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NSCAD University

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Halifax, NS
NSCAD University

Shaping art, design and craft in Canada since 1887. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia

NSCAD is no ordinary art institution. What for? What if? Be one of them.

It’s a place for curious minds to freely explore. A place for critical thinkers who never tire of asking why? At NSCAD, we think of curiosity as the spark that ignites everything. And year and year, our halls are filled with new faces who share this same fire. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia – Atlantic Canada’s largest and most vibrant city – NSCAD is an immersive environment in which

adventurous thinkers and makers discover their passion and themselves. If you believe that creative ideas can build a better world, there’s a place for you here. NSCAD offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary educational experience that is unlike any other art school in the country. For 130 years, our students, faculty and administrators have shared a commitment to experimentation, progressive thinking and cutting-edge art and design. Many students report that their time here completely shaped the way that they think. It changed their lives. It will change yours too. Some of the most innovative creators of the last century have marched through our halls and spent their days (and nights) in our studios. After leaving NSCAD, members of our alumni community go on to transform ideas into reality, fuelling the creative economy and accomplishing singularly amazing things.

09/01/2026

As we enter the Fall semester, students are going to see some new faces around campus. 🎓👀

One of those faces is Esme Newling-Selby, NSCAD's Program Manager for Career and Experiential Learning (CEL). Esme will be working to bring greater clarity and structure to the ways students can take their learning beyond the classroom and studio—and turn their experience into meaningful career opportunities. 💼🎨

As a former archaeologist, turned youth science workshop leader, turned dog groomer, turned university administrator, Esme has taken a few non-traditional turns in her own career. That experience has given her a unique perspective, and she's confident she can guide students on even the most unconventional career pathways.

Esme will be available for one-on-one appointments with students who want to discuss their career goals, explore their options, and figure out how to turn those goals into reality. 🏆

Outside of her work, Esme is a passionate runner and thru-hiker, and always ready to show you a photo of her dog, Lou. 🚲🐶

We're excited to have you at NSCAD, Esme! 👋

👉Are you a recent grad/student looking to discuss your career goals? Book an appointment with Esme by filling out the Student Self-Referral Form: https://ow.ly/CHvo50ZG8Q6

📷 Courtesy of Esme Newling-Selby

08/28/2026

🚨National Portfolio Day starts tomorrow!! 🤯

Meet virtually with NSCAD representatives and other leading art and design schools from around the world, share your portfolio, and receive personalized feedback to help strengthen your creative work and application. 🎨🖼️

National Portfolio Day is free for students to attend from anywhere around the world! Whether you're a high school student, transfer student, or future artist or designer, National Portfolio Day is your chance to explore programs, ask questions, and connect with the creative community.

The first virtual event is:
📆Saturday, August 29, 2026 - TOMORROW
🕜12:00 P.M. - 4 p.m. (ET)

📢 This event is free, but registration is required.

To register, visit: https://nationalportfolioday.org/schedule/online-08-29-2026-ug

👉 Can't make this event? No problem! Check out our schedule of more online and in-person events on our recruitment page: https://ow.ly/xctf50ZGECb

📷 Ginger Yu

08/25/2026

NSCAD University is excited to congratulate renowned Mi'kmaw artist and alumnus Alan Syliboy (1975) on his appointment to the Order of Nova Scotia. 🎖️

The Order of Nova Scotia is the highest honour in the province, recognizing people who have distinguished themselves and made lasting contributions in their fields of endeavour. As a prominent visual artist, author, musician, and Elder, Alan Syliboy is being honoured for his extraordinary and sustained contribution to Nova Scotia's cultural landscape over the last five decades. 🎨🖼️

According to the official citation, "Mr. Syliboy developed a dynamic contemporary visual language deeply rooted in Mi'kmaw petroglyph traditions and ancestral knowledge. [...] Through his continuous leadership, Syliboy has driven a profound institutional shift in how Indigenous art and heritage are valued across Canada."

Congratulations to Alan on this momentous achievement! 🎉

📷 Courtesy of Alan Syliboy

08/24/2026

Congratulations to MAAE student Anissa Peralta whose thesis research, "Sankofa: Woven Echoes" will be part of the 2026 Art in the Open Festival in Charlottetown, P.E.I. 🎉

As part of her thesis work in NSCAD's Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) program, Anissa's research examines how museums construct artistic value and how colonial and patriarchal systems have marginalized the artistic practices and knowledge of Black and Indigenous women. With a focus on Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous women’s artistic and cultural practices, Anissa explores the forms of making that have historically been classified as “craft” rather than “art.” 📚🎨

“My time at NSCAD has given me the space to work across different materials, forms, and ways of making, while thinking more deeply about memory, ancestry, embodiment, care, and relationships to land," says Anissa. "Opportunities like Art in the Open allow me to take this research beyond the university, and into public and land-based contexts, connecting my work with new communities, places, and audiences.”

Anissa is also a research collaborator of Land Connects Us, which draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She will be displaying two art works from her thesis research at the Victoria Park Pavilion on Saturday, August 29, and Sunday, August 30. 🖼️

Thinking about pursuing your own MAAE degree? Check our website for details: https://ow.ly/M3SX50ZC2m8

📷 Courtesy of Anissa Peralta

08/19/2026

While photography has been critical in capturing historical moments around the world, the art of photography itself has a rich history all its own. 📸

This World Photography Day, we celebrate Dr. Martha Langford (BFA 1975), who has dedicated much of her career to documenting the history of Canadian photography. Her work explores nearly 200 years of photography in Canada and the ways the medium has both shaped and been shaped by Canadian life and culture. 📖🔍

While she didn't originally intend to study photography, the interests and skills she honed at NSCAD University helped fuel a career that would see her become one of the foremost experts on the history and evolution of Canadian photography.

This fall, Dr. Langford is set to publish the second book in her series, "A History of Photography in Canada, Volume 2: A Medium Unleashed (1919-1969)."

"I’ve tried in almost every phase of my work to bring attention to the visual arts in Canada, and photography in particular,” she said. “My late-career concentration on photography history is an attempt to show how photography has been used and experienced since it was first announced in 1839. In that sense, it is also a history of Canada through a photographic lens."

Read more about Martha and her work: https://ow.ly/YoAm50ZyGU5

📷 Photo credits:
1) Martha Langford approving the cover for "A History of Photography in Canada. Volume 1." Photo by Ralph Hamm, Friesens.
2) Martha Langford, "A History of Photography in Canada, Volume 2." McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2026.
3) A page from "A History of Photography in Canada, Volume 2: A Medium Unleashed (1919-1969)", which is set to publish in fall 2026.

08/19/2026

Happy World Photography Day! 📸

Today, we’re celebrating the incredible work of photographers within the NSCAD community and beyond. From current students developing their practice to alumni taking their work beyond the classroom, these images offer a glimpse of the creativity, experimentation, and keen eye of NSCAD photographers.👀🎨

Are you a fellow photo enthusiast? Share your favourite work in the comments below or show your favourite photographer some love by tagging them.💙🖼️

👉Interested in studying photography at NSCAD? Learn more about our Photography program: https://ow.ly/xJry50ZB1jm

📷 Photo credits
1) "The overseeing eyes of industry." John Musick, 2025.
2) "Documentation of the Portrait of Logan & Ellie." Jair Armstrong, 2025.
3) "Where is Home? - NFL." (Where is home? - Heimat Series). Wiebke Schroeder, 2025 - 2026.
4) "Detail Documentation, Terry's Future." Jair Armstrong, 2025.
5) "Documentation of the Portrait of Jack." Jair Armstrong, 2025.
6)"Where is Home? - Tungendorf." (Where is home? - Heimat Series). Wiebke Schroeder, 2025 - 2026.
7) "Xmas Tree (Tailings Series)." Melissa Naef, 2024.

08/13/2026

Congratulations to MAAE student Adrian Feng, whose A.I. short film, "Am I a Salted Fish?" was selected as a finalist for the 2026 KTOWN International Film Festival (KTOWN IFF) in Los Angeles. 🤖📽️

Created as part of his Master of Arts in Art Education (MAAE) research at NSCAD University, the three-minute music video was scripted and storyboarded by Adrian, before bringing it to life with a mix of Sora Generative A.I. and live footage. For the project, he collaborated with Taiwanese musician and composer, Pash Yang who wrote and recorded the song. 🎶🎤

While the use of A.I. continues to be highly debated within the art community, Adrian's research considers the possibility of emerging technologies not just as tools for creation but also a way to bridge the creative gap.

"For example, A.I. is especially helpful if you have a disability. It can help artists have accessibility to creative tools that they might not have otherwise," he says. "In terms of the future of A.I., I am still exploring that myself but I think it is changing the way we approach creativity."

Adrian credits his time at NSCAD and the mentorship of assistant professor in Art Education, Dr. Nicole Lee, with helping him bring the project to completion.

"She really encouraged me to push the boundaries of my work and take risks, and it helped me to understand how to think critically, not just as an artist but also as an educator," he says.

Adrian extends his gratitude to PASH, and fellow MAAE student Anissa Peralta, and alumna Jewell Tan (MDes 2025), for their contribution to the project.

The winners will be announced during KTOWN IFF's Opening Night Gala on September 5, at the Gardena Cinema in Los Angeles. 👏🎥

Congratulations to Adrian and the team on this exciting achievement!

For comments and feedback, please email: [email protected] ✉️

📷 Courtesy of Adrian Feng

08/01/2026

This Emancipation Day, we celebrate the history, resilience, and creativity of Black communities around the world. ❤️🖤💚

Textiles like quilts carry deep historical significance in the Black and African Nova Scotian community as a medium for storytelling, artistic expression, and, in some cases, a tool for survival.

For artists like Letitia Fraser (BFA 2019), quilting is more than a craft. Inspired by her grandmother's quilts, she combines painting and textiles to create powerful portraits that honour the people and community of North Preston. 🧵🪡

"Quilts have been an integral part of the Black North American story," says Letitia. "In the Black communities in Nova Scotia, women used quilts as a way to visually express themselves. My grandmother's quilts were not only beautiful, but they kept us warm. They protected us."

For Letitia, that legacy is also deeply personal. "Much of my West African culture and history was stolen from my ancestors, and therefore, from me. Using fabric in my work is a way of connecting to my African Nova Scotian culture and exploring my roots."

Today, we honour storytellers and artists like Letitia who continue to preserve, reclaim, and share these stories through their work. 🎨✊🏽

👉🏽Read Letitia’s story: https://ow.ly/teFe50ZuLkj

📷Courtesy of Letitia Fraser

07/22/2026

Congratulations to NSCAD alumna and acclaimed Inuit throat singer, Tanya Tagaq (BFA 1998) on being nominated for the 2026 Polaris Music Prize! 🎉🏆

Originally from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut, Tanya studied Visual Arts and Painting at NSCAD, and received an honorary doctorate from the university in 2015. Her nominated album, "Saputjiji" (which means "designated protector”) challenges social and colonial systems and their lasting impact in the community. 🕊️🎤

Speaking with CBC Arts about the album, Tanya says: “The world's in a difficult place right now, and what I would hope is that people would walk away with the understanding that there is hope, and that there is a way to be an antidote to what the world is wreaking upon us right now.”

This isn't Tanya's first Polaris recognition. She won the Polaris Music Prize in 2014 for "Animism," was shortlisted in 2017 for "Retribution," and longlisted in 2022 for "Tongues." 🎶✨

Congratulations to Tanya once again for such an incredible accomplishment. 👏

📷 Courtesy of Tanya Tagaq

07/18/2026

Happy Pride from NSCAD University! 🏳️‍🌈❤️ 🎥Sarah Poko

Address

5163 Duke Street
Halifax, NS
B3J3J6

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.nscad.ca/

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