Art Pays Me

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2023 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. Presented by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council, the Creative Nova Scotia Awards celebrate excellence in artistic achievement. Award categories are as follows: Creative Community ImpactPrix Grand-PréEstablished ArtistEmerging ArtistBlack ArtistIndigenous ArtistAnd finally, The Portia White Prize that is given to a person who has made outstanding and significant contributions to Nova Scotia’s creative community over a sustained career – much like the incredible woman that the award is named after. The winner will also choose an emerging artist or cultural organization that they feel deserve recognition. Collectively, these awards are worth $75,000! Visit artsns.ca to nominate your favourite Nova Scotia based artist or be a boss and nominate yourself! This series would not be possible without the fantastic production work of Heist and Keke Beatz. On this episode I got to chat with Emerging Artist Award winner, Koumbie (she/they) and special guest Eleanor (she/her). Koumbie talks about how their interest in dance and performance arts led to script writing, filmmaking and becoming one of the first on-set intimacy coordinators in Nova Scotia.

On this episode, I chat with a chef for the first time on the podcast! Michelin-trained Gabrielle LeGuerrier, Head Chef of GourmetGab Events and Pertu gives some insight into the private dining events that she hosts with her husband, European Sommelier, Gabor Bodo.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Emerging Artist Recognition Award recipient, I’thandi Munro. I’thandi is a multi-disciplinary artist whose love of movement travels through all of her art from metalsmithing to dance. We talk about the value of sticking with the first idea you feel strongly about in the creative process, being inspired by your children and the freedom that mastering your craft through repetition offers artists.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with Prix Grand Pré Award winner, Clara Dugas about being a professional storyteller. Clara tells us how she realized that her very personal stories were impactful when they helped her connect with students in her previous career as a teacher and how the passion blossomed from there.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Emerging Artist Recognition Award recipient, Tyshan Wright. We talk about Tyson’s creative process and how Jamaica and Nova Scotia’s intertwined histories influence his work. Art Pays Me is sponsored and produced by Glitterati Communications.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with Dancer, Sarah Prosper about receiving the Indigenous Artist Recognition Award, and how she’s living a life of dance.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with Nova Scotian music legend, Cyndi Cain about her music, spirituality and winning the Portia White Prize. We also talked about the meaning behind her brand, ‘We Been Here’ and why she’s passionate about working with creative youth.

On this episode I chat with Ash Young, the Executive Director of the Inverness County Centre for the Arts. They are the recipient of the Creative Community Impact Award for. Ash gives some insight into the centre's beginnings, their program offerings and why they are important to Inverness County and Beyond.

We talk about early days as an artist and letting go of fear to make the work we were meant to create. We also talk about the role of spirituality in her music and why I should commit to my goal of one day visiting Africa. In addition to the music, Domanique is truly an enterprising artist with a lot on the go; to start, she has landed major sync placements with L’Oreal Paris, Unilever Brands (Dove, Vaseline, Shea Moisture) and more, Led a sold-out TEDx Talk with a full performance, Featured at Uganda’s Pepsi World AIDS Day for audience of 40,000+, has headlined her own shows and opened for TIFF film premieres to Mr. Vegas, Grammy-Award Winning artists Eddy Kenzo and Wale, to being the featured performer at events including Black Diamond Ball Awards, the United Nations, and more. Domanique produced RBC's The Imagine Summit, supporting artist-entrepreneurs in imagining beyond the limitations of the current global climate, by offering exclusive access to industry leaders, mindfulness training and financial resources. Connect with Domanique: Website | Spotify| Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Emerging Artist Recognition Award recipient, Andre Fenton. Andre talks about his early interest in writing, telling stories and his yearning for characters that reflected his experience and his community. Today he's creating those stories and characters himself. We talk about Andre's creative process and he lets us know what it means to him to be acknowledged for his contributions to the Nova Scotian creative scene.

Martins Madumere is an artist who’s difficult to put in a box. His diverse interests and penchant for developing new skills has given him some valuable perspectives on life and creativity. We discussed his 30 minute a day philosophy when it comes to learning and how it’s like “putting in reps” as an athlete. We also talk about society wanting us to pick one identity when the reality is that we can be artists and athletes and more.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode I chat with 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Black Artist Recognition Award recipient Tonya "Sam'Gwan" Paris. We talk about the influence of her intersecting identities on her art and how daily life and ancestral experiences add meaning.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode, I speak with Creative Nova Scotia Established Artist Recognition Award Winner Frances Dorsey. You might remember Frances from our Craft Pays Me series. Frances is primarily a fibre based artist whose work is very much informed by – and in some instances in collaboration with nature. We discuss how her fascination with plant life both under and above ground impacts her practice and how it feels to be acknowledged for her work. Art Pays Me is a production of Glitterati Communications. This award series is co-produced by Heist and Keke Beatz Films.

Singer-songwriter, STORRY talks about the importance of diversifying your skills when you’re an independent artist, moving to London to further her music career and how she brings operatic sauce to songs she’s featured on. We also talk about working with UK artist, Stormzy, the release of her deluxe album, CHIII The Come Up and why she brings awareness to sex trafficking in her art.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2022 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. The awards are presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council. The goal is to celebrate excellence in artistic achievement – notably, the Portia White Prize. Winners of the Prix Grand Pré, the Established Artist, Emerging Artist, Indigenous Artist Recognition and Black Artist Recognition awards as well as the Creative Community Impact Award are also honoured. Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000. Visit artsns.ca to nominate a Nova Scotia based artist or apply for awards and grants for yourself. On this episode, I speak with Creative Nova Scotia Emerging Artist Award Winner Séamus Gallagher. We talk about some of the challenges and benefits of living and working as an artist in Nova Scotia, how they manage their multi-disciplinary creative practice and how it feels to be acknowledged for their work. Art Pays Me is a production of Glitterati Communications. This award series is co-produced by Heist and Keke Beatz Films.

On this episode, I chat with Singer songwriter & Healer, Amai Kuda et Les Bois about their new album, the challenge of following multiple passions and the impact of truly living the message in your art. This podcast is a production of Glitterati Communications.

On this episode, I chat with writer, actor and director Jackie Torrens of Peep Media about how she became a filmmaker. We also discuss her latest documentary film, Bernie Langille Wants To Know What Happened To Bernie Langille. The story follows Bernie, a man on a journey to better understand a tragedy that impacted his family for multiple generations.

On this episode of Art Pays Me, I chatted with singer Nikki Yanofsky about the journey back to her roots in Jazz music. Nikki shares what it was like blowing up at a young age and getting the chance to be mentored and work with legends like Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock. We also talk about Nikki’s now project, ‘Nikki by Starlight’, why she recorded it on a vintage RCA 77C microphone and what causes God to walk out of the room during the creative process.

On this solo episode I share some exciting news and discuss why our parent company, Glitterati Communications will be more visible going forward.

On this episode I chat with my friend – Architect, Omar Gandhi about how we met, what it’s like receiving global accolades for your work and why he values keeping his practice small. We also talk about winning the bid to design large cultural institutions like the new building for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and why smaller projects like the Blue House are just as, if not more important. When I first started this podcast, Omar was one of the first people I wanted to speak to. He told me that he was down to do the show but I admit that I was too intimidated to lock him in for an interview. I’m excited to finally have him on! See what Omar’s up to on Instagram.