Talent Trust art at Cape Breton University
Touring exhibition of award-winning work on campus until October
First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust is a touring exhibition of work by 10 artists, each past recipients of Talent Trust scholarships.
The exhibition opened at the Cape Breton University Art Gallery with a reception on Friday evening.
Lux Habrich, who bears the distinction of being the most recent award winner represented in the exhibition (2016), is joined by fellow Talent Trust alumni, Jordan Broadworth, Sandra Brownlee, Sara Hartland-Rowe, Dan O’Neill, Lucy Pullen, Pamela Ritchie, Despo Sophocleous, Emily Vey Duke and Charley Young. Working with a diverse range of media and techniques, these artists collectively present an array of drawings, ceramics, jewelry, paintings, prints, mixed-media and video installations produced to exceptional standards and reflecting the level of excellence in art nurtured by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust since its founding in 1944.
The origins of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust can be traced to the collective efforts of the members of the Halifax Ladies Club and a voice teacher by the name of Dr. Ernesto Vinci who, upon recognizing the potential of an operatic singer from
Truro, encouraged the government of Nova Scotia and the city of Halifax to provide financial support for her training.
The singer, Portia White, went on to become an internationally recognized artist and an individual of national importance, recognized by the government of Canada.
The spirit of that initial gesture of support lives on in the work of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust today. Seventyfive years after its founding, the trust has the distinction of having awarded more than 1,000 Nova Scotian artists with scholarships totalling more than $2 million.
Named after one of Portia White’s albums, the First You Dream exhibition strives to not only celebrate that legacy but to offer inspiration to visitors of all ages.
While the beauty of the works presented will surely delight viewers, it is hoped that the extraordinary paths followed by the artists in the progress of their lives and work will also engage those who come to this exhibition.
There is a remarkable story behind the journey of each artist featured and the exhibition strives to make these visible.
Take for instance Despo Sophocleous, a former graduate of Cape Breton University (BA, 2000), who furthered her education at NSCAD with a bachelor of fine arts in jewelry design and metalsmithing in 2008. A journey that began with the study of philosophy and anthropology here in Sydney led to graduate studies at the Munich Academy of Arts and subsequent awards including the Nova Scotia Talent Trust Lieutenant Governor’s Award and the Charlotte Wilson-Hammond/VANS award.
Ultimately, the winding pathway of Sophocleous’ artistic development is reflected in her intricate wooden necklaces which, in their mutually-dependent component parts, can be taken as metaphors for the experiences in life that shape each of us.
Commenting on her work, Sophocleous notes that “each necklace is made up of individual and movable elements. Relating and communicating with the one next to it, through it and in between, movement and sound come together as it is worn on the body.”
Having recently completed its initial presentation at the Mount Saint Vincent Art Gallery in Halifax (May 18-July 28), First You Dream: Celebrating 75 Years of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust will continue at CBU until Oct. 4. The exhibit will then move on to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Western Branch in Yarmouth (Nov. 22-May 17) where the tour will end.
CBU Art Gallery has partnered with the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, MSVU Art Gallery and Art Gallery of Nova Scotia to bring this exhibition to the communities of Nova Scotia.
For more details visit cbu. ca/campus/art-gallery/.