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Our Board and Staff
Fenn Martin - Chair
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of second 3-year term
Fenn Martin is probably best known for arriving to a festival with 2 tonnes of raw clay and converting some old jalopy into an alternate clay figurative reality. A graduate from the NSCAD U (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University), Martin largely works in clay, found and fabricated armatures. His work investigates past and present agrarian life while extending historical traditions in figurative ceramics. Inspired by his home town Antigonish’s remarkable history of grassroots co-ops, the Antigonish movement informs his explorations of small-scale agrarian labour.
Paralleling his art practice Martin pursues arts education and community involvement as intrinsic to creation, Martin is extremely proud to design and lead collaborative arts projects, also co-founder of Antigonight, Antigonish's outdoor contemporary art festival. Currently Martin is working with students at the Ceramics department at NSCAD Universit,y serving as full time technician.
Fenn Martin is probably best known for arriving to a festival with 2 tonnes of raw clay and converting some old jalopy into an alternate clay figurative reality. A graduate from the NSCAD U (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University), Martin largely works in clay, found and fabricated armatures. His work investigates past and present agrarian life while extending historical traditions in figurative ceramics. Inspired by his home town Antigonish’s remarkable history of grassroots co-ops, the Antigonish movement informs his explorations of small-scale agrarian labour.
Paralleling his art practice Martin pursues arts education and community involvement as intrinsic to creation, Martin is extremely proud to design and lead collaborative arts projects, also co-founder of Antigonight, Antigonish's outdoor contemporary art festival. Currently Martin is working with students at the Ceramics department at NSCAD Universit,y serving as full time technician.
Addy Strickland - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 1st year of second 3-year term
Addy Strickland (she/her) is an artist, writer, and facilitator based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Addy graduated from StFX with a degree in development studies in 2021, and has worked at the intersections of youth engagement, community development, and art since. She enjoys finding ways to bring the arts into her facilitation practice, and activism into her artistic practice. In 2021, Addy started a small business painting watercolour portraits of houses and well-known locations in Antigonish, and has more recently started practicing pottery and graphic facilitation. She is also the co-editor of This Wasn’t on the Syllabus, an anthology of stories from student activists fighting sexualized violence on Canadian campuses, which was released in November 2024.
Addy Strickland (she/her) is an artist, writer, and facilitator based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Addy graduated from StFX with a degree in development studies in 2021, and has worked at the intersections of youth engagement, community development, and art since. She enjoys finding ways to bring the arts into her facilitation practice, and activism into her artistic practice. In 2021, Addy started a small business painting watercolour portraits of houses and well-known locations in Antigonish, and has more recently started practicing pottery and graphic facilitation. She is also the co-editor of This Wasn’t on the Syllabus, an anthology of stories from student activists fighting sexualized violence on Canadian campuses, which was released in November 2024.
Amberlee Boulton - Director
Amberlee Boulton, (she/her), MSW, RCSW
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of second 3-year term
Chair of ASAP Artist-Run Centre
Amberlee has called Antigonish her home for the past fifteen years. Since 2013, Amberlee has worked for several Antigonish-based arts organizations including Arts Health Antigonish (AHA), ASAP Arist-Run Centre, and ACA’s Antigonight: Art After Dark Festival. These positions provided Amberlee opportunities to work with visual and performing artists to support youth and youth engagement in Antigonish Town, County, and Paqtnkek First Nation.
Thanks to these programs, Amberlee successfully completed a Master of Social Work (MSW) at the University of Calgary. Amberlee currently has a private clinical practice supporting individuals, families, couples, children, and youth. In her downtime, she likes to walk, listen to audiobooks, knit, and watch true crime documentaries.
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of second 3-year term
Chair of ASAP Artist-Run Centre
Amberlee has called Antigonish her home for the past fifteen years. Since 2013, Amberlee has worked for several Antigonish-based arts organizations including Arts Health Antigonish (AHA), ASAP Arist-Run Centre, and ACA’s Antigonight: Art After Dark Festival. These positions provided Amberlee opportunities to work with visual and performing artists to support youth and youth engagement in Antigonish Town, County, and Paqtnkek First Nation.
Thanks to these programs, Amberlee successfully completed a Master of Social Work (MSW) at the University of Calgary. Amberlee currently has a private clinical practice supporting individuals, families, couples, children, and youth. In her downtime, she likes to walk, listen to audiobooks, knit, and watch true crime documentaries.
Andy Pumphrey - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of first 3-year term
As an artist herself, Andy understands the challenges and triumphs of the artistic journey. She brings this perspective along with her love of research to the Antigonish Culture Alive board. Andy's goal with her art is to evoke smiles while carrying deeper meaning, with hidden personal touches for recipients. A dedicated lifelong learner, Andy has honed her skills through diverse training. She founded and manages Antigonish Vision for the Arts (AVA), and she thinks of herself as a professional volunteer frequently dedicating her creative energy to Theatre Antigonish and The Arts House where she also facilitates open studio sessions.
Andrea (Andy) Pumphrey
Learn more about Andy's work:
Instagram: @ArtistAndyPump
Facebook: Artist Andy Pump
Bluesky: @artist-andy-pump.bsky.social
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-andy-pumphrey/
As an artist herself, Andy understands the challenges and triumphs of the artistic journey. She brings this perspective along with her love of research to the Antigonish Culture Alive board. Andy's goal with her art is to evoke smiles while carrying deeper meaning, with hidden personal touches for recipients. A dedicated lifelong learner, Andy has honed her skills through diverse training. She founded and manages Antigonish Vision for the Arts (AVA), and she thinks of herself as a professional volunteer frequently dedicating her creative energy to Theatre Antigonish and The Arts House where she also facilitates open studio sessions.
Andrea (Andy) Pumphrey
Learn more about Andy's work:
Instagram: @ArtistAndyPump
Facebook: Artist Andy Pump
Bluesky: @artist-andy-pump.bsky.social
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-andy-pumphrey/
Andrea Terry - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 3rd year of second 3-year term
Dr. Andrea Terry is the Director of the StFX Art Gallery at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She has previously curated exhibitions at Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Definitely Superior Art Gallery. Her research, teaching, and curatorial practice explore historic, modern, and contemporary visual and material cultural production in Canada, critical museum studies, and participatory installation practices. She has published articles in international peer-reviewed academic journals such as Gender and History, Revue d’art canadienne / Canadian Art Review, the Journal of Heritage Tourism, and FUSE magazine, and has contributed chapters to books. She is the sole author of two books, the first being "Family Ties: Living History in Canadian House Museums," published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2015. Her second book "Mary Hiester Reid (1854 - 1921)" was published as an e-book in 2019 by Art Canada Institute and is free and available to all.
Dr. Andrea Terry has researched and engaged in critical feminist art histories and art practices for the past fifteen years. She received her BA (Hons) in Art History from McMaster University in 2002. She then went on to complete her MA (2005) and PhD (2010) in Visual and Material Culture at Queen’s University. She has received numerous awards and research fellowships, such as the Gray Graduate Fellowship in Canadian Art (2007), the Margaret Angus Research Fellowship at the Museum of Health Care at Kingston (2007), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, held in the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University (2010–12). She has also taught art history courses at universities across Canada, including Queen’s University, Carleton University, Mount Allison University, and Lakehead University.
Dr. Andrea Terry is the Director of the StFX Art Gallery at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She has previously curated exhibitions at Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Definitely Superior Art Gallery. Her research, teaching, and curatorial practice explore historic, modern, and contemporary visual and material cultural production in Canada, critical museum studies, and participatory installation practices. She has published articles in international peer-reviewed academic journals such as Gender and History, Revue d’art canadienne / Canadian Art Review, the Journal of Heritage Tourism, and FUSE magazine, and has contributed chapters to books. She is the sole author of two books, the first being "Family Ties: Living History in Canadian House Museums," published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2015. Her second book "Mary Hiester Reid (1854 - 1921)" was published as an e-book in 2019 by Art Canada Institute and is free and available to all.
Dr. Andrea Terry has researched and engaged in critical feminist art histories and art practices for the past fifteen years. She received her BA (Hons) in Art History from McMaster University in 2002. She then went on to complete her MA (2005) and PhD (2010) in Visual and Material Culture at Queen’s University. She has received numerous awards and research fellowships, such as the Gray Graduate Fellowship in Canadian Art (2007), the Margaret Angus Research Fellowship at the Museum of Health Care at Kingston (2007), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, held in the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University (2010–12). She has also taught art history courses at universities across Canada, including Queen’s University, Carleton University, Mount Allison University, and Lakehead University.
Ashley Bristowe - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 1st year of first 3-year term
Ashley Bristowe is a new Antigonisher. An author, feminist, disability activist, fundraising consultant, collagist, and ocean swimmer, Bristowe is committed to radical hospitality and inclusion. She lives with her fam & dogs on their farm in Cloverville.
Ashley Bristowe is a new Antigonisher. An author, feminist, disability activist, fundraising consultant, collagist, and ocean swimmer, Bristowe is committed to radical hospitality and inclusion. She lives with her fam & dogs on their farm in Cloverville.
Carissa Ainslie - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 1st year of first 3-year term
Carissa (she/her) is a Queer creative community arts organizer and project manager who graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2014 with a Bachelor of Design. She has a special interest in connecting artists and creatives with opportunities, spaces and networks.
Over the past ten years, Carissa has worked with artists across mediums in a variety of spaces from professional gallery’s to pop up exhibitions across Canada and the US.
After returning home to Nova Scotia/Mi'kma'ki, Carissa was the 2022 and 2023 Antigonight festival coordinator and founded The Meadows Retreat and Creative Space, an artist residency in Pictou County.
She is currently the Executive Director of Creative Pictou County and is Chair of Pictou County Pride.
Carissa (she/her) is a Queer creative community arts organizer and project manager who graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2014 with a Bachelor of Design. She has a special interest in connecting artists and creatives with opportunities, spaces and networks.
Over the past ten years, Carissa has worked with artists across mediums in a variety of spaces from professional gallery’s to pop up exhibitions across Canada and the US.
After returning home to Nova Scotia/Mi'kma'ki, Carissa was the 2022 and 2023 Antigonight festival coordinator and founded The Meadows Retreat and Creative Space, an artist residency in Pictou County.
She is currently the Executive Director of Creative Pictou County and is Chair of Pictou County Pride.
Catherine Girard - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of first 3-year term
Catherine Girard (PhD) (she/her) is an art historian born in Trois-Rivières during a snowstorm who moved to Antigonish in 2021 to join the Art Department at St. Francis Xavier University as Assistant Professor. An award-winning teacher and recipient of a Canada’s Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal, she holds a PhD in Art History from Harvard University. She has held positions at international art institutions, including the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (Paris), Columbia University, Williams College, and Eastern Washington University. She is also senior editor for Journal18, a peer-reviewed journal of eighteenth-century art and culture from around the world.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ART DEPARTMENT
St. Francis Xavier University
Antigonish, Nova Scotia · Canada
t 902 867 3349
www.stfx.ca
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003459293-9/visceral-castor-catherine-girard
https://www.stfx.ca/news/stfx-receives-over-12-million-research-funding
Senior Editor, Journal18, https://www.journal18.org/
Catherine Girard (PhD) (she/her) is an art historian born in Trois-Rivières during a snowstorm who moved to Antigonish in 2021 to join the Art Department at St. Francis Xavier University as Assistant Professor. An award-winning teacher and recipient of a Canada’s Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal, she holds a PhD in Art History from Harvard University. She has held positions at international art institutions, including the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (Paris), Columbia University, Williams College, and Eastern Washington University. She is also senior editor for Journal18, a peer-reviewed journal of eighteenth-century art and culture from around the world.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ART DEPARTMENT
St. Francis Xavier University
Antigonish, Nova Scotia · Canada
t 902 867 3349
www.stfx.ca
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003459293-9/visceral-castor-catherine-girard
https://www.stfx.ca/news/stfx-receives-over-12-million-research-funding
Senior Editor, Journal18, https://www.journal18.org/
Joan Elizabeth MacDonald - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of second 3-year term
My name is Joan Elizabeth MacDonald. Please call me Joan.
I work at L’Arche and 5¢ to 1$. I like to spend time rug hooking, painting and colouring. I like to walk home from work.
I have adopted many "Lala's" from 5¢ to 1$. Lala and I check the weather everyday.
Family is important to me.
My name is Joan Elizabeth MacDonald. Please call me Joan.
I work at L’Arche and 5¢ to 1$. I like to spend time rug hooking, painting and colouring. I like to walk home from work.
I have adopted many "Lala's" from 5¢ to 1$. Lala and I check the weather everyday.
Family is important to me.
Ken Matheson - Treasurer
Leigh Gillam - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 3rd year of second 3-year term
Leigh Gillam (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist who teaches Materials & Methods and Animation in the Art Department at StFX University in Antigonish. She completed a BFA with a joint major in Painting and Sculpture at Concordia University and is also a theatre maker (costume, set, production) media artist and animator. She completed a Visual and Media Arts MFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design where her work utilized a range of media, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration for stage and interactive media installation.
Leigh Gillam (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist who teaches Materials & Methods and Animation in the Art Department at StFX University in Antigonish. She completed a BFA with a joint major in Painting and Sculpture at Concordia University and is also a theatre maker (costume, set, production) media artist and animator. She completed a Visual and Media Arts MFA at Emily Carr University of Art + Design where her work utilized a range of media, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration for stage and interactive media installation.
Natalie Cameron - Director
ACA Board of Directors: 2nd year of second 3-year term
My name is Natalie Cameron and I work at L'Arche Antigonish, supporting people with intellectual disabilities. I was born and raised in England and moved to Canada to work at L'Arche when I was 18, I loved it so much I have made Antigonish my home ever since. In my 25 years at L'Arche I have had many roles and currently I am the Program Coordinator. I am the chair of the Hearts & hands committee at L'Arche, Hearts & Hands encompasses all the ways we, at L’Arche Antigonish, use art to build community, promote, and discover our creative potential. Outside of work, I enjoy sewing, puzzles and reading.
My name is Natalie Cameron and I work at L'Arche Antigonish, supporting people with intellectual disabilities. I was born and raised in England and moved to Canada to work at L'Arche when I was 18, I loved it so much I have made Antigonish my home ever since. In my 25 years at L'Arche I have had many roles and currently I am the Program Coordinator. I am the chair of the Hearts & hands committee at L'Arche, Hearts & Hands encompasses all the ways we, at L’Arche Antigonish, use art to build community, promote, and discover our creative potential. Outside of work, I enjoy sewing, puzzles and reading.
Stacy Dorion - Director
Cassie J. MacDonald - Arts Coordinator
Cassie is a New Waterford girl (of film and birthright) now living in Pomquet. Her artistic journey has taken her across screens, stages, and studios as an actor, singer-songwriter, and painter.
Cassie comes to ACA from the Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design where she was coordinating arts programs and exhibitions, and managing The Gallery Shop.
As Festival Coordinator for Antigonight 2025, she is thrilled to be exploring new connections within the vibrant arts community of Antigonish.
Cassie comes to ACA from the Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design where she was coordinating arts programs and exhibitions, and managing The Gallery Shop.
As Festival Coordinator for Antigonight 2025, she is thrilled to be exploring new connections within the vibrant arts community of Antigonish.
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