Katelynne Cagliostro (she/her) is an illustrator and educator currently residing in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She is an obsessive doodler whose work primarily focuses on self-love and personal growth through drawings, comics and zines. Her work aims to spread messages of self-kindness through stories of her personal life and imagery of blossoms. She believes that self-kindness is a radical expression of self-love. A notion that feels particularly important to hear during the pandemic.

Often autobiographical, Katelynne draws a lot of inspiration from her daily life and her experiences navigating life as a softie. In her recent work, she discusses topics in her life such as body acceptance, mental health and navigating her relationship with her body. through daily comics. The comics recall memories throughout her day, moments that seem small that leave a
lasting impression.

See more on Katelynne’s Instagram: @cagsyyy.

Elise Campbell is a felting fibre artist and educator who works with wool and other natural fibres to create sculptural and wearable art. Her work is a conversation of opposing forces such as drape paired with structure, lightweight and warming, or impenetrable softness. She uses dye and resists to create patterns and movement, typically finding inspiration from the sea. She is interested in outerwear as a canvas to showcase texture upon texture. Her work is primarily no-sew, or seamless, but she is currently experimenting with stitching as an added textural element.

See more on Elise’s Instagram @fullofwoolcreations.

Holly Clark (she/her) is a queer, interdisciplinary artist based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia. She recently obtained her BFA from NSCAD University in 2021. Her creative practice continually challenges the conventions associated with the two-dimensional canvas. Excessive and messy, these painted works stem from the on-going investigation into domesticity, commodity and feminist art practices.

Her series Home Sweet Home entices the viewer with decadent, flowery, blooms of paint that reclaim the surface of domestic objects. Although the initial impetus for the work was to unpack difficult personal histories, the work has evolved to also be a response to our shared pandemic reality.

See more on Holly’s Instagram @holly_clark_art and her website: hollyclarkart.wixsite.com.

Belle DeMont is an interdisciplinary artist based in Halifax, NS. She graduated from NSCAD in 2009 with a BFA and went on to Concordia to explore digital art. Belle wrote the children’s book I Love my Purse and illustrated the children’s book Little Tree By the Sea. Belle recently graduated from MSVU with a specialized Visual Arts Education degree. Her work includes children’s book  illustrations, charcoal portraiture, contemporary landscape paintings and traditional nude paintings. Belle is currently working on combining storytelling with traditional landscapes of rural Nova Scotia.

See more on Belle’s website: belle-demont.squarespace.com or Instagram: @perogieprincess.

My name is Ace Duguid my pronouns are they/them, and I am a queer trans nonbinary artist. My focus is the intersection of identity and mental illness, while exploring themes of intimacy, relationships, memory, and connection. I use performance as a tool to confront the viewer with notions of voyeurism. I often perform for the camera while working through difficult topics and themes, as a way of creating a safe space to perform and engage with vulnerability. This is a crucial part of my practice; as someone with Borderline Personality Disorder, I often externalize my experiences rather than internalize. Performance helps aid this in a controlled environment.

See more on Ace’s website: aceduguid.com, and Instagram.

Emma Jordan (she/they) is an emerging interdisciplinary artist, practicing in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) and graduate of NSCAD University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, Major in Interdisciplinary Arts. Their current focus is exploring the relationship of internal expression and exterior stimuli through drawing. Working blindfolded, Jordan immerses herself in emotion-shifting experiences by also listening to music, composed by popular artists, and herself. With the emphasis on creation, movement, and listening, their work currently presents as very large, abstract expressions on paper, as well as the compositions of music in her private collection.

See more on Emma’s website: @emmajordan.art and Instagram @path_unwalked.

Annie MacDonald (she/her) is a Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS based artist who was born in Cape Breton/Unama’ki, NS, with a BFA from NSCAD University in 2020. Through painting, drawing, and printmaking, she engages notions of documentation, narrative, nostalgia, and change with her interest in natural history. Plants, animals, and objects are often depicted in dreamlike spaces that portray intimacy with one’s environment. In her most recent work, Annie has been exploring the world of horses and their tack with a phantasmal affection.

See more on Annie’s Instagram: @art.anniemd.

Monique Silver is an emerging visual artist of French settler ancestry practicing in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Mount Allison University with a focus in drawing and printmaking. Her interdisciplinary practice involves various printmaking methods, acrylic and oil paint, use of drawing tools, and intricate needle work. In recent prints, she explores the power of societal pressures and the psychological impact of body and beauty standards.

See more on Monique’s website: moniquesilver.squarespace.com and Instagram: @moniquesilverstudio.

My name is Cydnee Sparrow and I am originally from Alberta (Treaty 6 and 7 Territory) where I went to school for my Visual Arts Diploma at Red Deer College but moved to Halifax (Kjipuktuk) in 2017 to continue my visual arts education at NSCAD University. I have stayed here since graduating in April 2020, totally infatuated with living near the ocean. I am interested in translating ambivalent environments that interpret feelings of transient-ness to aid in understanding dysphoric connections to self, influenced by societal gender roles and identities. To translate these spaces, I often reference a blend of organic, sic fi, and anthropomorphic elements based on experiences in nature. I have a focus in painting, as well as ceramics. Although, my work now encompasses embroidery, fabric and paper elements.

See more on Cydnee’s Instagram @cydsparrow.