She is a poet at heart, a creative spirit who experiences the world through rhythm, emotion, and truth. Her words are shaped by lived moments and quiet reflections, capturing both the beauty and complexity of life. Through her poetry, she gives voice to the unspoken and creates space for connection, healing, and self-expression.

As a new mother, her world has expanded in deeply transformative ways. Motherhood has both grounded and elevated her, inspiring a new depth in her creativity rooted in love, growth, and resilience. It continues to influence how she moves, creates, and shows up in every space she enters.

On this podcast, she brings her full self: the artist, the woman, the mother. Her presence creates a space where vulnerability and creativity intertwine, inviting listeners into honest conversations, raw emotion, and stories that deserve to be felt.

Find out more @galatiic.gypsiie

Liz LeClair is a proud fundraiser and an intersectional feminist, bringing 20 years of experience to her work as the founder of UpRising Philanthropic Consulting. Liz is also a gender-based violence advocate working to raise awareness on the epidemic of violence in Nova Scotia and an end to the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

Liz lives and works in Punamu’kwati’jk (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia), which is located in Mi’kma’ki - the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people.

Liz approaches her work with nonprofit organisations through a community-centric fundraising lens, recognising that equity and inclusion are fundamental to the work. She believes these principles must also be at the heart of fundraising, ensuring that philanthropy is both ethical, inclusive, and just.

Find out more @liz_leclair_hfx

She writes, raps, beatboxes, performs spoken word, and speaks three languages. Meet Warlet, one of the most exciting and multi-dimensional artists to join The Blackout Podcast.

Warlet shares the story behind her journey from Brazil to Canada, revealing how her parents (both vocal coaches) inspired her musical foundation, how Brazilian rap legends like Racionais MC shaped her political awakening, and why her upcoming debut album TRLNGL will feature everything from Brazilian funk to reggaeton to R&B.

But this conversation goes much deeper than music. Warlet opens up about the profound impact of her younger brother (who is autistic and non-verbal) on her life, her maturity, and her eventual autism diagnosis. She reflects on how those experiences taught her resilience and helped her embrace what makes her different.

Warlet is a singer, rapper and beatboxer from Brazil living in Nova Scotia.

She mixes different genres such as Emo, Rap, Trap, Pop and R&B in her music and elements of her Latin background, including mixing languages on her songs.

Her lyrics focus on deep, real-life experiences from toxic relationships to her life as a woman on the spectrum and an immigrant.

Check her out @warletmusic

Jessica Steele is a paper collage artist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She holds a BFA in Fibres from Concordia University and a Diploma of Fine Arts from Dawson College.

Working primarily with hand-cut vintage print materials such as books and magazines, Jessica explores how meaning shifts when familiar imagery is separated from its original context and recombined into new relationships. Though collage is often associated with spontaneity, her process is tactile and methodical, involving the careful sourcing, cutting, and arranging of printed fragments to create surreal compositions. She is particularly interested in how a single shift in scale or position can alter the reading of an image, inviting close looking and curiosity.

Jessica’s work has been exhibited across Halifax and collected in Canada and the United States. She was selected as one of four emerging artists in the 2025–26 Visual Arts Nova Scotia Mentorship Program, a competitive 10-month initiative supporting the professional development of early-career artists.

View her work at jessicasteele.ca or on Instagram @artbyjessicasteele

He’s a photographer, a videographer, a rugby player, and a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan. Meet Tapiwa, the creative force behind Captured by Shumba.

In this episode, Tapiwa explains how his journey behind the camera began in 2023, inspired by a photographer he met on a solo trip to see the Cowboys. But more importantly, we get into why his photos stand out. Tapiwa’s mission is to show his subjects a version of themselves they’ve never seen before, making every photoshoot an experience they’ll never forget.

We discuss the meaning behind his brand name ("Shumba" means Lion in his native Shona language), how he prepares for the high-stakes world of wedding photography, and his thoughts on using AI as a creative tool.

If you’ve ever wanted to turn a spark of inspiration into a full-blown creative career, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

Find Tapiwa's Work: @CapturedByShumba

Tatiana is a mining engineer by training, a creative by instinct, and a question-asker by nature. She immigrated to Canada from South America as a teenager, carrying with her a spirit of curiosity, deep resilience, and a desire to understand not only herself but, by extension, the people around her.

Along the way, she learned to bridge the worlds of logic and intuition, reconciling a highly analytical mind with spirituality, culture, and creative expression. What began in engineering soon expanded into something far greater: a journey into artistic, entrepreneurial, and community-centred spaces where ideas collide and new narratives are born.

Her work flows from a deeper calling rooted in Spiritual Collective Healing, with a focus on community building, questioning inherited beliefs, and honouring the inherent worth of every human being.

With a quirky, thoughtful, and unapologetically honest voice, Tatiana uses her own privilege to challenge societal expectations, explore shared ancestry, and celebrate African, Caribbean, and Indigenous cultures. Through her presence and practice, she invites others to think deeper, listen closer, and make space for unity, curiosity, and collective growth.

Check her out @lead.tierra

Cathy Akinkunmi is a Halifax-based event producer and Creative Director of Beautiful Celebrations & Design, with over 15 years of experience designing elevated, culturally rich celebrations. She is known for blending tradition with modern elegance to create immersive and unforgettable experiences.

In 2024, she produced Halifax's first African-Inspired Wedding Party, a sold-out signature event that spotlighted over 30 brands and generatedmore than 1.3 million online views. Her work bridges culture, community, and contemporary design in bold, intentional ways.

Beyond events, Cathy is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs and amplifying diverse voices in Atlantic Canada. Through every production, she continues to redefine modern celebrations as inclusive, stylish, and deeply meaningful.

More @halifaxweddingparty_

As someone who has always been drawn to explore a variety of interests, FollyHollyLynn’s creative path reflects a lifelong openness to change and growth. Growing up, she experienced both ends of the spectrum when it came to quality of life; nothing overly dramatic in the early years, but enough to evoke deep feelings at times. Later on, nothing excessively lavish, but enough to inspire genuine joy.

At seventeen, she left home to pursue a dream of becoming a scientist at Dalhousie University, enrolling in Neuroscience with a minor in Philosophy. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 proved to be an unexpected turning point. Choosing to graduate with a degree in Psychology instead allowed her the space to take time off from academics and focus on her mental health. During this period, her connection to the arts deepened significantly.

Even as she returned to the workforce, her creative practice continued to expand and evolve. Already a writer and musician, she gradually took up painting and later began modelling, with the aspiration of one day moving into performance art. As she puts it, that likely means it's time to start connecting with videographers too.

Learn more @follyhollylynn