NiS+TS worked with students from the Dalhousie Faculty of Architecture and Planning (and NSCAD University), in a design/build Free Lab in July- August 2017. This was the third summer NiS+TS worked with Free Lab students; our first group worked with us in 2014 (and produced the XYZ Marker), and the 2016 group worked on the revival of Fort Needham Memorial Park and the Psychogeographer’s Table.
In summer 2017, NiS+TS worked with Free Lab students, as well as 20 summer camp participants in Mulgrave Park, to ‘nightlight’ the murals that now enliven the neighbourhood. Using digital and electrical projections, innovating concepts to minimize electricity costs, and virtually drawing on ‘blank’ walls in the neighbourhood, the project developed visuals, lighting and sound shown on July 28 at Mulgrave Park. The final version was developed and shown during the Centenary Procession that NiS+TS presented on December 3, 2017. Nightlighting aimed to enhance the strong expression of character already evident in Mulgrave Park, while simultaneously continuing the theme of work undertaken by NiS+TS over the previous four years, shaping stories influenced by the 1917 Halifax Explosion.
Participants in Nightlighting were: Zixi He, Jiani Wen, Leslie Zhang, Katie Kirkpatrick, Ruth A. Vandergeest, Abdullah Akram Chaudhary, Mahta Safavi-Khalifeh-Soltani along with community collaborators Crystal John, (Executive Director, Mulgrave Park Caring & Learning Centre), Rene Boudreau (Program Coordinator, Mulgrave Park Caring and Learning Centre), Summer camp participants Rihanna, Ayden, Elijah, Jadell, Karlee, Tia, Shanice, Amaijah, Drevonn, Ayden, Chyna, Ja’Quel, Siyasia, Tristan, Santia (staff), Taylor (staff), Alysha (staff), Winta (staff), and Kaneshia (volunteer). Specialized workshops were facilitated by Michael Burt and The Blackbook Collective, and Juliano Franz of the Dalhousie University Department of Computer Science, GEM. Projection and Lighting Designer Nick Bottomley led a session on using lighting and projection tools such as Tilt Brush. NiS+TS partnered with Dalhousie University Department of Computer Science, GEM, and Dalhousie University School of Architecture and Planning in this Free Lab.
