FARR Community Conversation Winter 2021

Born and raised in Little Port, Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland), Nicole Travers is a Mi’kmaw artist, creating a multitude of inspiring pieces. Nicole draws inspiration from old style beadwork found in museums, hieroglyphs, and petroglyphs. Nicole marries historical styles of beadwork with modern day techniques into contemporary form. More recently she has begun to tan various animal pelts and skins into leather using traditional teachings and has started to utilize home tanned fish skin into her art, creating sought after unique pieces.

Nasim Makaremi is an artist living in St. John’s NL, whose artwork deals with themes of sexuality, women’s experiences, and censorship. Makaremi graduated with a MSc in solid-state physics and has been painting and making artwork for 15 years. She has shown work in group exhibitions and has studied under several painting and drawing professors.

Kevin Melanson is an artist who grew up in the Maritimes and has been living in St. John’s, Newfoundland for the past two years. He has earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University, and he loves feeding ducks and pigeons.

Shawn O’Hagan was born in Toronto and moved to Newfoundland in 1975. She lives and works on the west coast of the island, dividing her time between her house in Corner Brook and her cabin in the Bay of Islands. She has a BFA from the University of Guelph, a B.Ed in Art from the University of Toronto and a MFA  from the University of Waterloo.  She has worked with many processes and materials and for the past 15 years has concentrated mostly on textiles. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows, mostly in the Maritimes, and her work can be found in many collections including the Canada Council Art Bank.