Trevor Murphy – Publicist/Artist

An award-winning publicist, radio host, industry professional, and musician, Trevor Murphy has been a devoted member of the East Coast’s music community for well over a decade.
Champion of the underdog, curator of Atlantic Canadian culture, and general man-about-town, Trevor also owns and operates Acadian Embassy Records – a boutique record that label delves into deeper exploration of the Nova Scotian Acadian identity using music as a platform through which to discuss and promote shifts in the culture, community, and history.

Tara Thorne – Writer, Editor, Broadcaster

Tara Thorne is a writer, editor, and broadcaster in Halifax.

She appears weekly on CBC Radio in Halifax, Saint John, and Moncton and was on staff at The Coast for 19 years.

She also leads the rock band Dance Movie and does Instagram stories of her cat.

In this episode, we talk about her music, writing and a whole lot more.

Check her out @thorneyhfx

Dr J – Fine Art Photographer

Dr J got involved in imagery and the many facets of its construction from an early age. From the mid-’80s
on photography has been a part of his life in one form or another. From schooling in Photography to
eventually teaching classes in the fundamentals of Darkroom Technology. Dr J has always strived to
understand and show the textures of life around him and the people in it.

Current projects underway are focused on people and the aesthetic form and mood while also tapping
into the darkness that he likes so much. Hoping this will also aid in his growth as an individual and be a
catalyst for those that work with him to tackle their own stories with another layer of understanding.

His work has been published in several imagery-based magazines in the United
States and in Europe as well as local newspaper articles.

More information can be found on my website SuterPhotoworks

Check him out @drjpermanent

Shea Malcomson – Artist, Producer, Founder

Shea Malcolmson is an award-winning producer/songwriter who has musical achievements ranging from over 250k streams on Spotify for his latest album Altaer and his most recent single Blessed receiving over 120k plays alone, and added on Northern Bars and New Music Canada Spotify playlists. He has performed in over 10 countries worldwide for acts ranging from the Cancer Bats all the way to classic hip-hop acts like Pete Rock.

At one point he was a member of Living Proof, a boom-bap rap group with one of the members of Digable Planets (Doodlebug). The Living Proof album was released on URBNET Records. Fast forward a few years and Shea Malcolmson, dropped the rap name, dropped 80 lbs and became an advocate for mental health in music and overcoming addiction. After also shedding the rap name (Abstract Artform), Shea broke out of the box he had created himself (bridging old school and new school hip-hop) and he began to make new music with a new sense of self, and a new outlook on the music industry.

The music speaks for itself and successes have been multiplying exponentially.

Shea’s music now is not only a vehicle for his own change but is used to connect with others who are in similar places. Education and self-discovery have helped Shea create one of Canada’s fastest-growing music festival and conferences the Northern Touch Music Festival and Conference (#NTMF2019). As the founder of this festival, he has created support and much-needed infrastructure for artists internationally. The platform continues to grow and serves as a safe place for many artistic minds to meet. Partnerships with A3C, HipHopDX, Music Entrepreneur Club, New Skool Rules and more, have allowed Shea to carve pathways for artists success worldwide.

Check him out @musicbyshea

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Shelley Thompson – Actress, Writer, Director

An award-winning performer and 12 season veteran of the hit Canadian series Trailer Park Boys (Barb Lahey), Thompson trained at the UK’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Canadian Film Centre (2015), and was one of the eight Women In the Director’s Chair – Story & Leadership program (2016/17).

She has played roles at the UK’s Royal National Theatre, in London’s West End and British regional Theatres; at the Shaw Festival and across Canada at major theatres. Recent on-screen work Includes Web series like the groundbreaking Tokens (2019); recent television includes the Trailer Park animation and Diggstown (2019). Film work, including working with Jim Henson on Labyrinth, also includes recent award-winning performances in Michael Melski’s The Child Remains and Splinters by Thom Fitzgerald.

Thompson has begun a transition to writer/director, with her short films included in festivals across North America and Europe. Her short Pearls played at over 30 festivals worldwide, winning awards and nominations. Duck Duck Goose, the winner of the FIN Best Atlantic Short accolade for 2018, addresses the culture of fear perpetrated by school lockdowns, and was selected for Telefilm’s Not Short On Talent at Clermont – Ferrand, and for the CBC’s Short Film Faceoff (June 2019) as well as playing major festivals across North America (Miami International FF, Sarasota, Canadian and Kingston Film Festivals) and Europe.

Thompson has been developing TV series with the support of NS producer Terry Greenlaw, who is also producing Thompson’s first dramatic feature, shooting in Nova Scotia in the summer of 2020 – Dawn, Her Dad & The Tractor. The script for DHD &TT won the $200K WIDC Feature Film award in 2018, was selected by the WIFT NYC Writer’s lab supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, and the Breaking Through The Lens Initiative in Cannes.

Based in Halifax/Dartmouth, Thompson is parent to singer/songwriter T. Thomason, and a champion of LGBTQ issues.

Check her out @Shelley.Thompson.2017

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Andrea Tsang Jackson – Artist, Designer, Quilt Maker

Andrea Tsang Jackson is an artist and designer based in Halifax, Canada.

After working in various design fields and settings ranging from architecture to museums, the quilting medium called to her as a way to explore place, belonging, and agency. She considers geometry, colour, and narrative to be her raw materials that she moulds into quilts.

Quilts have become a conduit for her to teach design principles and techniques to an audience of engaged creatives.

Patchwork Lab: Gemology, her first book, is an extension of her geometrical works from 2016.

Andrea holds a Master of Architecture from McGill University and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Check her out @3rdstoryworkshop

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AJ Simmonds – Networking Consultant

AJ Simmonds is from North Preston. He graduated from Auburn Drive high school in 2012. Played on the men’s basketball team at Acadia University for five years and graduated in 2017 with a degree in sociology.

He is currently working at the Halifax partnership coordinating a volunteer networking program, connecting recent graduates and newcomers to Halifax with business and community leaders in their industry.

AJ is also involved with numerous community initiatives targeted to help African Nova Scotian youth.

Check him out @ajsimmonds04

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Katherine Taylor – Letterpress Printer and Bookbinder

Katherine Victoria Taylor (BFA, NSCAD University) is a bookbinder and letterpress printer in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

She has apprenticed with master bookbinder and conservator Joe Landry, award-winning printer and publisher Andrew Steeves of Gaspereau Press, and is currently mentored by Vandercook maintenance expert Paul Moxon. Katherine is the organizer of the Letterpress Gang at NSCAD and has a passion for sharing her love of bookbinding and printing with the community.

It is her desire to use the power of the press to help amplify the voices of marginalized people. Katherine now teaches a variety of letterpress and bookbinding classes and has worked with notable clients such as The Book of Negroes mini-series, The Curse of Oak Island, University of Kings’ College and Saint Mary’s University.

Check her out @kvtprints

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Jeff Cusick – 902 Lit Clothing Co

Jeff Cusick, owner/operator of 902 Lit Clothing Co. based out of Halifax, NS is a father, husband, entrepreneur and creative.

In this episode, we talk about his family, friends, support & the future of 902 Lit.

Check him out @902_lit_clothing

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Lara Lewis – Theatre Artist

Lara Lewis is a bi as hell Mi’kmaw theatre artist carved from marble. All she wants is for someone to literally build a shrine to her, but in the meantime, she’ll settle for making art and administering it. is a theatre artist.

A writer, director and actor.

In this episode, we talk all about her experience in theatre and how that went to her working with the Halifax Fringe Festival.

She has had a number of plays in the Halifax Fringe and this year is no different.

I had a wonderful time with Lara and can’t wait to watch her play.

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