Sandra Brownlee in First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

SANDRA BROWNLEE: NS TALENT TRUST SCHOLARSHIP 1980 

 “I received my NSTT Scholarship in 1980 after my first year of graduate school at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. I had managed to fund the first year but was not sure how I would be able to afford the second! 

The letter from the Talent Trust gave me a huge boost and the confidence that I could somehow come up with the rest of the money. Shortly afterwards Cranbrook awarded me a scholarship too, and that combined with money earned from my summer job allowed me to complete the program. I’ll always be grateful to the Talent Trust for their support during a pivotal time in my development.” 

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

Sandra Brownlee is a Halifax-based interdisciplinary artist and teacher. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, Halifax, and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan. She has received several awards including the Governor Generals Award in Visual and Media Arts (2014) and was a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award (2012). She lives and works in Halifax, where she has been an active teacher for 48 years and continues her practice in weaving and tactile notebook keeping.

Fibre Artist, Teacher, Mentor - Meet Sandra Brownlee and Watch our 75th Anniversary Video

Sandra Brownlee is a practicing fibre artist, teacher, and mentor. She’s one of the seven Talent Trust scholarship recipients who appear in our 75th anniversary scholarship campaign video, which was created to help us double our scholarship funds for emerging Nova Scotia artists.

Artist Sandra Brownlee at the loom.

She began weaving in 1971, and received a Talent Trust scholarship in 1980 to support her studies in textiles. She received her BFA from NSCAD University, and continued her education at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where she completed her MFA in Fibers.

A scholarship can be an important part of a budding career. "It was thrilling, and it made what I was doing seem more real, and viable", says Sandra about her Talent Trust scholarship. "It put me on a really good path."

Sandra has received numerous awards, including the 2014 Governor General Visual and Media Arts Saidye Bronfman Award, a Canada Council B Grant, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

She’s one of the ten artists in our 75th anniversary visual arts exhibition, which opens at Mount Saint Vincent Art Gallery in Halifax in May of 2019, and travels to Cape Breton University Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Yarmouth.

Believe in the creativity of Nova Scotians. Sandra Brownlee created this piece for our 75th anniversary video.

Sandra’s work began with weaving, and now includes working in notebooks and stitching words onto cloth. She created the “Believe in the creativity” piece for our 75th anniversary scholarship campaign video, which is part of our “Believe in the creativity of Nova Scotians” Talent Trust tag line.

You can find Sandra’s work in the Nova Scotia Art Bank, Canada Council Art Bank, Massey Foundation Collection at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, and Cranbrook Art Museum.

Sandra is a highly respected teacher. She currently offers her Tactile Notebook Workshops internationally, and has taught at NSCAD University, University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

We’d like to thank Sandra for allowing us into her studio and being so generous with her time to help us create our scholarship campaign video.




Be part of the campaign to double Talent Trust scholarship funds! Click here to donate. And thank you!