On this episode, I chat with Cairista MacIsaac about ArtWorks East (AWE). AWE is an association of visual artists and crafters who live in Guysborough County that was founded in 2019. They welcome local artisans of all ages and levels of experience as well as those who want to support the visual arts in their area.

Jaclyn represents fast-growing, people-focused competitive brands who are addressing the evolving consumer market. She tells stories across all media platforms for partners in industries spanning art, fashion, beauty, health & wellness, Consumer packaging goods, technology and home. Most notably having worked with Vega, Saje Natural Wellness, Russell Wilson and Ciara's fashion brand The House of LR&C, and Lyft as the first hire for the rideshare brand in British Columbia.

She can be described as someone with the competitiveness of an alumni basketball player with the curiosity of a writer and aspiring disco DJ who brings big ideas to brands that do good work and win.

Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the 2024 Creative Nova Scotia Awards. Presented annually by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council, these awards celebrate artistic excellence across Mi'kma'ki.

Alan Syliboy grew up believing that native art was generic. "As a youth, I found painting difficult and painful, because I was unsure of my identity." But his confidence grew in 1972 when he studied privately with Shirley Bear. He then attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where 25 years later, he was invited to sit on the Board of Governors. Syliboy looked to the indigenous Mi'kmaq petroglyph tradition for inspiration and developed his own artistic vocabulary out of those forms. His popularization of these symbolic icons has conferred on them a mainstream legitimacy that restores community pride in its Mi'kmaq heritage.

Alan still lives and works in Millbrook, NS, where he was born and raised. He creates his art in his studio in Truro, NS.

This special episode would not be possible without the support of Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council, and the fantastic production work of Heist and Keke Beatz.