Call to Artists: Heritage Artisans in Action

On behalf of the Avon River Heritage Society (ARHS) Board Of Directors and the Hants County Arts Council (HCAC), we are pleased to extend an invitation to you to participate in the revival of a popular annual heritage art event called Heritage Artisans in Action (HAiA).

HAiA was last held at the ARHS Museum in Newport Landing on weekends throughout the summer of 2003. It is an opportunity for local artisans to focus on historical trades, crafts, and art forms done in both traditional and contemporary manners.

Our aim is to have a show opening on June 15 followed by a series of themed HAiA Sundays over the course of the summer. Participating artisans will have opportunities to display their skills and present informative demonstrations. We also invite all artisans to contribute their creations to the Museum's gift shop for the duration of the season.

Art forms represented by the group have included wood-carving, painting, weaving, gourd art, leatherwork, ironwork, handspun and dyed yarns, hooking and felting, embroidery, knitting, quilting, fabric painting, jewellery, and glass work.

Themed weekends will be organized based on interest and availability, some mediums may be combined to best suit artists’ availability.  

If you are interested, or know of any other artisans who may be, please contact us at email: arts@avonriver.ca or by telephone: 757-1718 before June 1^st to book your spot.

Best regards,

Ken Greer,                                                        Tacha Reed

ARHS President                                                HCAC President

Heritage Artisans in Action Schedule

June 15^th – HAiA kick-off (all artisans are invited to participate)

June 23^rd – Full Circle Festival, ARHS Boathouse http://www.fullcirclefestival.ca/

June 30^th – HAiA Fibre Arts (Hooking, Weaving, Knitting & Spinning, Felting)

July 7^th – HAiA Wood Carving

Jul 14^th – HAiA Leather Work

July 21^sh – HAiA Needle Work (Embroidery, Quilting)

July 28^th – HAiA Glass Work (Stained Glass, Blown Glass, Mosaic)

Aug 4^th - HAiA Metal Work

Aug 11^th - HAiA Painting

Aug 18^th – HAiA Pottery

Aug 25^th - HAiA Carvings & Sculpture

Sept 1st - HAiA Traditional Mi'kmaq Crafts (basket weaving, drum making, beading, leatherwork, painting)

Sept 8th - HAiA Traditional Acadian Crafts (Spinning, Weaving & Rug hooking)

Sept 15^th – Last Day of Season

* Scheduling may change to accommodate availability.

Please find us on Facebook: Avon River Heritage Society Museum • on Twitter @AvonRiver

* A consignment contract will be made available upon request at info@avonriver.ca

2013 Arts Digest; Call to Artists, Artisans and Advertisers!

For 2013 the Hants County Arts Council is once again pairing up with our community paper “What’s Going On?” to promote artists, artisans and local businesses with the latest edition of our arts digest.

We were very pleased with the success of our 2012 publication, a compact folded 17”x22” newspaper style format, which allowed us to include not only a detailed catalogue of our members but also a labelled map of studio and gallery locations, samples of artwork, a HCAC Newsletter, a Calendar of Events and a list of other Nova Scotian Art Societies,  while leaving plenty of room for additional advertising.

This year’s edition of the HCAC Arts Digest will once again be delivered directly to 14, 000 homes in Hants County with an additional 1000 being distributed locally at art centres, studios, galleries, boutiques, small businesses, bed and breakfasts, tourist bureaus and the Stanfield Airport. Each member and advertiser will receive a sizable number of copies to distribute as they wish.  Additional copies will be also made available for those who are willing to distribute at their place of businesses and at craft and trade shows.

We are again seeking additional local artists, artisans, designers, musicians, galleries, studios and culture related business who want to be included or to advertise.  With such a broad reach, our digest is a very affordable way to show your support for our local arts community and at the same time promote your business.

Inclusion is free for HCAC members and $20 for non-members. Each listing includes your name, address, phone/email and website address. 

Also included is a space for a 40 word write-up to describe your artistic practice or business. The Hants County Arts Council is open to all and is not exclusive to artists residing in Hants County. 

If you know of someone who you think would benefit by becoming a member then please feel free to forward this information. Membership forms and details on the perks of being a member are available on our website hantscountyartscouncil.ca

Each member may include a l.75” x 1” full color logo or photograph of their work for an additional $15!

If you have an event planned for 2013 that you would like included in the Calendar of Events please send along all relevant information and we will include it at no extra cost. This is a great opportunity to help spread the word about your event, performance or festival.

You may also choose to increase your visibility by purchasing an advertisement. Please contact us for rates.

We are also putting a call out to artists for images to be included on the cover of the digest. If you are interested in having your work seen by 15,000 people, then please send two or three high-resolution photographs of your work to us for consideration at hcacartsdigest@gmail.com

Please mail any payments to Hants County Arts Council Box 905 Winsdor, NS, B0N 2T0 

Up to date contact information, biographies and any artwork, ads or event listings may be emailed to hcacartsdigest@gmail.com  

Deadline for inclusion is Monday February 11th.

Thank you,

Hants County Arts Council Board of Directors