A beloved contemporary arts festival will return to Saint John this weekend.
THIRD SHIFT is a unique chance to engage with contemporary art and reimagine urban space.
It was established in 2015 by Third Space Gallery, a not-for-profit artist-run centre in the city.
Festival organizer Manny Travers said the event begins Friday with the traditional temporary art installations.
More than a dozen artworks will be incorporated throughout the uptown between 7 p.m. and midnight.
It includes Brandon Lorimer’s The Artist is IN, a performance-based installation inviting festival attendees to sit and speak with the artist while a “prescription” drawing is doodled up for them.
There is also Misha Milchenko’s Sticker Scavenger Hunt, an interactive chase to collect stickers across the festival map to complete an original drawing of Saint John and all its visual quirks.
Travers said they have also expanded the event this year to include a mini festival called THIRD WATCH.
A dozen audio-visual artworks and experimental films will be presented at the BMO Theatre on Princess Street from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
“We expanded our programming to include this because a lot of the artworks that were being submitted for the festival were audio-visual based,” Travers said in an interview.
“With technical difficulties, lack of projectors, we wanted to give an opportunity to artists to still have their works be seen on the big screen.”
This year’s programming also features two unique workshops hosted by THIRD SHIFT artists Lex Stephenson and Karen LeBlanc.
The Queer Collaboration Workshop by Stephenson entails a shared creative process, inviting members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to create an artwork which will be displayed in, on, and around the entrance gates of the Saint John City Market.
Karen’s Over and Under Workshop invites people to learn how to weave on a frame loom to create their own woven artworks using textile and found materials.
It all wraps up on Sunday with THIRD SHIFT conversations, an opportunity to discuss the artworks and themes surrounding this year’s festival.
It includes a keynote talk with Third Space’s artists in residence followed by two panels touching on subjects such as mental health, identity and performance art.
In total, there will be over 40 artists, collectives and community partners taking part in the three-day event, which Travers said is free for all ages.
“We try to make the festival as accessible and as interesting as possible for those interested,” said Travers.
You can find more details about THIRD SHIFT, including the full event schedule, by visiting their website.
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