We are thrilled to announce our 2018 program of events! Major themes for our 9th annual festival include discrimination related to body and gender, as well as mental and spiritual health as it relates to our connection to land and water.

Nine events are scheduled this year featuring works of painting, photography, poetry, film, music, theatre and dance.

All events will take place at the Bus Stop Theatre Co-op at 2203 Gottingen St. And for the first time, the services of a sign language interpreter will be available at certain events.

Tickets sales and further details will be announced soon.

 

Under the Surface

May 1st to 12th | Opening Reception, May 1st

Under the Surface is a group exhibition featuring works by Kim Cain, Tina Roberts-Jeffers and Katie Toth. Together, their works ask us to take a closer look at their subjects, unearth the obscured and reconsider our assumptions about home.

Reel Justice

May 2nd

A program of short films examining Maritime landscapes and waterscapes through various themes including mental health and our connection to land. The program will feature works by the Maritime Bhangra group, Stephanie Young, Daniel Boos, Tim Tracey, Koumbie and more.

The Sankofa Singer/Songwriter Circle

May 3rd

A stellar roster of African Nova Scotian singer/songwriters will be paying tribute to the internationally known accapella group Four the Moment. Each of them will also showcase their new works and stories of inspiration and growth. Featured artists include Cyndi Cain, Pat Watson and Kwento.

Heavy

May 4th to 6th

Actor and playwright Taylor Olson remounts his stage production, Heavy. Gain 100 pounds, then lose that 100 pounds in six months. Body shaming, self loathing, eating disorders, and parenting as an obese Dad are part of his fight on the journey to self love, body positivity, and becoming a superhero Dad.

It’s A Girl!

May 4th to 6th

Sex, love, and identity: the life of one trans woman. After winning the Best New Comer to the Fringe award at the 2017 Halifax Fringe Festival, It’s A Girl!, co-created by Michelle Raine and Alexis Milligan, gets a hometown remount before heading on an international tour.

The True Cost of Coal

May 8th

Part visual art installation, part spoken word storytelling, The True Cost of Coal examines the cost of coal-powered electricity, while celebrating stories of struggle from communities in the Appalachian mountains. A collaboration between the Beehive Design Collective and hip hop duo Test Their Logik, this event features large scale murals and stinging rhymes that will resonate loudly in Nova Scotia.

iWitness

May 7th to 11th

Baltimore based Vincent E. Thomas/VTDance contemplates acts of humanity in the deeply moving, multi-layered work- iWitness. The work explores simple and implied truths in human behaviors, investigates the convolution of media on the human spirit, and considers the past and present for a hopeful tomorrow.

Standing With Water

May 7th to 11th

A pair of dance pieces choreographed by Liliona Quarmyne, Standing With Water serves as a tribute to two bodies of water on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean – the Songor Lagoon in Ada, Ghana, and the Shubenacadie River here in Nova Scotia. This suite of dance pieces brings the two bodies of water and the issues that surround them into dialogue, exploring questions of ancestral relationship, responsibility, teachings, and the sacred.

Hip Hop vs. Capitalism

May 12th

This festival mic drop closes our 2018 program through a night of beats and rhymes that speak truth to capitalist power. Featured artists include Test Their Logik, Lee Reed, DJ Fadzwa, El Jones and Party Brass.