Artist in the Black, and recently danced in the upcoming streaming series, Washington Black.
Ryan Gray (Co-Founder, Breaking Circus): Ryan is an accomplished drummer, percussionist, composer, music director and contemporary circus artist.
Sonia Chow:
“My practice blurs the imaginary boundaries between art, craft and design. Whether investigating materials, processes, function, or form – I let the work inform me, both as mentor and muse. I am happiest when working with my hands, and enjoy the challenge of transforming what has been overlooked and coaxing meaning from the undervalued. I am always on the lookout for crouching tigers within the discarded. (In Chinese culture, a “crouching tiger” is one who is underestimated and denied opportunities to reach their full potential.)”
Sonia Chow is a designer, artist and educator. She lived in Tokyo and Hong Kong from 2002 to 2018 before moving to Halifax, and now is focused on making art from textiles, wood, words, salvaged materials and found objects. She has a BDes in Communication Design and a MFA in Studio (interdisciplinary art). Sonia was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts for Graphic Design in 2011 for a body of work spanning branding and identity, publication, packaging and interior graphics. Carving a 4-tonne ice sculpture in 2018 compelled her return to school to concentrate on making art. Sonia created three art suites of snow and ice for Icehotel Sweden with her partner (2016, 2018, 2022); was artist-inresidence at Centre for Craft Nova Scotia’s wood studio (2022-23) and at the Textile Museum of Canada (2024). She was
the recipient of the
Séamus Gallagher is a lens-based media artist living in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia). They use self-portraiture and performing for the camera to address gender performances within a digital/online context. Their work is heavily influenced by pop music, video game aesthetics, and writers like José Esteban Muñoz, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Mark Fisher. Outside of photography and video, they generally work with the video game engine Unity to create virtual reality art projects. Gallagher is the recipient of the 2022 Scotiabank New Generation Photography Award, the 2019 BMO 1st Art! Award, and the 2017 AIMIA | AGO Photography Scholarship. They have exhibited at the Locarno Film Festival, the Museum of Fine Art of Leipzig, as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto. They were recently the Atlantic finalist for the 2023 Sobey Art Award presented by the National Gallery of Canada.
Festival Curator, Shuvanjan Karmaker:
Shuvanjan Karmaker is an inter-disciplinary artist, curator and arts worker. Kjipuktuk has been their home for about 15 years and they have spent most of that working in its Arts community. Shuvanjan’s current work in arts examines the intersection of South Asian diaspora and Black American Music.
“I’m a student of history, development and art. I believe my job is to constantly be creative and facilitate creative spaces & processes for artists. The art created during, is a by-product. Happy incidents!”
Shuvanjan is the festival curator for Nocturne 2024, and Co-Director of Everyseeker Festival.
They volunteer their time as a Board member at SuddenlyListen, an organization focused exclusively on exploratory, improvised chamber music and creative art events. And Co-Chair(BOD) at Choirs for Change an organization that supports social change movements through innovative choral events.
Shuvanjan will be curating paintings by Christopher Webb this November!
Shuvanjan can also be found working in the book publishing industry as part of BookNet Canada, developing technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry.