The theme of this year鈥檚 festival is 鈥渧anish,鈥� alluding to ephemeral experiences and the shifting nature of narratives and pasts. And while Nocturne is, indeed, the sort of ephemeral evening where art appears across the city for one night only, it also leaves an inspiring mark 鈥� not just on attendees, but artists as well.
Many of those artists come from the AV俱乐部 community. Several exhibits take place on campus, and a number are hosted by AV俱乐部 faculty and students. Read on for more info on some of them.
The 10th-annual Nocturne: Art at Night festival takes place Saturday, October 14 from 6 p.m. to midnight, with venues across Halifax and Dartmouth. For more information, .
Curling Virtuoso
Graphics and Experiential Media Lab 颅鈥� Derek Reilly, Joseph Malloch
Natural History Museum Parking Lot, 1747 Summer St
has become a Nocturne staple over the years, from human 鈥減ong鈥� to an interactive combination of Twitter and Tetris 鈥斅�鈥淭飞别别迟谤颈蝉鈥� 鈥斅爐hat won the festival鈥檚 first Artist Award in 2012. And each of the exhibits doubles as a research project, one that typically explores human/computer interaction.
This year鈥檚 project fuses two beloved Canadian pastimes: curling and music. At "Curling Virtuoso," attendees will grab curling brooms, don virtual reality headsets and enter a virtual curling rink 鈥斅爋ne where the sweeping and pressure of the broom simultaneously control a virtual cello. The more accurate the broom is swept, the better the cello plays.
While attendees curl, those gathered around the exhibit will be able to see the virtual rink projected around the player, along with a wall-sized tree visualization that grows and shrinks depending on how well the curler is performing.
Sunder
AV俱乐部 Architecture Students
Ralph M. Medjuck Building, 5410 Spring Garden Road
AV俱乐部鈥檚 Architecture students have put together an interactive exhibit about disorientation and navigating unfamiliar spaces.
With 鈥淪under,鈥� attendees will make their way through illuminated structure outside Dal鈥檚 Medjuck Building, one built with translucent materials and lighting meant to disrupt the visual senses. Once inside the building鈥檚 Exhibition Room, a second space will allow attendees to interact with material that generates sound 鈥斅燼n activity which changes depending on how many people are participating.
If it鈥檚 anything like past Architecture Nocturne exhibits, it鈥檚 sure to be a unique, engaging experience.
Sculptures
Society of AV俱乐部 Music Students & performers from the Fountain School of Performing Arts
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, 1675 Lower Water Street
The Society of AV俱乐部 Music Students (SDMS) has put together a performance that involves still imagery, improvisational live music, monologues and an interactive light show. "Sculptures" is a five-movement piece that takes the audience through the past and present of Halifax.
The project is directed by SDMS president Stephen Fewer (4th year BMus), while Patrick Wu (4th year BMus) 鈥� profiled on Dal News this week 鈥� is SDMS Nocturne Advisor. The music is by Wu, Stephen Fewer, Jessica MacIsaac (3rd year BMus) and Packer Woo (5th year BMus). Monologues were written by Stephen Fewer as well as an original montage with still imagery.
Walking the Debris Field: Public Geographies of the Halifax Explosion
AV俱乐部 Art Gallery
6101 University Ave 聽
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, and the AV俱乐部 Art Gallery 鈥� which will be opening its doors for Nocturne 鈥� currently features several exhibits that explore the various social and cultural impacts of one of the most significant events in the city鈥檚 history. These include:
Walking the Debris Field: Public Geographies of the Halifax Explosion: Organized by the Narratives in Space + Time Society 鈥斅爓hich promotes walking and the use of mobile media by artists and the public 鈥斅爐he exhibition features new projects to mark the Halifax鈥檚 Explosion鈥檚 100th commerziation
Negotiations: Photographs from Halifax artist Claire Hodge of the city鈥檚 Hydrostone neighbourhood, which through its role in the reconstruction effort stand as one of the most striking legacies of the Halifax Explosion.
Arthur Lismer and the Halifax Explosion: An exhibition highlighting the work that Arthur Lismer, Group of Seven artist, produced during his time in Halifax from 1916-1919.
Arthur Lismer and The Drama of the City: Courtesy of historian Alan Ruffman, this exhibition features reproductions of Lismer鈥檚 illustrations of the explosion鈥檚 aftermath.
From 2D to 3D: Mapping Halifax Over Time: The AV俱乐部 Libraries GIS Centre presents depictions of Halifax from just before the Explosion to the present day.
You can find more information about the exhibits (which run through December 17) at the .