Emerging Atlantic Artist Residency

Interdisciplinary visual artist Lou Sheppard of Halifax, Nova Scotia has been selected to conduct the second annual Emerging Atlantic Canada Artist Residency in Banff.

Lou Sheppard

Lou Sheppard graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2006, then Mount Saint Vincent University's Bachelor of Education as an art teacher in 2013. Sheppard's work -- painting, performance, video and audio installation -- has been exhibited both in Canada and internationally, and will be included in the upcoming 2017 Antarctic Biennale. Through shape, rhythm, and abstraction Sheppard's work explores identity, faith, and wilderness, and the intersections between them. Sheppard lives in Halifax dividing time between teaching and working in studio.

“I am so honoured to receive the 2017 Emerging Atlantic Artist Residency award. This is an incredible opportunity for me to further my practice and complete a project that would not be possible without the resources and support of Banff Centre. I am grateful to The Hnatyshyn Foundation for investing in emerging art practices in the Atlantic region, bringing the work of young artists on the East coast to the rest of Canada.”

During the residency, Sheppard will create a new work called Requiem for the Polar Regions for the upcoming Antarctic Biennale. Requiem for the Polar Regions is an aural exploration of the shifting ice masses of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The project tracks daily changes in ice by analyzing available satellite imagery and then translates this data into musical notation. The resulting musical scores are then playable on the internet and made available for live performance.

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The Emerging Atlantic Canada Artist Residency is the result of an agreement between The Banff Centre, The Hnatyshyn Foundation, and the Harrison McCain Foundation. The program is intended to help to strengthen cultural connections between eastern and western Canada by giving exceptionally talented, emerging Canadian artists the support and mentorship needed to excel in their careers.

Anne Macmillan

Anne Macmillan of Halifax, Nova Scotia has been chosen to carry out the inaugural Emerging Atlantic Canada Artist Residency.

“I am truly honoured to be selected for the Emerging Atlantic Artist Residency at the Banff Centre. I am ready to fully immerse myself in the creation of new work, while I reflect upon a geography so different from what I experienced growing up in Nova Scotia.

This residency provides support for me at a crucial point in my art career as a new graduate, I look forward to the focused contact with other artists, and the excellent facilities that Banff has to offer. Here I am supported to use art as a means to process and understand my surrounding environment, as both a reflection of the world, and a projection of myself. Thank you so much, I am driven to make the most of this incredible opportunity.”

Interested in how geographies relate to mental states, and reflect modes of consciousness, Macmillan’s work is inspired by research into the historical perception of mountains and the depths of caves. During the residency, Macmillan will make a series of digital animated videos inspired by the geographical relationship of mountains and caverns in the Banff region.

Anne Macmillan has received a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her studies in the graduate program of Art, Culture and Technology at MIT, and she is the 2014 first place winner of the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts. Her practice has been supported by grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Nova Scotia Council on Communities, Culture and Heritage, and the Council for Arts at MIT.