Saint John Arts Centre (Image: Submitted)
Painter and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design graduate Sarah Sackville has been chosen for the first-ever Port Saint John artist residency.
Port Saint John and the Saint John Arts Centre announced earlier this year their partnership for a biennial artist residency, where a professional artist is selected to create original works over a period of 10 months, and sponsorship of a signature gallery space located at the Saint John Arts Centre.
“Port Saint John made it clear that they would like to do more than just have a gallery renamed,” said Saint John Arts Centre Executive Director Andrew Kierstead. “It was just one of those things that has come together quite nicely and has created a lot of momentum.”
The first residency will include an exhibition in the Port Saint John Gallery in September of 2021, with future residencies in 2023 and 2025.
Sixteen artists across the province applied for the residency and Sackville, whose work is currently exhibited at the Spicer Merrifield Gallery, was the unanimous choice made by the selection committee. She will work together with Paula Copeland, the Port’s Director of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, to document the views and people at the port.
Kierstead explains Sackville’s work will be an opportunity to show the changes happening at the port and its role as a focal point of the city.
“I’ve received a lot of feedback from the artists who thought the residency was an idea that was so obvious,” he said. “They’re kind of wondering why this hasn’t been done years and years ago.”
