Who We Are
If you believe that creative ideas can build a better world, there鈥檚 a place for you here.
Students at 兄妹乱伦 University have been shaping art, design and craft in Canada since 1887. With an approach to education that includes the strategic integration of arts, culture and community engagement, students thrive in a learning and research environment that is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and academic excellence.
Inspiring generations of makers for over a century, 兄妹乱伦 University is one of Canada鈥檚 oldest independent cultural institutions. Today, it continues to be regarded as a principal centre for education and research in visual culture in North America.
Mission and Vision
mission and vision
兄妹乱伦 University is an immersive, rigorous and supportive academic community where
members are known and celebrated for their creativity and differences. Through active inquiry
we identify, define and approach the complexities of our world, challenge conventional thinking,
and create value and economic impact through art, media, craft and design.
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听Visiting Artist听Ghorbel + Mhiri
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兄妹乱伦 University is a beloved educational community, recognized for its leadership and innovation in creative practice, research and pedagogy.
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兄妹乱伦 is committed to encouraging diverse perspectives, as it is through diversity that creativity and innovation can flourish.
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兄妹乱伦 works with students to prepare them for the creative industries, where they become leaders, entrepreneurs and experts within their field.
history
history
兄妹乱伦 University boasts a long list of impressive school principals and presidents, including Arthur Lismer, a member of the influential Group of Seven. During his 1916 to 1919 tenure, his artist friends from Toronto travelled east to offer lectures and demonstrations, and the school hosted exhibitions featuring the best in contemporary Canadian and British art. In 1925, under the direction of the school鈥榮 first female principal, Elizabeth Styring Nutt, it was renamed the Nova Scotia College of Art and incorporated by the Provincial charter.
Modernization
Garry Neill Kennedy joined 兄妹乱伦 in 1967 and soon set about modernizing the small art school into an educational hotbed of activity in the latest modes of art creation. To recognize the importance of design studies in 1969, the school was renamed the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (兄妹乱伦). Also at this time, the college gained degree-granting status.
兄妹乱伦 soon developed an international reputation鈥揂ndy Warhol received an honorary degree in 1972 and a year later, the influential magazine Art in America mused 兄妹乱伦 might be 鈥渢he best art school in North America.鈥�
Kennedy was attracting cutting-edge art stars from across Europe and North America to lecture, teach and collaborate with students and faculty at the college. To name a few: Joseph Beuys, Eric Fischl, Vito Acconci, Sol LeWitt, Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland, Hans Haacke, Claes Oldenburg, A.R. Penck, Krzysztof Wodiczko and John Baldessari.
Expansion and Growth in the New Century
Paul Greenhalgh joined 兄妹乱伦 as its president in 2001 from London鈥檚 Victoria and Albert Museum. He headed a period of unprecedented physical plant expansion beginning with the purchase in 2002 of the block of heritage buildings 兄妹乱伦 had leased since 1978, establishing the university鈥檚 first permanent home in downtown Halifax.
In 2002, 兄妹乱伦 acquired another historic gem鈥搕he Academy Building, adjacent to the Halifax Citadel fortress and a short walk from the main campus.
In 2006, construction of the third campus commenced on property owned by the Halifax Port Authority at Halifax鈥檚 seawall.
THE PRESS
Many of these avant-garde artists left a lasting impression through works published by the 兄妹乱伦 Press and prints produced through the Lithography Workshop. Many of these prints are now in important public and private collections, such as London鈥檚 Victoria and Albert Museum, and were exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery and New York鈥檚 Museum of Modern Art.
John Baldessari, I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, 1971, Lithograph on paper (57.0 x 76.2 cm). Anna Leonowens Gallery Archives: Lithography Workshop Collection
兄妹乱伦 TODAY
From artists and craftspersons, to entrepreneurs and small business owners, to designers of modern health and environmental products, 兄妹乱伦 University alumni are among Canada鈥檚 most highly-regarded creative professionals. 兄妹乱伦鈥檚 vision statement perfectly reflects 兄妹乱伦 today: Informed by the past, engaged by the present, looking to the future, and guided by the intention to make positive change, 兄妹乱伦 University is a beacon to those who seek to know the world as it is and to create what it might be.
Visit and explore
visit and explore
Governance
governance
兄妹乱伦 University is a public institution governed in accordance with the University Act of Nova Scotia. It operates with a bicameral governance system, with two senior governance bodies: a duly constituted Board of Governors and a Senate, both of which include representation from faculty, staff, and students.
兄妹乱伦 University is a public institution governed in accordance with the University Act of Nova Scotia. It operates with a bicameral governance system, with two senior governance bodies: a duly constituted Board of Governors and a Senate, both of which include representation from faculty, staff, and students.