27 Oct 2019

Shift Canada Residency

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I’ve seldom been so glad of the extra hour’s sleep, courtesy of the clock change, as I was last night. Yesterday I got home after a short but very intense residency at NSCAD in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was a whirlwind of mental, physical and social activity over ten days, and will take me a while to process.

Four makers travelled from Scotland to Canada, where we were paired with four Nova Scotian makers for a collaborative exchange. My partner is Andrea Tsang Jackson, a contemporary quilt artist, and we spent much of the week getting to know each other’s work and interests. The themes of the exchange are identity, sustainability and collaboration, so there is a lot to explore. We talked about our home cities and their changing landscapes; about our own backgrounds and sense of belonging; about materials and resources; about the role of textiles in shaping and expressing identity; and much, much more. It was exciting and energising and I am looking forward to seeing where we end up.

Our Scottish foursome were very warmly welcomed in Halifax. We hadn’t known each other before we travelled, but sharing a rented house together on Halifax Common soon took care of that. Applied Arts Scotland provided the funding which enabled us to travel; NSCAD provided us with studio space and materials; and our partners generously took us out and about in the city and the region – so we had nothing to wish for except more time!

Around Halifax

Studio time

Field Trip to Taproot Fibre Lab

The next few months will see us developing our collaborative work, with a return visit planned for the spring and an exhibition next summer. I’ll keep you posted…

“Shift Canada Residency” was posted by Cally on 27 October 2019 at https://callybooker.co.uk

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2 Responses

  1. Sheila
    |

    Wow! I’ll look forward to the results. Too bad you were at the FAR side of Canada from me.