ANTIGONIGHT 2026: Turning Tides
Antigonight 2026 is exploring the ways in which our tides could turn for the better. ‘Turning Tides’ asks artists and guests to explore their relationships to nature, the wilderness and the water, and consider how our environment informs our arts practices and the ways we relate to the world around us. We invite artists to consider what ‘Turning Tides’ mean for their work, their communities, their immediate environment and what they can imagine for our shared future. What does it mean to adapt and rise to the tide we see at our feet? What lessons and systems from the natural world can be internalized to best support community networks? What could it look like to radically turn the tide of the present moment? In coastal and rural communities, what does it mean to move with the tides?
2026 Applications
We invite artists to pitch collaborative projects, workshops, interactive installations and work that challenges the limits of traditional art presentation. We pay artists in accordance with CARFAC standard rates.
For any questions about the:
application process or application modality options, please contact,
artdirector@antigonishculturealive.ca.
ARTISTS LINEUP 2026
COMING SOON
COMING SOON
COMING SOON
ABOUT ANTIGONIGHT
Since its inception in 2010, Antigonight: Art After Dark has been Antigonish Culture Alive’s most recognizable and popular outdoor, public art event. The festival provides an opportunity for artists to display their work and become known within the community. It gives the community the chance to interact with contemporary art spanning multiple mediums, such as dance, theatre, music, sound art, and installation art. Annual attendance at the festival has been around 3,000. The festival takes place in September and is FREE, open to all, and accessible by wheelchair and stroller. Art projects are positioned around downtown venues including parks, closed-off sections of Main Street, and the public library where visitors have easy access. Exhibits and performances are found on sidewalks and in storefronts, alleyways, and nooks and crannies of the downtown. Each year, artists are invited to submit proposals and selected to present projects that lean towards the participatory.
Antigonight acknowledges the over-representation of White, cisgender, able-bodied voices in the arts. We prioritize and encourage perspectives, work, and input from individuals who belong to Nova Scotia (Mi’kma’ki/L’nuewa’ki)’s marginalized and underrepresented communities.
MEET OUR TEAM
Melissa Kuipers
Arts Coordinator
Melissa Kuipers is the coordinator for Antigonish Culture Alive. She is a fiction and creative non-fiction writer and the author of a short story collection, The Whole Beautiful World. In addition to writing, she also spends her time singing in the Antigonish Choral Ensemble and local jazz band, performing in musicals, and crocheting. She lives in Nalikitquniejk/Antigonish with her husband and two children.
Abby Fraser
Festival Coordinator
Abby is from Cape Breton and is a recent graduate of StFX University. She has lived in Antigonish for the past six years and loves the arts community here. She is very passionate about building community through arts-based programming. She has developed this passion by working and volunteering in positions with several arts organizations in Cape Breton and Antigonish. In her free time, she enjoys participating in community theatre, making crafts, and practicing a few musical instruments! She is so excited to be a part of the Antigonight team this year and can’t wait to share the festival with the community!
Kyra Lambert
Festival Art Director and Curator
Kyra Lambert was named Artistic Director and Curator of the Antigonight Arts festival in the winter of 2025, it has been an incredible opportunity to refine her priorities and style as a folk curator over the past two years with the festival. With a background in archival work and gallery labour, Kyra’s experience in commercial galleries seeks to shift ideas of what makes a piece and artist legitimate. With a focus on craft practices, community ritual and folk art, Lambert’s approach to curation leans on the value of inherited arts traditions and cultural storytelling.
In tandem with her other work, Lambert currently works as a metalsmith. She completed the Craft Create residency with Craft Nova Scotia producing a body of work titled ‘Sappho’s Fragments’ that went on to exhibit at the New York City Jewellery Fashion Week. Kyra’s metalwork has been exhibited in galleries in Los Angeles, New York City, Ottawa and Halifax. She is also a columnist for Visual Arts Nova Scotia’s biannual magazine, Visual Arts News.
Rena Cameron
Community Arts Coordinator
Rena Cameron is a third-year Political Science student at StFX University, passionate about Highland dance and film. She is the Founder and President of the StFX Film Society, aiming to improve access to film through on-campus cinema experiences for students. She is an active member of the Pre-Law Society and Model United Nations team. Rena aspires to become a lawyer specialising in intellectual property law, aiming to protect individuals’ creative works.
In 2023, whilst training as a competitive dancer, Rena achieved her Associate degree in Highland dance after years of study. Through teaching dance, she developed a passion for sharing her love of the arts with others. Rena is excited to join the Antigonight team as Community Arts Coordinator in 2026.
Abigail Costello
Community Engagement Coordinator
Abigail Costello is a 3rd year health student studying at St.FX. She took on the role of Community Engagement Coordinator this summer and is thrilled to be working so closely with the arts community. Abby found herself immersed in classical music from a young age, often finding herself at the piano bench. She has recently diverged paths, exploring the world of jazz, taking inspiration from Gerry Mulligan, Bill Charlap, and Miles Davis, in her playing of piano and most recently guitar.
COME VISIT US!
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada