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Artist has been selected for the 2023 William and Isabel Pope ��ܽ����Ƶ Painting Residency. She is an Iranian/Canadian painter based in Vancouver, where she obtained her MFA from Emily Carr University in 2021 and currently serves as a sessional lecturer. Her work explores the embedded ramifications of theocracy while thinking about the ever-evolving relationship between the human body and its surroundings.��

Since 2011, the Robert Pope Foundation and ��ܽ����Ƶ University have jointly offered a two-month-long residency with a studio and an honorarium to an outstanding Canadian painter each year.����

Shoora will have access to a spacious painting studio at ��ܽ����Ƶ University’s Fountain Campus, along with an $8,000 honorarium from the Robert Pope Foundation, enabling her to advance her painting research and create a body of work for a at ��ܽ����Ƶ’s Anna Leonowens Gallery. She will also deliver a . ��

Can you talk about the importance of the body in your work and your belief in the importance of studying figurative painting?��

Figuration embodies the essence of human-to-human, body-to-body connection. In our current era, understanding and embracing this physical relationship is more crucial than ever. The complexities of human emotions and lived experiences underscore the vital importance of this embodied language. As our advancements increasingly revolve around the interaction of the human body with its surroundings, it becomes imperative to explore this connection through visual and artistic means. When conventional language falls short in articulating certain feelings, art steps in to bridge the gap. Figurative art in particular takes this communication to a higher level, appealing to a broader audience. Furthermore, from an aesthetic perspective, the human body is one of the most intricate forms in the visual world. It serves as a fundamental and historical element in storytelling across all cultures. As countless experiences abound in the visual realm, there are equally numerous stories to be told in the figurative domain. Hence, there continues to be many exceptional figurative painters worldwide forever. The sociopolitical factors influencing the human body vary across different regions and for various reasons, making it a subject of enduring curiosity and investigation. I aim to delve into the intricacies of the human body and the limits of personal and public freedom.��

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You often address the political in reference to your homeland, protest and crowds. Can you talk about how you work with chaos in your practice?����

I express my thoughts and emotions through each painting, allowing the creative process ��ܽ����Ƶ to provide answers to my questions. When the answers are elusive, the resulting artwork tends to exhibit a more chaotic appearance, reflecting the complexities of life itself. The experiences of Iranian women in particular are multifaceted, and the paintings that arise from these experiences capture that complexity. Painting involves making choices about composition, brushstrokes, revisions, layers, and multiple stories, and the chaos in the artwork is a result of the memory of all these decisions, which I believe contributes to the uniqueness of the visual image.��

Your paintings seem to be very physical and sensual – exploring labour, dancing, cooking, swimming, and singing – how do work with the non-visual senses in your work?��

��This is a continuous effort, and I’m not entirely sure if I’ve completely achieved it. I firmly believe that a powerful visual image can engage multiple senses, making it memorable. In our everyday lives, we tend to remember moments that stimulate our senses the most. The subject matter and the size of the artwork are the first steps to intensify these feelings, but all the decisions made during the painting process ��ܽ����Ƶ, such as the texture, brushwork, lighting, and colors, can enhance the overall impact. In these subject matters, the common element is the depiction of movement and the interaction between the body and the surroundings, making these experiences universally memorable. I’m particularly fascinated by the interplay between the figures and the space, which creates a dynamic exchange of negative and positive space and opportunities for transformation.��

��What are you planning to do during your residency, where will your investigations take you?��

In this research, my primary objective is to distance myself from personal experiential narratives and instead, delve into the examination of the visual aesthetics of my artistic work. This involves a study of historical images related to ancient Persia before Islam, specifically focusing on the Apadana bas-reliefs of the Achaemenid period, considering the limited resources available. My engagement and questions about these recurring motifs in the form of walking figures depicted in these architectural reliefs was ignited by a discourse concerning the recurrent political crises experienced within the Middle East, marked by a pervasive sense of despair. This encounter impelled me to undertake a detailed exploration of these motifs in my paintings. Through this process ��ܽ����Ƶ, I sought to allow the act of painting to reshape the visual components. This historical imagery, which served as my muse, and my contemplation of contemporary Iranian history have collectively informed the ongoing creation of a body of work that is primarily focused on the portrayal of movement, dance, and singing as emblematic symbols of resilience and fortitude.��

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Learn more: .��

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“I feel so lucky to have known Cliff and to have worked closely with him. He was generous, mischievous, and fun,” said Erica Mendritzki, Assistant Professor, Fine Arts, ��ܽ����Ƶ University. “He knew how to cause the right kind of trouble, and how to stir things up while still being kind. He was so open to life. I’ll miss him dearly.”

Cliff moved to Winnipeg in 1994, where he was an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and Director of Gallery One One One. He also taught at ��ܽ����Ƶ during the summers from 1997-1999, all the while developing a reputation as a prominent artist and writer with a fondness for libraries and a prolific exhibition history. Today, his 6,000 small paintings grace the new Halifax Central Library.

“As an artist, Cliff’s work has been exhibited in galleries, exhibitions and libraries across Canada, the United States and Europe. His work itself is memorable for so many reasons, but that was just one aspect of Cliff that made him so special,” said Dr. Aoife Mac Namara, President, ��ܽ����Ƶ University. “Cliff was a kind, caring, enthusiastic, and supportive person. He was so sincere, whether he was critiquing a student’s work or asking you about your life. That’s why he inspired so many young artists.”

For more than three decades, Cliff used a unique format for making art: he produced tiny paintings, drawings and notes on canvases the size of library index cards (7.6 x12.7 cm).  Part of this body of work is permanently installed at the Halifax Central Library.

His exhibition highlights include solo shows at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives (residency/installation/exhibition), the New School University in New York City, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery and the Dalhousie University Art Gallery.

Cliff was also part of group exhibitions in France, Italy, England and Poland. His installation at the Raymond Fogelman Library in New York City was regularly updated from 1997 until 2005.

To celebrate Cliff’s life, his family has endowed a scholarship for a painting student at ��ܽ����Ƶ.

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��ܽ����Ƶ student Melissa Campbell is using art to help Nova Scotia’s most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The third-year Fine Arts student is working with the Northwood Foundation to organize an online art auction to raise funds for seniors living at Northwood’s facilities. She has been recruiting artists from all disciplines to donate one work of art to this cause, with each artist incorporating a red heart into their work, symbolizing the Northwood red-heart logo.

“We’re calling our fundraiser Art from the Heart,” said Melissa. “All proceeds from the auction will go towards programs and services for Northwood seniors during these unprecedented times. The work of art doesn’t have to be big or expensive, just from your heart.”

Nationally acclaimed silk artist, Nova Scotia native, and ��ܽ����Ƶ alum Holly Carr has agreed to be the fundraiser’s signature artist.

“We’re very grateful to Holly for getting onboard right away. When other artists hear that she is involved, they are eager to help out, too,” said Melissa. “I am hoping to bring artists together for this cause while staying socially distant. We have more than 20 artists taking part right now, and we’re still working to add more.”

Melissa has a personal connection to Northwood, with her mother, Caroline Campbell, serving as the Foundation’s Corporate Director, People Services. Melissa said watching her mother work 12 hour days, seven days a week in support of the residents at Northwood inspired her to try to do something positive for a group of people who have been so greatly impacted by the pandemic.

“Watching my mom go to work every day tired and sad is hard. I just want to help in any way I can, and I know a lot of artists who feel the same way,” Melissa explained.

Melissa expects to host the Art from the Heart online auction in early September on Facebook, and she is still accepting artists’ submissions. Anyone who wants to submit a piece of art for the fundraiser should email melissacampbell@nscad.ca.

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“The Holiday Pop-Up is something we look forward to every year. ��ܽ����Ƶ students enjoy the opportunity to showcase their art, craft and design skills, while also meeting members of the community who come out to support local artists,” said Linda Hutchison, AVP University Relations, ��ܽ����Ƶ University. “It’s also a chance for all of us to buy local this holiday season. And not just local, but handmade and student-made. These are truly unique, one-of-a-kind gift ideas.”

The ��ܽ����Ƶ Holiday Pop-Up takes place at the Art Bar +Projects (1873 Granville Street, Halifax, NS). It starts on Friday, December 6, going from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It continues on Saturday, December 7, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information on ��ܽ����Ƶ University events, visit nscad.ca.

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Craig Leonard – The Halifax Conference
Book launch and performance

The Halifax Conference presents a transcript of a conference held at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design on October 5–6, 1970, transcribed and adapted by artist Craig Leonard.

Organized by Seth Siegelaub, the Conference was conceived as a means of bringing about a “meeting of artists…[from] diverse art making experiences and art positions…in as general a situation as possible.” Infamously, the conference was held in the college’s boardroom, while students and other interested parties watched the proceedings on a video monitor in a separate space. The result was a conversation that devolved—technologically and ideologically—into a quasi-tragicomic farce, punctuated by remarkable moments of rupture initiated by activist resistance to the Conference from the outside and dissenting voices from within.

Attendees at the Conference included Carl Andre, Joseph Beuys, Ronald Bladen, Daniel Buren, Gene Davis, Jan Dibbets, Al Held, Mario Merz, Robert Morris, Robert Murray, N.E.Thing Co. (Iain and Ingrid Baxter), Richard Serra, Richard Smith, Robert Smithson, Michael Snow, and Lawrence Weiner.

Thursday, October 3, 7 p.m.
Fountain Campus D500

Margaret Atwood – Live stream at ��ܽ����Ƶ

Join us for a live stream viewing of Margaert Atwood’s sold out talk, “Author’s Stage: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood”,�� that is being held on the same night at the Halifax Central Library.

Saturday, October 5, 1- 3 p.m.

Walking Kepe’k

Honour Mi’kmaq History Month in an on-foot experience of the Turtle Grove, Tufts Cove and Shannon Park areas of North Dartmouth. Walking Kepe’k will introduce participants to these sites and will proceed to a gathering with honoured guests. The intention of Walking Kepe’k is to make visible the history that is around by establishing meaningful dialogue and relationships with the Mi’kmaq community. We are grateful for the assistance and participation of Mi’kmaq Elders, Catherine Martin and Joe Michael, and ��ܽ����Ƶ students, Kassidy Bernard and Mark Sark, and to the Millbrook First Nation, on whose territory we will all gather at the conclusion of the walk.��We hope you will join us for this meaningful event.

A charter bus departing from the Fountain Campus is arranged to transport ��ܽ����Ƶ students and attendees to and from the sites in North Dartmouth.

RSVP is required as space is limited.

To request more information, or to reserve a spot on the bus please send an email with “BUS RSVP – WALKING KEPE’K”��in the subject line to: ohoganfinlay@nscad.ca

Save the Date

OCT 17: ARTIST TALK, Layne Hinton, 6 PM, Port Campus (P214)
OCT 17: BOOK LAUNCH, Dr. Karin Cope & Anne Simpson, 5-7 PM, Art Bar
OCT 19: PORTFOLIO DAY, 8 AM-4 PM, ��ܽ����Ƶ Campuses + Art Bar
OCT 24: ARTIST TALK, David Harper, 5:30 PM, Art Bar
OCT 25: RESEARCH-CREATION TALK, Jan Peacock 12 PM, Art Bar
NOV 1: RESEARCH-CREATION TALK, May Chung, 12 PM, Art Bar
NOV 1: ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN WORKSHOP, 1:30-5 PM, Art Bar

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White Work�� — Mark Mitchell
visiting artist, with support from Arts Nova Scotia�� — Gallery 1
Artist Talk: Wednesday, August 14, 12 Noon

Mark Mitchell uses fine dressmaking and millinery techniques to make highly realized sculptures that tell stories, mourn, and memorialize often using the tropes of funeral traditions. He exhibited his last large body of work in 2013 in a solo exhibition at the Frye Art Museum. Burial dealt with issues of mortality and mourning through burial garments. White Work takes on mourning in a different form, with activist intention.

Based in Tucson Arizona, Mark Mitchell’s contributions span art, music, and theater. His magnum opus, Mark Mitchell: Burial, a performance and installation, was showcased in a solo exhibition at the Frye Art Museum, 2013, to critical and popular acclaim. In November 2016, Burial was presented in a solo exhibition in Beirut, Lebanon. Mitchell was shortlisted for the Neddy Artist Award at Cornish, 2015, for the Artist Trust Arts Innovator Award, 2016 and 2017 and was the recipient of the Kayla Skinner Award, Betty Bowen Committee, Seattle Art Museum, 2016. His work is in public and private collections, including that of the Frye Art Museum.August 13 – 17, 2019
Opening reception: Monday, August 12, 5:30 – 7PM
Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1891 Granville Street

here nor there
Kayza DeGraff Ford, Excel Garay, Natasha Grenke & Zoë Newell
undergraduate exhibitors — Gallery 2

Four painters will explore modes of non-traditional portraiture in here nor there. Painting is a medium that calls into question reality versus reinterpretation, as the act of constructing an image becomes inescapably personal. Is a painting more or less authentic due to its inherent subjectivity? A variety of contemporary portrait methods will be on display, creating a diverse conversation involving the renegotiation of images.Splurge
Alexandra Gasparis
undergraduate exhibitor— Gallery 3

With a fondness for material that has outlived its intended use, Gasparis collects textures, colors, and form. Material is manipulated and juxtaposed to create playful, vibrant pieces that serve as adornment, small-scale furniture, and sculpture.

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TWO DOGS AND A CAT EVERYDAY FOR A YEAR
Dr. Harold Pearse, Professor Emeritus, ��ܽ����Ƶ University��— Gallery 1

Dr. Harold Pearse presents a series of drawings consisting of two dogs and a cat, raising questions about the relationship between an artist and his subject, a man and his pets, a human being and animals.Lobster Spirits — Patrick Cruz
visiting artist, with support from Arts Nova Scotia — Gallery 2
Artist Talk: Wednesday, July 24, 12 Noon��

Once abundant and bountiful, lobsters were previously served as prison food and used as fish bait and garden fertilizer. It wasn’t until the mid 19th century that lobsters were recognized as haute cuisine elevating its marginal status into an aristocratic one. Besides its innate capability to continually molt, lobsters possess unique anatomy. Supposedly, the stoic crustacean cannot process ��ܽ����Ƶ pain due to the absence of cerebral cortex. In addition to this strange biological phenomenon, its brain is located in its throat, nervous system in its abdomen, teeth in its stomach and kidneys in its head. It listens with its legs and tastes with its toes.

Patrick Cruz a Filipino-Canadian artist working between Toronto, Canada, and Quezon City, Philippines. Cruz studied Fine Arts at the University of The Philippines and received his BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and an MFA at the University of Guelph. Cruz is the founder of Kamias Special Projects, an artist-run space in Quezon City, Philippines that hosts the Kamias Triennial; a platform for cross-cultural exchange and experimental curatorial strategies.����In 2015, Cruz won the national title for the 17th annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition and was recently longlisted at the 2019 Sobey Arts Award.July 23 – 27, 2019
Opening reception: Monday, July 22, 5:30 – 7PM
Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1891 Granville Street

Flagging Velvet
Maddie Alexander, Dana Buzzee & Wren Morris��— Gallery 3

Alexander, Buzzee and Morris offer documents of queer sexualities and desires which reclaim context and space from a conventional hetero gaze. Through a multidisciplinary approach they create community-based pornographies that seek to honour historical leather dyke culture, while contributing to its contemporary current, offering audiences a view of self-determined representation of queer + trans sex and empowered BDSM play.

Artist Talk + Performance: Wednesday, July 24, 5-6pm

Maddie Alexander and Wren Morris will present a talk and performance in the exhibition space for “Flagging Velvet”, from 5-6pm in Gallery 3. The talk will explore the work within the gallery, as well as a frank and intimate conversation between the artists about what queer sexuality and desire means to them. Through the duration of this talk, Morris will be doing a live Shibari (or Kinbaku) rope tie on Alexander. We also welcome the audience to engage in the conversation, and there will be a Q + A at the end of the performance.

Accessibility notes: Gallery 3 is located down two half flights of stairs in an “L” shape. To avoid using the stairs and access Gallery 3 gallery staff will accompany you outside to the Gallery 3 entrance on Hollis street, a 30 sec trip from the main door. The two washrooms are at the back of the gallery, up a flight of stairs through a small hall and then down a second flight of stairs. They are both gender neutral. Unfortunately the gallery does not have wheelchair accessible washrooms on site but gallery staff can assist in taking you to the closest wheelchair washroom on campus.

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Preparation Suites  — Celeste Cares & Alex Sutcliffe, undergraduate exhibitors — Gallery 1

Celeste Cares paints a mushy, girlish muse in various states of activity. Applying lipstick; combing hair; spilling coffee – these states of getting ready prove to be messy, chaotic, and fun. Alex Sutcliffe’s oil paintings abstract figures and forms in nebulous, unreal landscapes. Muted colours and rich brushwork reveal hazy figures that wait, withdraw, and dance in a visualized space of existential malaise, suspended on a stage where they prepare for nothingness.July 17, 2019
Noon Talk
Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1891 Granville Street

Ocean Treasures: Anthropocene Artifacts —
Jennifer McLatchy, IDPhD Candidate— Gallery 2A

Artist-researcher Jennifer MacLatchy combs shorelines in Nova Scotia by kayak and by foot, searching for and collecting marine debris, or, anthropocene era artifacts. This exhibition is a museum-like display of artifacts that have been documented and preserved with great care in order to study the relationship between humans and the ocean in a time of great change and loss. This work is an enactment of small acts of great care aimed at addressing massive and overwhelming environmental problems. In doing this, it engages with feelings of futility, grief, and maybe hope.Not Place
Heather Murray & Caitlin Secondcost, organizers — Gallery 3

This exhibition presents paintings, sculptures and audio works by Heather Murray, Caitlin Secondcost, Lauren Hodder, Jennifer Litsas, Bryson Mckenzie, Hila Peleg, Kizi Spielmann Rose, Anna-Lisa Shandro, Mitchell Wiebe and Twyla Zoe.

Exhibition: July 9 – 20, 2019

Alcuin Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada, travelling exhibition  — Gallery 2B

The Alcuin Society has announced the 2018 winners of its annual winning books, which will be exhibited in Germany at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs; at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo; and in nine Canadian provinces. The Alcuin Society is a Vancouver based non-profit society for the support and appreciation of fine books. For more information and list of winners visit

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Preparation Suites����— Celeste Cares & Alex Sutcliffe, undergraduate exhibitors��— Gallery 1

Celeste Cares paints a mushy, girlish muse in various states of activity. Applying lipstick; combing hair; spilling coffee – these states of getting ready prove to be messy, chaotic, and fun. Alex Sutcliffe’s oil paintings abstract figures and forms in nebulous, unreal landscapes. Muted colours and rich brushwork reveal hazy figures that wait, withdraw, and dance in a visualized space of existential malaise, suspended on a stage where they prepare for nothingness.July 17, 2019
Noon Talk
Anna Leonowens Gallery, 1891 Granville Street

Ocean Treasures: Anthropocene Artifacts —
Jennifer McLatchy, IDPhD Candidate— Gallery 2A

Artist-researcher Jennifer MacLatchy combs shorelines in Nova Scotia by kayak and by foot, searching for and collecting marine debris, or, anthropocene era artifacts. This exhibition is a museum-like display of artifacts that have been documented and preserved with great care in order to study the relationship between humans and the ocean in a time of great change and loss. This work is an enactment of small acts of great care aimed at addressing massive and overwhelming environmental problems. In doing this, it engages with feelings of futility, grief, and maybe hope.Not Place
Heather Murray & Caitlin Secondcost, organizers��— Gallery 3

This exhibition presents paintings, sculptures and audio works by Heather Murray, Caitlin Secondcost,��Lauren Hodder,��Jennifer Litsas,��Bryson Mckenzie,��Hila Peleg,��Kizi Spielmann Rose,��Anna-Lisa Shandro,��Mitchell Wiebe and��Twyla Zoe.

Exhibition:��July 9 – 20, 2019

Alcuin Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada, travelling exhibition�� — Gallery 2B

The Alcuin Society has announced the 2018 winners of its annual winning books, which will be exhibited in Germany at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs; at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo; and in nine Canadian provinces. The Alcuin Society is a Vancouver based non-profit society for the support and appreciation of fine books. For more information and list of winners visit

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