Curious about local art? We are too!

When it comes to the arts, Nova Scotia is spoiled for talent, and we're pleased to feature local art in many of our Library spaces.

From The Sunroom at Central Library to art displayed in our branches, we want to give local artists space to connect with our community and share their vision.

Current exhibits

The Sunroom at Central Library

On display October 11 through November 21, 2026

Picturing Grief by Susan MacLeod and Savannah Tries

Picturing Grief is an exhibition of comics and visual storytelling that presents works from Co-Cartoonists-in-Residence at Grief Matters: Susan MacLeod and Savannah Tries. By using comics to support grief literacy they aim to make grief visible - inviting conversations that normalize and broaden our experiences of grief to shape, teach and connect us all.  

Grief Matters is a Canadian charitable organization that aims to improve how we understand and make room for grief, using creative, community-based activities. More information can be found at griefmatters.ca. 

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Alderney Gate Public Library

Information on next display coming soon.

Captain William Spry Public Library

Information on next display coming soon.

Cole Harbour Public Library

On display October through December, 2026

Brush & Batik by Andrea Landry & Jay Walmsley

Andrea Landry is a self-taught artist from Lake Echo, who works in acrylic and occasionally gouache.  She sketched frequently throughout her childhood, but that then took a backseat to family and career.  It wasn't until 2020 that she picked up a brush for the first time and participated in a virtual paint night.  For the next two years, Andrea watched countless YouTube videos and painted along to many of them.  She now works from photos she has taken and is developing a deeper appreciation for the beautiful planet we live on, finding endless inspiration.  It's an occasion for her to share what she finds beautiful in the ordinary.  She gravitates to landscapes, enjoys unique subjects like colourful sneakers and captures people doing everyday things.

Andrea brings a crisp style with a focus on light, shadow and depth.

Andrea is a member of Dartmouth Visual Arts Society and has sat on the board as Exhibits Coordinator for the last three years.

Jay Walmsley is a retired aquatic ecologist, turned batik artist, living in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Originally from South Africa, she took art as a high school matriculation subject, and after university, studied art part time as a hobby, with Mimi van der Merwe in Pretoria, South Africa. She mostly did acrylic painting, print techniques (e.g., etching, linocut, collagraphy) and papier mâché. After moving to Canada in 2003, she focused on her scientific career and family, and it was only during the COVID pandemic that she turned to batik as an artistic outlet and has been creating batik paintings since 2023.

Batik is a textile art using a wax-resist technique and colourful dyes. Wax is applied to areas of fabric to resist dye, allowing one to build layered colours, intricate motifs, and characteristic crackle effects. Batik is most famously associated with Indonesia, especially Java, but has been practiced across Asia and Africa, to produce traditional patterns. Jay has been experimenting with various natural fabrics (cotton/silk weaves), waxes, and dyes to create paintings, rather than traditional batik designs.

Most of Jay’s inspiration comes from the natural world, with its beautiful and intriguing forms and colours. She currently has a special interest in the repeat patterns one sees in nature, marine creatures and their homes, and the incredible variety of birds and their plumage. She has an eye for the perfection seen in smaller things, such as the underside of mushrooms, the spirals in a shell or the wings of a dragonfly. Batik techniques add a vibrancy to these subjects and the small imperfections that are natural to the technique seem to add, rather than detract, from the final outcome.

J.D. Shatford Memorial Public Library

On display November 2026

Art by Karin van der Heyden 

"I developed my love of fabric art in the 1970s at Sheridan College and The Banff School of Fine Arts. My career has led me through the design and creation of Dolls, Theatrical Costuming and Fashion Design in Toronto. After a 30-year hiatus running a business and raising a family, I reignited my interest in the fibre arts. I began rug hooking with artist and teacher Wanda Kerr on South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, in 2017."

"In 2020, during COVID, we moved to Northwest Cove, Nova Scotia.In 2022-2023, I was delighted to work at the Hooked Rug Museum of North America in Hubbards, Nova Scotia. Here I expanded my love of hooking with some very talented local and international artists. Moving to the sea has fostered much new inspiration for my work, and I love how it unleashes my imagination. All works incorporate hand-dyed material, including mixed fibres, wool and silk."

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Keshen Goodman Public Library

Information on next display coming soon.

Musquodoboit Harbour Public Library

On display November through to early 2027

Nest Builders by Jan Taylor Foley, Swantje Jahn Foley, Torvi Jahn Foley, and Freyja Jahn Foley  

Torvi’s art (age 5) is made from paper cut by the very talented Emma Hale.  
 
In the natural world, a nest is a testament to resourcefulness, care and the instinct to create a place of safety and belonging. In our own backyards, birds gather what is at hand (or at beak), twigs, grasses, feathers, moss and found materials, weaving them together to create a home for the next generation. Their work is both practical and tender: an act of making, nurturing and preparing for what is to come. 
 
Nest Builders draws inspiration from these small, everyday wonders and the many ways we, too, build nests within our families and communities. We think of the hands that grow, gather and prepare the ingredients for a family meal; the hands that mend, make, plant and tend; the hands that transform a house into a home. These are the often-unnoticed gestures through which we express love, carry traditions forward and create places where others can feel safe, held and connected. 
 
Like the birds, we make use of what is available to us. We gather materials, memories, skills and stories, shaping them into something that can shelter, sustain and bring us together. Nest building is not always a solitary act. It is a shared process, learned by watching, passed from hand to hand, and continually reshaped by the needs and imaginations of those who come after us. 
 
This exhibition brings together three generations of artists, from five years old to almost seventy, to explore the process and significance of nest building. Through different ages, perspectives and ways of making, the works invite us to consider what we gather, what we create, what we inherit and what we leave for others. 
 
Nest Builders celebrates the beauty of making do, making together and making room for one another. 
 
Whether woven from twigs or traditions, gathered materials or shared memories, every nest tells a story of care. And every nest builder, in their own way, helps make a world in which the next generation can take root, find shelter and eventually spread its wings. 

Sackville Public Library

Information on next display coming soon.

Tantallon Public Library

On display November 2026

Art by Brushstrokes by the Bay 

"Brushstrokes by the Bay is a local painting group made up of artists working in a variety of mediums, who come together each week to paint and share ideas."

"Each of us brings our own style, interests, and creative perspective, making our group an eclectic mix of artistic expression."

"Several members of Brushstrokes by the Bay are pleased to share artwork in this November exhibition at Tantallon Public Library. We hope you enjoy exploring the variety of work on display."

Participating Artists: Twila Creaser, Paula Fredericks, Charlene Goguen, Carole MacInnis, Carole Fletcher, Sandy Moore, Karen Llewellyn, Elisabeth Hulshoff, Kathy Dominic, Craig Hood, Evan LeBlanc

Outgoing Members: Robin Courneya, Sherrie Redden

Woodlawn Public Library

On display November through January 2027

Korean Artist Exhibition

"Based in Halifax, Canada, this group of Korean women artists has been connected through art for about 10 years. As newcomers to Canada, we each have different artistic backgrounds and work in a variety of styles and mediums, from painting and drawing to urban sketching and plein air art."

"Through our art, we share our experiences of building a new life in Canada. As Korean Canadian women, we find inspiration in the people, landscapes, and everyday moments around us. Our work reflects our journey of finding beauty, connection, and hope in our new home."