Halifax Artists
Lily Falk
Lily Falk (she/her) is an emerging theatre artist based in Kjipuktuk, and co-artistic director of Gale Force Theatre. Her first play Crypthand, won Best Original Script at the 2019 Fringe Festival and the RBC Emerging Artist Award through Playwrights Guild of Canada in 2022. She has co-created works for young audiences including A Tale on Two Wheels. Lily is currently writing a serialized audio drama inspired by winter solstice folklore. She has worked with North Barn Theatre Collective and The River Clyde Pageant. Lily also works as a nature play professional with kids of all ages and abilities.
Norman Adams
Halifax-based Norman Adams is a classical cellist specializing in contemporary music, an improviser and electronic musician, and, since 2000, the Artistic Director of suddenlyLISTEN Music. A student of Hans Jørgen Jensen, Bernard Greenhouse, and Pauline Oliveros, he was Principal Cellist of Symphony Nova Scotia from 1991 to 2017. Norman has been a soloist and guest principal cellist with many groups and orchestras, a faculty member at Acadia University, leader of creative workshops across Canada, collaborator with many musicians world-wide, producer of musical recordings, and podcaster (New Musings on New Music). In 2010 Norman received an Established Artist Award by the Nova Scotia Arts and Culture Partnership Council. He currently serves on the national board of The Canadian New Music Network.
Wonder'neath Residency, November 2023
Jeighk Koyote
Jeighk (they/them) is a self-taught interdisciplinary artist based out of K’jipuktuk/Halifax. Since 2015, they have been working with shadows in live performance, video and installation. Using an overhead projector and a handheld flashlight, Jeighk animates paper and wood cut-outs, mixed media sculpture, illustration and their own body onto a blank screen or backdrop. They create visual experiences of the natural world, internal human distress and non-binary bodies. Jeighk loves loud outfits, going for hikes and dancing - particularly in this order.
Robert Fleitz
Through “mesmerizing” and “commanding” performances (The New York Times), pianist and composer Robert Fleitz curates artistic experiences that surprise as often as dazzle. He made his “auspicious debut” (New York Concert Review) in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in October 2021. His second album, The Silent Voice, will be released on the Latvian record label SKANI in 2024. His recent composition work emphasizes performer and audience agency and co-creation. Notable commissions include Jumblies, the Metropolis Ensemble, and Hilary Easton Dance Company. He is the co-founder of the Swan City Piano Festival in his hometown of Lakeland, Florida, and also works as a content creator for Tonebase Piano. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland.
Lou Sheppard
Lou Sheppard works in interdisciplinary audio, performance and installation. He has performed and exhibited across Canada, notably at The Art Gallery of York University, The Confederation Centre for the Arts, and at Pnlug-In ICA, and as part of the first Toronto Biennial, as well as internationally, at Kumu Kunstimuuseum in Estonia, the Antarctic Biennial, and Titanik Gallery in Finland. Lou has participated in numerous residencies, and as participant and faculty at The Banff Centre. He was longlisted for the Sobey Art Award and won the Emerging Atlantic Artist Award in 2017. Lou lives and works unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq.
Áine Schryer-O’Gorman
Áine Schryer-O'Gorman grew up enveloped by the non-profit arts sector and is delighted to be venturing deeper into community arts work as they continue their own career as an artist and musician. Áine has most recently worked for Jumblies Theatre & Arts as a programming assistant, and for World on a String as a fiddle teacher. They have engaged with communities through their work as a fiddle player for over 12 years and have worked with and learned from Thinking Rock Community Arts for over 6 years. They have also been heavily involved with and impacted by AlgomaTrad.
Jackson Fairfax-Perry
Jackson Fairfax-Perry (he/him) is an African Nova Scotian composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and sound designer based in Kjipuktuk. Since 2021, Jackson has racked up numerous sound design and composing credits with theatre companies locally and nationally, including Eastern Front Theatre’s sold out production of Stevey Hunter’s Fat Juliet, for which he won the 2022 Robert Merritt Award for Outstanding Sound Design. Recently, Jackson was announced as 2b theatre company’s 2023-24 RBC Emerging Artist in Residence, where he will have collaborate on projects, while developing his own work with guidance and support.
Ruth Howard
Ruth Howard was the founding Artistic Director of Jumblies from 2001 to 2022. With Jumblies, she created a series of multi-year Toronto residencies resulting in large-scale performances, as well as producing cross-country tours, films, publications, musical works, professional development workshops, and other community-engaged interdisciplinary projects. Ruth has a background in theatre design; taught at many schools, colleges and universities; mentored many artists and projects; and won awards for her work. In 2023, Ruth passed the artistic direction of Jumblies on to new leadership. She continues to work as an independent artist and consultant. Her current projects include CarePlay, and the continuing Grounds for Goodness.