Hetkugan: A Message to the Ancestors
As part of the 2023 CreateSpace Public Art Residency by STEPS in partnership with Nocturne Halifax, Hetkugan: A Message to the Ancestors is a public art project by artist Nailah Tataa combining light, sound, and community engagement for an illuminating experience.
Project at a glance
Location: Ferry Terminal Park, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Artists: Nailah Tataa
Documentarians: Nailah Tataa and Nocturne
Year: 2023
Services: Artist Capacity Building
1
Public art project
1
Artist-in-residence
30,000
Nocturne: Art at Night visitors
About the project
Will you join the chorus? This is the question posed to the community who experienced artist Nailah Tataa’s public art installation called Hetkugun: A Message to the Ancestors. Showcased at the 2023 Nocturne: Art at Night Festival in Nova Scotia, this interactive and community-engaged public art activation was also the artist’s first entry into public art as supported through the CreateSpace Public Art Residency.
Combining light, technology, and sound, this project invited visitors to circle around the installation and clap to an instrumental. By reaching a certain audio threshold, the installation became brighter with light and music as a reward to audience members for their active participation.
“This was my first public art experience; though I was incredibly nervous about the process, I had the mentorship and connections to see the process through. I’ve never brought so many people together to view my art and it was satisfying to see my idea come to life. After this residency, I learned administrative skills, project management, and also made valuable connections in the city.”
Hetkugun: A Message to the Ancestors empowers participants to reconnect and retrieve ancestral knowledge through gathering, communication, and collective action. Currently, this project is being re-developed as an indoor installation in partnership with local art galleries. As the artist shares, “Together, we will create a beam of light to the heavens where the Hetkugan reside.”
About the artists
Nailah Tataa
Nailah Moon is a ritual based writer, artist and facilitator in Kjipuktuk. They are a black futurist and educator who uses mixed mediums to explore themes of alienation, immigration, afro-futurism and identity. A multidisciplinary artist, her goal is for all of us to find freedom in dissidence and liberation through unconventional methodology.
Partners
Funders
The 2023 CreateSpace Residency is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment. We also acknowledge the support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation with funding provided by the Government of Canada.
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