75th Anniversary Launch on February 7, 2019

February 7, 2019 from 

1-3 p.m.

at the 

Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia 

10 Cherry Brook Road

Cherry Brook, NS

We are launching our 75th Anniversary Celebrations, setting off a series of events across Nova Scotia marking the significance of our organization’s impact.

“One only needs to look to the long list of notable alum and their accomplishments to see the impact on our own communities. The Talent Trust is a catalyst for vibrancy, a family to our artists, a community for its supporters and a commitment to Nova Scotian artists of the future.” - Erin Sparks, NSTT Chair

Hosted by CBC’s Portia Clark, the launch will honour the people and organizations that contributed to this rare milestone, reflecting on the compelling ideas and creative values that ensured its legacy. Dancers Maggie Oates-Johnson and Veronique MacKenzie, musicians Devin Huang and Reeny Smith, circus arts performer Mike Hirschbach, and textile artist Sandra Brownlee will share their stories and talents with live performances. 

The Talent Trust’s Honorary Chair His Honour, The Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, ONS, QC, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, and Her Honour Mrs. Patsy LeBlanc will be in attendance as well as The Honourable Myra Freeman, Minister Leo Glavine and Minister Tony Ince.

Since 1944, the Talent Trust has provided more than $2 million to over 1,000 Nova Scotians, primarily young people, who have demonstrated talent and potential to become professional artists in theatre, dance, fine craft and design, music, circus arts, media, film, literary, and visual arts. There is no other comparable organization in the country. 

The event is free and open to the public. 

For more information, go to nstalenttrust.ca or call the Talent Trust at (902) 492-6801.

The NSTT is supported by the 2011 Canada Games Legacy Fund, RBC Foundation, The Craig Foundation, the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council, Dalhousie Music in Medicine HEALS Program, Support4Culture, NSTT Foundation, Cecilia Concerts, Visual Arts Nova Scotia, Theatre Nova Scotia, Debut Atlantic, Craft Nova Scotia, immediaC, Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, Symphony Nova Scotia, Neptune Theatre, FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, Radio Oui98.5, Mocean Dance, Art Gallery of NS, CBU Art Gallery, MSVU Art Gallery, Halifax Central Library, Halifax Municipality, and Arts Nova Scotia.  

The NSTT is pleased to work in partnership with the province to develop and promote our cultural resources for all Nova Scotians.

Letitia Fraser, visual artist and 2018 RBC Emerging Artist Award winner, shows her solo exhibition, Mommay's Patches, at the Anna Leonowens Gallery.  

Opening Reception:
February 4th, 5:30 - 7:00pm 

Exhibits runs Feb 5th - 9th. 

1891 Granville Street. 

Kieron Harper, Olivia MacLean, Mollie Oates-Johnson in Alice the Ballet at the Spatz Theatre Feb 17

Kieron Harper, Olivia MacLean, and Mollie Oates-Johnson are in the cast of Alice the Ballet, hosted by Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts and The Conservatory School of Dance. 

The ballet takes place February 17, 2019 at the Spatz Theatre in Halifax. There are two performances, at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.

Kieron Harper, second from left, will play
the Mad Hatter in Alice the Ballet.

Kieron Harper will play the Mad Hatter in Alice. 

He received a Talent Trust dance scholarship in 2017 and attended the School of Alberta Ballet.

Kieron was one of the winners of the Collective Creation Award for choreography in the 2018 Dance Nova Scotia Taking Steps to Fly competition.

Dancer Olivia MacLean.

Olivia MacLean recently received a pair of Talent Trust dance scholarships to support her studies. 

She attended the four-week 2018 Summer Intensive at Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS) in Toronto, and in the fall of 2018 Olivia studied dance at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts in Halifax.

Dancer Mollie Oates-Johnson.

Mollie Oates-Johnson received Talent Trust dance scholarships in 2017 and 2018. 

She’s studied at the Leica Hardy School of Dance and attended summer intensive programs at the School of Alberta Ballet, Dallas Conservatory, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and National Ballet School. 

Mollie was in the lineup for KiDanCo’s spring 2018 season and more recently appeared in the beloved holiday favourite The Nutcracker at the Rebecca Cohn in Halifax.

Alice the Ballet features 35 dancers ages eight to 18 from the conservatory’s award-winning School of Dance, including senior students from the professional program dancing the lead roles.

This adaptation, filled with elaborate costumes, outlandish characters and vivid sets, combines elements of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The ballet is set to the score of Edvard Grieg.

The School of Dance’s annual children’s production provides students and the community with a rare opportunity to experience a full-scale classical ballet.

Children of all ages are welcome to attend a pre-show Alice the Ballet craft event at 12:30 p.m. in the lobby of Spatz theatre. 

During intermissions the audience will be able to have posters signed and photos taken with the dancers from the ballet.

For more information, see the Alice the Ballet Facebook event page.

Details
Alice the Ballet
Sunday, February 17, 2019
1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Spatz Theatre, Halifax

Tickets $20 and $15
Purchase tickets online from the Spatz Theatre.

Gharrett Paon film to be screened at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

Actor, producer filmmaker Gharrett Paon.

Gharrett Paon (with Bretten Hannam) will have his short film WILDFIRE screened at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France as part of Telefilm Canada's "Not Short On Talent" showcase.

The screening takes place on February 6, 2019.

Gharrett is a Métis (Mi’kmaq/Acadian) actor, producer, and co-founder of Rebel Road Films. 

He received a Talent Trust film scholarship as well as the Shelagh Mackenzie Award and the 2011 Canada Games Young Artists of Excellence in 2017, the same year he graduated from Dalhousie University and completed a residency in the Canadian Film Centre’s Cineplex Entertainment Film Program.

The Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival is the world's largest film festival dedicated to short films, the second largest film festival in France after Cannes.

Founded in 1981, the first International Festival was presented in 1988. The 2017 Festival saw more than 160,000 entries and welcomed more than 3,500 professionals.

Congratulations to the winners of our Baskets of Art!

l-r: Barbara Cochrane, Christopher Henkelmann, Joanne Beauchamps

Congratulations to Barbara Cochrane, Christopher Henkelmann, and Joanne Beauchamps!

Thank you to all of you that bought a raffle ticket. We were able to raise over $3,000 for our scholarship program.

Thank you again to our generous friends from the arts community that contributed original art works, complimentary tickets to film, theatre, and concerts, books, CDs, DVDs, and sweet treats. 

Shauntay Grant's play The Bridge at Neptune Theatre January 22 - February 10, 2019

Writer and storyteller Shauntay Grant.

Shauntay Grant’s play The Bridge will be onstage at Neptune Theatre’s Fountain Hall January 22 - February 10, 2019.

Shauntay received a Talent Trust scholarship to support her studies in music. She is a writer and storyteller who teaches creative writing at Dalhousie University.
As Halifax's third poet laureate, she organized Canada's first national gathering of Canadian poets laureate. 

Shauntay has presented her work at events including Canada’s national Word on the Street festivals, the Vancouver Writers Festival, Toronto's Luminato Festival, Australia's National Young Writers’ Festival, and the Jamaica Poetry Festival. 

Her plays have been presented by 2b theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, and Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal, and b current in Toronto.

Directed by Anthony Black, The Bridge is a 2b theatre company and Neptune Theatre co-production in association with Obsidian Theatre.

Set in a rural Black Nova Scotian community, The Bridge explores the complexities of a relationship between two brothers strained over 20 years of secrecy, sin and shame. Secrets are revealed one by one from the brothers themselves, as well as a trio of community gossips who provide the musical backdrop for this gospel-infused tale.

To purchase tickets, visit Neptune Theatre online.

To learn more about Shauntay Grant, visit her website at shauntaygrant.com.

Announcing the Nova Scotia Talent Trust 2019 Scholarship Application Deadlines

We’re pleased to announce that we are ready to receive new scholarship applications for 2019.  

The deadlines are fast approaching!

The scholarship application process will again happen online, thanks to the generous support by Code & Mortar, a Halifax-based web design and development firm, and the Support4Culture program.

We advise applicants to read the submission guidelines carefully and to submit their applications early since there are a number of changes to the submission procedures this year.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINES

Spring/Summer study: 
5:00 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST)
March 1, 2019

Fall/Winter study: 
5:00 p.m. Atlantic Daylight Saving Time (ADT)
May 1, 2019

For more information, go to nstalenttrust.ca or call the Talent Trust at (902) 492-6801.

Please help us spread the word: If you know a Nova Scotian student that is studying in the arts, let them know about this opportunity and our March 1 and May 1 deadlines.