Atlantic Vernacular Artist Talk 🛟

Craft NB’s digital exhibition, Atlantic Vernacular kicks off the summer with the second installment of the Artist Talks livestream series.

This unique online exhibition paired craft and poetry that expresses a diverse regional voice. The Artist Talks is a series of livestreams (via YouTube) hosted by Craft NB where the public is invited to meet and learn more about the exhibition and its contributors. The second Artist Talks livestream will be held at 6pm ADT on Thursday, June 9th, 2022: Livestream link

The livestream will feature special guests Tammy McClennan (Ontario-based artist and metalsmith) and Kathy Mac (New Brunswick-based poet, English professor at St. Thomas University), who will speak about their creative practices and the nature of their collaborative piece for the exhibition:

TAMMY MCCLENNAN BIO:
Tammy McClennan is a Canadian artist and metalsmith who has exhibited her work in North America and Europe. She studied Sculpture/Installation at OCADU in Toronto, Ontario and Metalsmithing at NSCADU in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her work is an exploration of forms, materials and fabrication techniques, with environmental themes.

She attended studio residencies in North Iceland (2016/2017) and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (2018/2019), where exploring the natural landscapes, coastal regions, flora and fauna provided inspiration for her sculpture and installation. Her work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Craft Ontario.

She is currently creating new work based on her ongoing research of beaver habitats around Central and Southern Ontario.

KATHY MAC BIO:
Poet and prof Kathy Mac has published one ebook on writing (Wording Around Publishing), a book of essays on pop culture (Wolsack & Wynn), and three poetry books (Roseway); she was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for poetry, the Fiddlehead Poetry Prize, and won the Gerald Lampert Award for best first book in Canada. She lives in Fredericton, NB, Canada.

Check out the digital exhibition today: Vernacular is an online exhibition of contemporary craft paired with poetry of Atlantic Canada. Voices of the region include those of our first nations, and multiple mother tongues represented by participating artists and poets. This region is a den of material experimentation, integration of work with one’s environment, and honest confrontation with the challenges of making work in a conservative region of the country. After artworks were selected for exhibition, regional poets were invited to interpret the works through their own medium of verse.

Craft NB would also like to thank their funders: the Province of New Brunswick and the Canada Council for the Arts for their contributions to this special project.