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.

Lise Cormier makes her Netflix debut in The Umbrella Academy.

In the opening scene of Episode 9 of the Umbrella Academy’s first season, Lise Cormier plays an unsuspecting nanny to a troubled and powerful girl in a backstory flashback. 

Netflix's Umbrella Academy.

Lise Cormier converses, sings and eventually flies through the air as she is tossed out of frame. The series stars Nova Scotia’s Ellen Page and other celebrity names like Mary J. Blige.

As Lise describes in her IMDb profile, she’s been acting, singing, and dancing in English and French productions. Her work onstage has been nominated twice for a Dora Award, and she has worked with many theatre companies across Canada, including Toronto theatre giant Soulpepper.

Lise has voiced 'Misty Simmons' on the award-winning CBC Radio drama Backbencher, voiced roles for The National Film Board, and has also appeared in many Lifetime Network movies.

Lise played the title role in Odyssey Theatre's production of The Amorous Servant. About this role, Patrick Langston from Artsfile wrote: 'A firecracker . . . played by the tirelessly excellent Lise Cormier.'

Watch the full Netflix clip and others on Lise Cormier’s reel.

November 27 is GivingTuesday, A Global Day of Giving. Here's How to Take Part

If you're uninspired by Black Friday or uninterested in Cyber Monday, today is a welcome change of pace. 

Or if you love those days and want to give back after shopping, today is an added bonus.

Today is a day to celebrate generosity.

GivingTuesday is a global day of giving. It's a day when you can make a significant impact with your passion for the arts.

There are a number of ways you can be part of GivingTuesday:

• Consider making a gift today at CanadaHelps.org (direct link to our donation page).
• Help us get the word out on social media, using @nstalenttrust and the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #NSGives.
• Be a social media ambassador and share our Facebook page posts with your network today.
• Take photos and tell your network why you love the Talent Trust and post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with #NSGives and #GivingTuesday.
• Or simply do something kind for someone.
• Is there a local artist whose work you admire? An artist you follow on social media, who might not be famous? Tell them how much you like their work.

Here's an infographic from Nova Scotia Gives to show some of the impact of GivingTuesday 2017. 

Thank you for joining us on GivingTuesday!

Talent Trust Launches Campaign to Double Scholarship Funding

We're marking our 75th anniversary in 2019 with an ambitious project: we've launched a campaign to double the funding for scholarships awarded to Nova Scotians studying in the arts.

 

Our campaign launches today with a video featuring seven Talent Trust scholarship recipients: Maggie Oates-Johnson (ballet), Devin Huang (piano), Reeny Smith (voice), Michael Hirschbach (circus arts), Veronique MacKenzie (dance), Sandra Brownlee (fibre arts), and Isaac Fresia (architecture).

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Fibre artist and Talent Trust scholarship
recipient Sandra Brownlee

“The scholarship was a huge boost for me, not just financially, but in terms of the morale boost as well. It came just when I needed it the most. It was thrilling, and it made what I was doing seem more real, and viable. It put me on a really good path,” says Sandra Brownlee, who received her Talent Trust scholarship in 1980.

Sandra has built a career as a practicing artist who exhibits her work internationally, and is a Governor General's Award winner. She gives back to the community by sharing her skills and experience through teaching. Sandra lives and works in Halifax.

Pianist and Talent Trust scholarship recipient Devin Huang

At the other end of the spectrum, Devin Huang received his first Talent Trust scholarship in 2016 at the age of 10. He’s already won Kiwanis Festival and Chebucto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition awards, and is a committed piano student.

As you may already know, Talent Trust scholarships are awarded across disciplines: music, voice, dance, theatre, literary arts, circus arts, design, visual arts, film, and new media. Recipients come from every corner of the province, from Sydney to Barrington, and Musquodoboit Harbour to Wolfville.

With assistance from Support4Culture, the scholarship campaign video was produced by Fillet Production Services in Halifax.

“We’re proud and honoured to support the development of more than 1,000 Nova Scotia artists over the past 75 years,” says our Board of Directors Chair Erin Sparks. “There’s extraordinary talent in this province. We know education costs are rising. We want to support our artists more.”

The Talent Trust is pleased to work in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia, which assists with administrative costs. That funding allows 100% of donations to go directly to scholarships for emerging Nova Scotian artists across disciplines.

Thank you for being part of our community and believing in our artists. And thank you for sharing our news through the links below.

The Challenge Continues - Help us Win $10,000 for Scholarships!

We're nearly halfway through the Great Canadian Giving Challenge. Sponsored by Giv3 and CanadaHelps, every $1 donated in June is an automatic entry for the Talent Trust (and other registered charities) to win $10,000.

If we win, that money will go directly to scholarships. Every penny.

There's a minimum $3 donation required. So if you donate $10, the Talent Trust will be entered into the draw 10 times. If you can donate $3, that still gives us three chances to win.


The Challenge ends June 30, 2018 at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). The grand prize draw is on Canada Day, July 1, 2018.

This is important: only donations made on givingchallenge.ca or through the canadahelps.org website will be entered for the prize draw. (Complete details and regulations can be found on the Great Canadian Giving Challenge website.)

$10,000 would enable the Talent Trust to award five more scholarships of $2,000 each to emerging Nova Scotia artists. That can be a real boost to someone's studies, and a significant vote of confidence.

Want to help us make a difference? Click here to donate. Thank you!

Win a Basket filled with Art experiences and support emerging NS artists at the same time. Raffle Tickets can be purchased at the Craft Nova Scotia Christmas Show Nov 17-19, Cunard Centre, Halifax

Symphony Nova Scotia contribution

Do you like to support emerging Nova Scotia artists through our Scholarship Fund and get a chance to win a Basket filled with art experiences?

Raffle tickets can be purchased in person at the NSDCC's Christmas Show at the Cunard Event Centre, Pier 23 in Halifax from Nov 17 - Nov 19. 

Our friendly board members and volunteers will be happy to chat with you about Talent Trust recipients and all the wonderful donations by local art organizations and artists. (List attached below.)

This year we are dividing the donations up into three baskets. Your chances to win are bigger.

Raffle tickets are 1 for $5 or 5 for $20. We accept cash and cheques. (There is an ATM in the Cunard Centre). 
All proceeds will go in full towards our Scholarship Fund. 
You can only enter the draw if you live in Nova Scotia.
Licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Authority: AGD-103528-17

Where and When:Cunard Event Centre at Pier 23
961 Marginal Road, Halifax

• Friday, Nov 17: 10 a.m.- 9 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov 18: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov 19: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

We thank Susan Hanrahan and Julie Rosvall of Craft Nova Scotia Designer Craft Show for their support. The Christmas show is a juried craft event of Maritime artists. 

The draw will be held on December 12, 2017 at 3:45 p.m. during our annual Special Awards Ceremony at the Central Library in Halifax, NS. 

Thank You to all our friends from the arts community for their generous contributions.

Alan Syliboy, small art work alansyliboy.ca

Alex E. Pierce, book: Vox Humana ealexpierce.com

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia: Complimentary Family Membership for 2018  artgalleryofnovascotia.ca

Blue Engine String Quartet, 3 CDs blueenginestringquartet.com

Cecilia Concerts: 2 tickets to O Mistress Moon on January 21, 2018 with Jennifer King stcecilia.ca

Charlotte Wilson-Hammond RCA: small original painting charlottewilsonhammond.net

Dawn MacNutt RCA: small sculpture dawnmacnutt.com

Debut Atlantic: ticket for two valid for the 2018 concert season debutatlantic.ca

Easternfront Theatre: ticket to 2018 season easternfronttheatre.com

FIN Atlantic International Film Festival: 2 complimentary tickets for 2018 finfestival.ca

Jacqueline Steudler SCA: small original art work jacquelinesteudler.com 

Jenni Blackmore: book jenniblackmore

Live Art Dance: 2 complimentary tickets liveartdance.ca

Memory Lane Heritage Village: Lake Charlotte: Family Pass for Heritage Village Tour  heritagevillage.ca 

Rose Vaughan: CD rosevaughantrio.com

Sheree Fitch: book / reading / trip to new book store in River John shereefitch.com

Symphony Nova Scotia: 2 tickets to Rhapsody in Blue and West Side Story on April 21, 2018  symphonynovascotia.ca

Tangled Garden Gift Shop: Wolfville: Dazzling Damson Plum Liqueur tangledgardenherbs.ca

Wayne Boucher: original small painting wayneboucher.ca

Will Fisher (2008 NSTT Chico Berardi Award): CD Portage willfisher.ca

You can only enter the draw if you live in Nova Scotia.

Licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Authority: AGD-103528-17

Application Deadline May 1 at 5 p.m. (ADT) is approaching fast

Supporting Nova Scotians studying in the arts since 1944 with scholarships and special awards. 

We support theatre, dance, new media, visual arts, literary arts, circus arts, music, and film studies.

Application deadline for Fall/Winter studies is May 1, 2017 at 5 p.m. (ADT)

(no age restriction)

Thank you Tom Gerard for your Sponsorship towards our Scholarship Fund

                Thank you

Tom Gerard

of 

kw Commercial Advisors

Your support of the NSTT Scholarship Fund will help NS emerging artists in their formative years. 

Thank You!

Tom Gerard’s sponsorship will be matched by the artsVest program.

The Nova Scotia Talent Trust has been approved to be part of the 2016 artsVest matching sponsorship program.  Business sponsorship contributions will be matched through the artsVest program. For more information please contact Jacqueline Steudler, Executive Director at director(at)nstalenttrust.ns.ca

Thank you Lola Gentile for your Sponsorship towards the NSTT Scholarship Fund

Thank you 

Lola Gentile

of 

Premiere Mortgages

Your support of the NSTT Scholarship Fund will help NS emerging artists in their formative years. 

Thank You!

Lola Gentile’s sponsorship will be matched by the artsVest program.

The Nova Scotia Talent Trust has been approved to be part of the 2016 artsVest matching sponsorship program.  Business sponsorship contributions will be matched through the artsVest program. For more information please contact Jacqueline Steudler, Executive Director at director(at)nstalenttrust.ns.ca