Exhibitions
A Natural Evolution
Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design is pleased to announce A Natural Evolution, a visual art exhibition by the late Brian Geary. The opening reception for A Natural Evolution will take place on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. in the Centre’s Loft.
Brian worked as an artist and educator his entire adult life. He received his Diploma of Applied Arts from the Alberta College of Arts and Design in 1973, Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta in 1989, and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Montana in 1989. In 1994, Brian moved to Sydney to be an instructor at the Graphic Design program at Nova Scotia Community College until his retirement in 2015.
Teacher, photographer, jeweller, graphic designer: behind all these veneers was the unifying role of the artist: observer of divisions and connections.
Beginning as a figurative painter, Brian naturally evolved towards abstraction, which offers not the ease of familiar objects, but the challenge of the unknown, the yet-to-be formed: mysterious landscapes and mindscapes which demand attention.
A Natural Evolution will be on display in the Centre’s Loft until May 29, 2025.
For more information, contact 902-270-7491 or INFO@CAPEBRETONCRAFT.COM.
Flax Ecologies
The Flaxmobile Project is thrilled to announce the upcoming gallery exhibition, Flax Ecologies, featuring the work of 15 craftspeople from across Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) in collaboration with regional farmers. This exhibition was first displayed at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts before moving to Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design (CBCCD), where it will be featured from Monday, January 27th to Saturday, March 22nd, 2025.
Flax Ecologies delves into the intricate relationships between plants, land, and human communities, underscoring the vital role of ecology in fostering sustainable futures.
The artists featured: Andreea Murgu, Anita Cazzola, Frances Dorsey, Gabriel Soligo, Heidi Friesen, Juliana Naccarato, Kamila Orbegoso and Caora Mckenna, Katelan Lahey, Kit Holden-Ada, Kristi Farrier, Larissa Korol, Laura Hambleton, Tamara Winsor, Wiebke Schroeder, and Samantha Read.
The Flaxmobile Project gratefully acknowledges NSCAD University and our partner organization, the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design. We also acknowledge the generous financial support provided by Research Nova Scotia, and a Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund grant, provided by the Province of Nova Scotia. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the support of Arts Nova Scotia. Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design would like to thank TD Bank Group for their support for this exhibition.
Join us at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design in Sydney, Nova Scotia on Friday, January 31st from 4-6 p.m. for the opening or stop by from Monday, January 27th to Saturday, March 22nd to experience this remarkable exhibition.
For more information, contact 902-270-7491 or INFO@CAPEBRETONCRAFT.COM.
Elmi’knik (Indigenous Futures) Exhibition
Unama’ki Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design is pleased to announce a new exhibition called Elmi’knik (Indigenous Futures). Through works that combine traditional practices and contemporary mediums the artists in this exhibition make it known that Mi’kmaq people are still here and will be as long as we live. The show features the work of Jordan Bennett’s quillwork paintings, Meagan Musseau’s Beothuk pendants, Renée Condo’s giant beadwork, and Mel Beaulieu’s augmented reality beadwork.
The exhibition will be on display in the Loft at Unama’ki Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design beginning July 22, 2024. An opening reception with light refreshments will be held in the Loft on July 25, from 5-7:30pm.
Indigenous Futurism is an artistic movement that looks at how Indigenous cultures intersect with technology and science fiction by reimagining oversimplified ideas as well as alternative histories and futures. The term “Indigenous Futurism” was first coined by Anishinabe professor Grace Dillion in 2003, paying homage to Afrofuturism which weaves in traditional knowledges and cultures with futuristic ideas and settings. Indigenous Futurisms address past and present consequences of colonialism, activate Indigenous knowledge systems, and consider ways to heal and build better futures for Indigenous peoples. By bringing into view the violence towards Indigenous peoples implicated in the development of what is currently called Canada, Indigenous Futurisms encourage Indigenous peoples to reject colonial ideas of the future and instead reimagine a space that makes room for stories that celebrate relationships and connections to community.
View the Elmi’knik (Indigenous Futures) catalog here.
The exhibition continues in the Loft at Unama’ki Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design until September 7, 2024.
We would like to thank TD Bank Group for their support for this exhibition.
For more information, contact 902-270-7491 or INFO@CAPEBRETONCRAFT.COM.
Ground Rules: What the Spruce Trees Saw but Didn’t Say
Ground Rules: What the Spruce Trees Saw but Didn’t Say, is an exciting group exhibition based on an experiential learning residency program in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The four-day residency program was presented by Unama’ki Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design in collaboration with Parks Canada in June 2023. Thirteen Nova Scotia-based artists with diverse backgrounds explored new ideas inspired by the natural landscapes of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, while interacting with park interpreters and creative leaders.
The Ground Rules residency provided participating artists with the opportunity to explore innovative ways of working in their medium, connect to their individual heritage, and discover the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific processes.
We would like to thank TD Bank Group for their support for this exhibition.
View the Ground Rules online catalog here.
For more information, contact 902-270-7491 or INFO@CAPEBRETONCRAFT.COM.