News release

Centre for Craft and Design Serves Record Number

Tourism and Culture (Aug. 1999 - Dec. 2003)

It was a record year for the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design in 1999 as 41,392 people were served.

More than 30,000 people attended craft classes, viewed displays, attended meetings, worked in studios or enjoyed exhibitions in the Mary E. Black Gallery. Thousands more telephoned for information.

Owned and managed by the province, the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design cultivates and promotes crafts and design- related industries in Nova Scotia. It offers wholesale and retail product information, provides facilities for learning and display and provides a focus for public interest.

The centre also provides a place for the craftspeople and designers of Nova Scotia -- artists, amateurs and professional producers -- to seek assistance or referrals as they mature artistically or build their businesses.

The centre, located at 1683 Barrington St., Halifax, is composed of the Mary E. Black Gallery; promotional and display space; weaving, wood, metal, multipurpose and pottery studios; and offices. Although the Johnston Building, in which the centre is housed, will undergo major renovations in the coming months, the centre will continue to operate as usual.

The centre aims to maintain attendance levels with its 2000 programming. Some exhibits that will be found in the Mary E. Black Gallery this year are:

  • Connection reConnection interConnection, from Feb. 17 to April 15. Curated by Ilona Hay, this exhibit explores the links between fibre art and architecture.

  • Mat Hooking -Simple to Sublime, from April 27 to June 3. This will be a juried show of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia.

  • Arts From Architects & Lieutenant Governor's Design Awards, from June 15 to July 15. This show will be juried by the Nova Scotia Association of Architects.

  • 2000 - Year of the Quilt, from July 20 to Sept. 9. This year's craft theme is the year of the quilt in Nova Scotia. Many of these products will be exhibited.

  • Talking Threads: Voices Among Quilters, from Sept. 21 to Nov. 4. This exhibit will be curated by Laureen van Lierop.

  • Intricacies and Endearments: Objects Designed from the Heart, from Nov. 16, 2000, to Jan. 6, 2001. This display will be curated by Pamela Pike.

Various programs are also ongoing at the centre, including craft classes and displays.

For further information on the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design, please call 902-424-4062 or visit its website at crafts.EDnet.ns.ca .

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