Lucy Pullen in First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust

LUCY PULLEN: NS TALENT TRUST SCHOLARSHIP 1992 

 “I am left-handed and forgot, as a young art student, about the difference in scale between New York City and Halifax. Manhattan is a grid, so I used the geometry of the city to overcome this lack of foresight. The walk to school, eight blocks north and one block east, felt like a feat of navigation. The radius of my route gradually grew to include museums and specific installations I was studying at the time, like The Broken Kilometer by Walter DeMaria. I had time, with this support, to look at things I was fascinated by but didn’t understand”. 

Join us for the Opening Reception on Saturday, May 25 at 2 p.m. at MSVU Art Gallery in Halifax.

Lucy Pullen was born in Montreal, Quebec. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, in 1994. After receiving her MFA from the Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, in 2001, she held a tenured position in the Visual Arts at the University of Victoria. During her time there she led a collaborative team to build The Cloud Chamber, a freestanding sculpture that also works as a detector and imager of cosmic rays which is currently on display in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. She currently lives and continues her art practice in New York City, where she also teaches at Montclaire State University and Brooklyn College at the University of New York.

Dan O’Neill in First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

DAN O'NEIL: NS TALENT TRUST SCHOLARSHIP 1997

 “The Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarships I received in 1997 was one of the most significant and unexpected moments for me at that stage of my progress, as that acknowledgment definitely reflected the success of my first solo exhibition under the Emerging Artist Series at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. 

That award led to other equally significant achievements, yet still to this day, I truly believe that the NSTT award unquestionably motivated and sustained my intent to further establish my visual art career with confidence and a sense of self-certainty. I have carried that pivotal moment with me ever since.” 

Join us for the Opening Reception on Saturday, May 25 at 2 p.m. at MSVU Art Gallery in Halifax. 

Dan O’Neill was born in Montreal, Quebec. He received a Double Major with Honors in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking from OCAD University, Toronto, in 1993; a BFA in Studio Art from NSCAD University, Halifax, in 1994; and an MFA in Studio and Media Art from NSCAD University in 1999. In 2011, he earned the Recognition Award as an Established artist from the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. He works primarily in lithography, although he continues working on his interdisciplinary practice that includes drawing, painting, writing and collage. He lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he has been teaching at NSCAD University as a Regular Part-Time Faculty for over 20 years.

Sara Hartland-Rowe in First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

SARA HARTLAND: NS TALENT TRUST SCHOLARSHIP 1991 and 1992 

 “I received NSTT scholarships in 1991 and 1992, funds which made my MFA studies in Chicago possible. Being a student in Chicago was absolutely formative — a challenging institution, an exceptional cohort of fellow MFA candidates, and time in a great city with great collections of historical and contemporary art. I am very grateful to the Talent Trust for their assistance.” 

Join us for the Opening Reception on Saturday, May 25 at 2 p.m. at MSVU Art Gallery in Halifax.

Sara Hartland-Rowe has lived and worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, since 2000. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, and her MFA from the University of Illinois, Boston. She works as a painter and site-based installation artist, often experimenting with form and structure and representing human beings as the subject of her work. She was a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award for her large-scale permanent site-based painting for Halifax Transit, which was completed in 2010. She continues her practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she teaches at NSCAD University. 

Breagh Mackinnon Plays for the Juno Awards with her Port Cities Band on March 17, 2019.

As a member of Port Cities, past recipient and current Board member, Breagh Mackinnon was selected to perform in front of over 1,200 music industry elite at the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on March 17 2019.

From http://www.portcities.ca/

This follows her participation in the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class, where Breagh and her bandmates received industry mentorship courtesy of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and Slaight Music.

This masterclass and performance adds to a list of growing accolades including 2019 East Coast Music Award nominations for Songwriter of the Year and Entertainer of the Year, five 2017 Nova Scotia Music Awards, a SOCAN #1 Award (for “Back to the Bottom”), and stints at #1 on CBC and Spotify charts. Breagh Mackinnon with Port Cities has amassed over 1.5 million streams internationally, showcased at The Great Escape, Focus Wales, and the Reeperbahn Festival, and will be releasing their debut in the U.K. and Germany this year.

Read more about her Nova Scotian influence in a recent CBC article and watch her performance on JUNO Awards.

Reeny Smith gets high recognition in CBC’s Searchlight Competition.

Last week Reeny Smith’s song, Good Girl Swag, ranked in the top 10 out of thousands of deserving submissions. 

Through a combination of public voting and jury selection, the annual competition awards Juno-ready Canadian musicians prizes courtesy of the Juno Awards, the National Music Centre and CBC Music.

By getting to the final round, Reeny Smith accrued national attention to her music and in particular, her song writing.

As Smith says on her website, the thing she’s the proudest of, is developing her craft as a songwriter; and being recognized for all of the hard work she’s put into the depth and realism of her work.

“My biggest achievement thus far has been recognized internationally for my song writing work. Song writing was never something I thought I was good at, so to have reached this level of validation means a great deal to me.”

Since winning the Talent Trust Portia White Award in 2010, Smith has gone on to receive a series of additional awards including the Music Nova Scotia’s African Canadian Artist of the Year award in 2016, 2017 and 2018 as well as Best RnB Artist award in The Coast’s Best of Halifax awards in 2017 and 2018.

Watch the Good Girl Swag official music video.