Interview with Mallory Zwicker1. What is your Afterglow 2018 project called? Could you describe it? What is its inspiration? Our performance is called "twist". This performance is a mishmash of multiple dance styles and genres. Typically when we perform in Bridgewater we stick to our upbeat routines that are known to be crowd-pleasers, but for Afterglow we are very excited to show all forms of dance that we excel at. There will be a variety of tempos, vibes and moods in our performance and we are very excited to share the art of DANCE with Bridgewater!  Photo supplied by artist. 2. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live, and your creativity. Plan "A" Dance Centre was opened in Bridgewater in May of 2017 by Mallory Zwicker as a recreational and competitive dance education centre for students ages 3-18. After just one year, they have approximately 90 dancers and have expanded to also teach toddlers and adults. PADC has 4 talented staff members who all bleed creativity. It is our goal as choreographers to give our dancers unique choreography that highlights their strengths, with lots of feeling and intention. 3. How do you feel Afterglow makes an impact on Bridgewater? I believe that Afterglow is much needed in a small town like Bridgewater. Our mission statement is to empower youth in small towns to follow the fine arts path in life, without needing a "back-up plan" or a "plan B". It will be great to be a part of this event and to see what other amazing artsy things are happening in our community! 4. Why have you chosen to take part in this year's festival? I am excited for our talented group of young dancers to show off ALL aspects of their dance life- the slow, weird, fast, quirky and otherwise, in this years art festival, to an audience of people who embrace the arts. 5. What are you looking forward to most in this year's festival? I am looking forward to seeing how people respond to our dancing, and how our dancers respond to the other art forms showcased in this event.  Interview and blog compiled by Jordan Beck Crouse
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Interview with Jilien Beaton1. What is your Afterglow 2018 project called? Could you describe it? What is its inspiration? We were inspired by a Jellyfish sculpture piece created by a grade 10 student during art class this past semester. We will be using umbrellas -taking off the fabric and replacing it with our own fabric - beads, and fairy lights. The students (dressed in black) will hold the umbrellas and walk down the streets in a rhythmic manner set to ocean sounds. Because the students are younger, we do not plan to be there for the entire evening but will march together for 2 hours.  Photo supplied by artist. 2. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live, and your creativity. I am the Art Teacher at Centre Scolaire de la Rive Sud in Cookville and will be bringing a few of my junior and senior high students. 3. How do you feel Afterglow makes an impact on Bridgewater? Afterglow redefines the importance of Art in our community by bringing together like-minded individuals and people who have interest and want to experience another world through the eyes of an artist. It is an amazing opportunity to explore one's creativity.
4. Why have you chosen to take part in this year's festival? I have chosen to take part to show my students and the public that art lives boldly outside of the classroom setting! 5. What are you looking forward to most in this year's festival? I am looking forward to being amongst a variety of artists so that I can see the interests of my students and try new things in the classroom. Interview and blog compiled by Jordan Beck Crouse
Interview with Erin Donovan1. What is your Afterglow 2018 project called? Could you describe it? What is its inspiration? Our 2018 Afterglow project is called Filament. It is a series of experimental improvisations for dancer (Jacinte Armstrong), electric guitar (Geordie Halley) and percussion (Erin Donovan). I like the word Filament as a starting off point for improvisation because it conjures up both the natural world (animals, plants, fungi) and the man-made world (electricity, light-bulbs, currents). Combining human movement with acoustic and electric sounds as well as some experiments with light is going to make for an interesting show! This is the first phase of a larger scale project that I’m working on - so we can say this project will be born in Bridgewater!  Burnwater performance, 2013. Holly Crooks with Theo Pitsiavis, Jacinte Armstrong, Rob Power and D'Arcy Gray, Sound Sculpture John Little. Courtesy: http://hearhereproductions.ca/landing/ 2. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live, and your creativity. I live in Mahone Bay and I’m the artistic director of Hear Here Productions. My organization has been making experimental performance art for 20 years in Toronto, Alberta and now (after years away) Nova Scotia - but I have yet to create something for the South Shore. Hear Here’s Burnwater show has been to East Dover, Shelburne, Halifax and this summer will be at the Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro- but I have yet to build something in my own backyard, so I’m super excited about Afterglow! 3. How do you feel Afterglow makes an impact on Bridgewater? I grew up in St. John’s Newfoundland which has a very strong experimental art scene; their Sound Symposium every other year was extremely influential to me as an artist. It wasn’t strange when I was growing up to watch someone push a piano off of Signal Hill, or to spend your Saturday afternoon at the Art Gallery throwing ping-pong balls at gongs - so festivals that push boundaries are really key to who I am as an artist. Creating situations to animate our public spaces not only brings those spaces to life and creates a sense of fun in the community, but it also makes our communities stronger. Public art is a very immediate way to bring us all together to celebrate who we are. Afterglow is a wonderful way to celebrate our arts and culture scene and make it accessible to everyone.
4. Why have you chosen to take part in this year's festival? I’ve been wanting to participate in Afterglow for a long time now so I’m really happy it’s coming together this year. 5. What are you looking forward to most in this year's festival? Really, I’m looking forward to taking it all in! Though I know from experience that I may not get to see or hear much if I’m performing - one of the hardest things about participating in a festival! I’m very much looking forward to connecting with my local South Shore community in a creative way. About the Artists:Erin Donovan/ Hear Here Productions: Percussionist, pianist and composer Erin Donovan presents multi-media events for alternative spaces with her organization, Hear Here Productions (hearhereproductions.ca). Her most recent work entitled Burnwater: Alchemy is an interactive sound environment with live performance and is a collaboration with Mocean Dance. This show opened in Shelburne, NS in 2016 and had a run at Alderney Landing in 2017 and at the Ship’s Company Theatre in 2018. As a freelance percussionist, Erin has performed regularly with Symphony Nova Scotia, Calgary Philharmonic, the Canadian Opera Company, Continuum New Music, The Banff Centre, Gamelan Toronto, Evergreen Club Gamelan, the Glass Orchestra, Array Music and her newly formed percussion trio Saltwater Percussion. Erin lives in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. Geordie Haley: Guitarist, Composer, Improviser and Educator has been a featured Artist with new music presenters Suddenly Listen, Upstream Music, Vocalypse, and Open Arts. Geordie is a frequent contributor to the Halifax Jazz Festival, the Harvest Blues and Jazz Festival, and the Open Waters Festival. He has collaborated with dancers Shannon Cooney, Susanne Chui, Rhonda Baker, Sara Coffin and Jacinthe Armstrong. Geordie has played in the pit bands for Neptune Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick and Canadian Stage. As an accompanist Geordie has worked with Chrsitine Duncan, Tena Palmer, Tanya Tagaq, Loiuse Pitre and Measha Brueggergosman. Geordie heads the Guitar program at the NSCC Waterfront Music Arts Department and has been teaching at the Maritime Conservatory since 2009. Jacinte Armstrong is a Halifax-based dance artist who has worked with many collaborators locally and across Canada. She trained at Halifax Dance before studying at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL. Primarily an independent artist, Jacinte performs regularly with Mocean dance and SiNS (Sometimes in Nova Scotia) Dance, and was the Artistic Director of Kinetic Studio from2014-2018. Her choreography ranges from intimate and imagistic to large-scale collaboration with architects, filmmakers, and musicians. Jacinte is currently pursuing her MFA at NSCAD University. FILAMENT and is a series of experimental improvisations for dancer (Jacinte Armstrong, Halifax, http://jacintearmstrong.com/), electric guitar (Geordie Halley, Halifax) and percussion (Erin Donovan, Mahone Bay hearhereproductions.ca). The word Filament is a starting off point for structured improvisations— it conjures both the natural world (animals, plants, fungi) and the man-made world (electricity, light-bulbs, currents). Combining human movement with acoustic and electric sounds as well as some experiments with light is going to make for an interesting show. Hear Here has been making experimental performance art for 20 years in Toronto, Alberta and now after years away. Hear Here’s Burnwater show has been to East Dover, Shelburne, Halifax and this summer will be at the Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro. Interview and blog compiled by Jordan Beck Crouse
Interview with Chris Andrews1. What is your Afterglow 2018 project called? Could you describe it? What is its inspiration? Last year I asked people to decorate a cloth square, and they collectively made 150 squares. These squares have been assembled into a wall hanging to commemorate Canada 150 in Bridgewater. The wall hanging will travel around through groups, uniting people with their art. It is called See Me Canada 150 Bridgewater Time Quilt My second project will display the nine healthy habits (Power Nine) of people who live to be 100. I will ask people to draw or write what they can do to live long and well. Exploring the Power Nine was our 2018 Annual Intention (like a resolution only better).  The center of the See Me Canada 150 Time Quilt. Photo supplied by artist. 2. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live, and your creativity. I like art to be a part of the solution, or to make people smile. I try to never create things that will make people sad or bring them down. We all need some good news or just lighten up! I live in Bridgewater and believe creativity is next to breathing. I look for opportunities to help people light their creative sparklers together! I write, draw and do mixed media projects. I have done a 50 foot mural and made junk rig sails for the boat I helped build with my husband. 3. How do you feel Afterglow makes an impact on Bridgewater? It makes an impact on me as a community member, helping me feel creatively useful. Ashton (Afterglow Founder) makes it super easy and fun to be your most expressive self. Afterglow lets people of all stripes do and share art in an open 360 model, right where we live; it shows that art is at the heart of Bridgewater. I love not having to get in a car, spew fossil fuel and hot air to have a first rate art experience. Every year is a miracle of participation. Last year I enjoyed the little kids sitting on their parents knees to do their drawings and whole families waiting for their most artistic member to do their piece. One woman swore she will come back from New York city just for Afterglow - I'd better finish that wall hanging!
4. Why have you chosen to take part in this year's festival? Because we can. It's great to stretch the definition of 'Art' and watch the 'you and me' sharing that emerges in the street. Afterglow is an activity that blows spirit into the centre of town, right down King St. It puts Bridgewater on the artisans' map of Nova Scotia. My husband, Frank Bemben, helps, and so do our friends. It's probably the most excitement we have all year! There is no judging, just lots of fun. We have enjoyed the 3 years we did presentations, as well as the year we tooted around as Bridgewater 'Artourists'. 5. What are you looking forward to most in this year's festival? Seeing how people will react to the Power Nine Challenge, and how they will manifest their intentions for a good life together. I know it is bad writing form to use a word repetitively, but there is no other word better than 'fun'! Interview and blog compiled by Jordan Beck Crouse
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Afterglow Art FestivalTidbits of information about this years festival! Make sure to check back for interviews by local artists taking part! Archives
September 2018
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