HALIFAX – “In one of my first posts, I mentioned the Gatekeeper’s Lodge was a fine example of Victorian-Gothic architecture – she’s a beauty, but not alone in the city of Halifax. This city holds gorgeous buildings that echo Victorian-Gothic (or Gothic Revival) style! Wandering along Barrington Street, you may notice the defining features of Gothic Revival style; arched windows, ornate moldings and decorative trims, strong peaks, roof dormers and – low and behold… TRACERY abounds! What is tracery, you ask? (at least I hope you do, because I had to). Tracery is ornamental stone pattern-work, typically found in the upper part of a Gothic window. But I digress… The other Victorian-Gothic of particular interest this week is the Khyber Building, where tracery seems to be almost as plentiful above the windows as at the Lodge” (Aimée Brown, Gatekeeper’s Lodge).
With an aim to engage and connect the Gatekeeper’s Lodge at Point Pleasant Park and the Khyber Institute, HRM Open Projects Initiative artist-in-residence , Aimée Brown will be performing an illuminated walk in Halifax on Sunday evening, February 13th, as a part of a performance series organized through the Khyber Institute for Contemporary Art. The walk will begin at the Gatekeeper’s Lodge in Point Pleasant Park at 7:00 pm and will progress through the city along Barrington Street to the Khyber.
Aimée will be using contemporary survival strategies (a theme evident in her practice), during the performance walk to acknowledge the buildings’ enduring presence and role as founding structures in Halifax’s Gothic Revival period. The public is invited to either monitor the artists progress remotely – by visiting the third floor turret of the Khyber on Sunday evening between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm – or the artist invites the public to join her in front of the Gatekeeper’s Lodge at 7:00 pm, sharp, to walk together and to illuminate the city collectively.
WHAT: Gothic Revival Walk, GateKeeper’s Lodge
WHEN: Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 7pm
WHERE: Gatekeeper’s Lodge, Point Pleasant Park, (5718 Point Pleasant Drive) or Khyber ICA, 1588 Barrington Street
HOW MUCH: Walk free; viewing by donation to the Khyber ICA
Born and raised in Western Canada, Aimée completed her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts with Honours at the University of Alberta, in 2003. After moving to Halifax in 2005, she obtained her Masters in Fine and Media Arts at NSCAD University in 2007, and remains here as an artist and educator. Aimée’s artistic practice often employs archives and research, seeking to root sculpture, performance, and printmaking within historical and contemporary narratives. Aimée often explores how printed matter has influenced her studio work and career as an archives and collections coordinator with NSCAD University. A recent recipient of several awards and grants, notably the Joseph Beuys Scholarship for Artist Merit, a Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture and Heritage grant, Aimée most recently received a Canada Council for the Arts Production Grant. Aimée has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, with recent group shows in California and British Columbia.