2025 LOW-SENSORY PROJECT: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Founded in 2008, Nocturne: Art at Night Festival (Nocturne) is a free, independent, contemporary art festival in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). Annually, Nocturne brings 65,000+ people to the streets of Halifax and Punamu'kwati'jk (Dartmouth) to experience art and celebrate the visual arts scene in unceded Mi'kma'ki territory (Nova Scotia).

Nocturne will take place from October 16-19, 2025, and will include various performances, workshops, artist talks/panels and opportunities for artists to connect. A detailed festival schedule will be available closer to the festival dates.

Artists working in any discipline and at any stage of their careers are encouraged to apply.

Artists do not need to directly experience sensory sensitivities in order to apply for this call. We encourage applicants to familiarize themselves with low-sensory accessibility.

The project should incorporate Sensory-Friendly and Accessible elements and respond to the Halifax Public Gardens.

Low Sensory:

Sensory-friendly elements may include, but are not limited to:

• Little or no competing noise (Music is turned down or off, fewer sudden noises, or announcements)

• Lighting changes (No bright spotlights, flickering lights, or flashing lights)

• Scent-free (materials, etc)

• Inclusion of Sensory-friendly tools or sensory and fidget toys, Noise-canceling headphones/earplugs or Sunglasses

• A variety of seating options with clear, wide paths for wheelchairs and those with mobility or balance issues, or low-vision.

Accessibility:

An access guide will also be required. An access guide is a document designed to provide information on the accessibility of a venue or event, including relevant sensory details. This will be developed by the successful artist in consultation with the festival staff.

Example: QUIET PARADE access guide

Site-Specific:

Artists should consider Point Pleasant Park as the venue, and ways that the work will be experienced. Artists should also plan for the various weather conditions that could be a factor.

This project will take place at ONE of the below Summer House locations (gazebo and the surrounding green space). The successful artist will choose their preferred location which will be confirmed following meetings with Nocturne and HRM programming staff.

Point Pleasant Summer House: Located at the southernmost tip of the Park, the Point Pleasant Summer House Gazebo sits adjacent to the Northwest Arm Battery. The gazebo is surrounded by open green space and faces one of the main trails looking onto the Northwest Arm - a narrow inlet dividing the western side of the Halifax peninsula.

Cedar Walk Summer House: The Cedar Walk Summer House is positioned just west of the lower parking lot. Nestled between several smaller gravel trails, the Cedar Walk Summer House sits in a slightly more sheltered location.

About Point Pleasant Park

• Main Park Web Page

• Interactive Park Map

• Summer House Gazebo

• Cedar Walk Gazebo

• Point Pleasant Park event regulations

We encourage all applicants to consider their relationship to the land; Nocturne is an opportunity and platform to re-imagine the spaces of our city, both built and natural, and to interrogate the systems and institutions that govern those spaces. It is also a platform to consider the lived and experienced cultural landscapes that make up our city. The land (and waters) where Nocturne takes place is Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral, unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship,” which Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq Peoples first signed with the British crown in 1725. It’s important that we say unceded and unsurrendered because acts that violate these treaties are happening every day here in Mi’kma’ki and all across Turtle Island. We are all treaty people, and Nocturne strives to uphold the relationships outlined in these treaties that govern this land. We also acknowledge the significant foundations that the infrastructure and culture of Black and African Nova Scotian communities have contributed and continue to contribute to this province and country. Nocturne continues to collaborate, amplify, and connect with the many art communities that live and work here in Mi'kma'ki. The Native Land Interactive Map is a great resource and educational tool for learning more about Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages.

Alignment with Theme:

Artists are required to respond to this year’s theme, Ground, as a means of considering our often complicated relationship to land, and what it means to be grounded in relation to something, somewhere, or someone. Ground speaks to our bodily connection to our surroundings and the ways in which we move through, change, and become changed by land, including what lies beneath the ground. Artists are encouraged to expand their notions of community, stability, migration, colonization, growth, destruction, and re-growth, and explore the multitude of possible meanings of this theme.

To read more about Marite Kuus and this year’s theme, click here.

Our inaugural Low-Sensory Project took place in October 2024 with Quilted Canopies by Toronto-based artists Shayla Bond and Anne Kobayashi, at the Halifax Public Gardens.

Similar projects include Collect/ive Grief, Collect/ive Joy (2023) by Corrie Peters, and QUIET PARADE (2022) by Aislinn Thomas et al.

Workshops/Demonstrations/Artist Talks will be scheduled on Friday, October 17. Artists can include in their application if they are interested in offering an artist talk, but it is not mandatory or guaranteed. If selected, additional CARFAC fees will be allocated for these activities.

Artist Support Network

Participating artists may be eligible to join the Artist Support Network: a one-on-one mentorship program connecting emerging artists with Nocturne alumni and public art and production professionals.

The Call for Submissions application form contains a section to indicate your interest in taking part in the project as a mentee.

To learn more about the Artist Support Network including testimonials from past participants, click here.

Funding

For the successful applicant, Nocturne pays for material/production expenses, artist care, and travel.

The Nocturne Selection Committee reserves the right to ask questions about the submitted budget, provide additional funding, or suggest a different contribution amount.

Accessibility

Additional accessibility-related expenses for this project will also be covered by Nocturne, as needed.

Examples may include sign language interpretation, personal care attendant or support worker, a transcriber or specialized editor, personal project coordinator or assistant, a guide or visual describer, converting material into accessible formats, rental of specialized equipment needed for personal access or support, additional signage to make public engagement more accessible/inclusive.

Apply using THIS FORM.

This is a fillable Google form so keep in mind that while you can work on it as you go you cannot save the form to come back to it later. We suggest working offline first and then copy and pasting your answers once you are ready to submit. To download a PDF of the call, click HERE.

1. Fill out your application form and be sure to complete each section:
   

   1. Contact Information

   2. Artist/Collective Information

   3. Project Information

   4. Support Material

      1. BUDGET TEMPLATE - This template can be downloaded as spreadsheets usable in other platforms.

      2. IMAGE LIST TEMPLATE - This template can be downloaded as spreadsheets usable in other platforms.

      3. An up-to-date artist CV + Bio (2 pages max per artist. Please include all CVs/bios in 1 PDF).

      4. (Optional) Letters of support from collaborators or venues.

   5. Artist Declaration

Submit your application and all additional materials before the deadline: April 7, 2025 11:59 PM (AST)

All selected projects will be insured under our Commercial General Liability policy ($5,000,000) and therefore subject to review for safety and liability concerns. Nocturne will work with artists to mitigate risks and provide any formal documentation required. This may include (but is not limited to) adding additionally insured companies/venues to our policy.

• Calls for Submission: We are also currently accepting applications to our Main Call for Submissions for Saturday night Beacon Projects. Artists are permitted to submit to multiple calls that they are eligible for.

• Community Group and Galleries Call for Submission: Nocturne works with local Community Groups and Galleries each year for the festival. This call will be open in late Spring 2025.

• Partnerships: Nocturne has broad relationships with various members of the community – artists, community partners, and sponsors – who come from a broad spectrum of sectors and perspectives, but the one thing that they have in common is their support for the arts and the Nocturne Festival to help sustain community, support artists, and create a vibrant HRM. If you are interested in partnering with Nocturne, we would love to hear from you at [email protected].

• Volunteer: Nocturne is run primarily by volunteers and would not be possible without your dedication. One of the best ways to support the festival is to come out and lend a hand! Our call for volunteers for 2025 will be made available closer to the festival dates.

• Venues: Nocturne is always seeking new and unique venues for projects. If you have a space and would like to host a project, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

We understand that as an artist you have many ideas for projects you might want to pursue for Nocturne. In order to support more artists through our festival, we will only be selecting one application per artist. This means you should consider focusing on one application to this call for projects rather than putting in multiple ideas with multiple collaborators. You may provide support to multiple applications within your capacity beyond your own project, however it is our intention to only have one project per artist at the festival moving forward.

Artists are permitted to apply for both the Low-Sensory Call and the Main Call for Submissions, however, you may not be selected for both.

Staff will do an initial review of all proposals and flag anything that does not align with our festival priorities or our initial safety review or does not follow our application criteria. All applications will be sent to the Nocturne Selection Committee which is composed of local artists, arts and culture workers, and community members. The Selection Committee members are paid an honorarium for their time and expertise.

The Nocturne Selection Committee reviews the applications and makes recommendations based on the following criteria:

• • January 15: Call for submissions opens

  • January 28: Info session - Click here to watch recording

  • April 7: Call for submissions closes. The selection committee will review and deliberate.

  • Mid May: The top 3 successful artists will be shortlisted to present their ideas to the selection committee. The three artists selected to present their project concepts will each receive an honorarium of $500.00.

  • Mid-June: Shortlisted candidates will present their ideas to the selection committee.

  • Late June: Successful applicants contacted

  • August 1: Marketing materials due

  • October 16-19: Nocturne 2025

    • Low-Sensory Project: Sunday, October 19th

  • December 31: Deadline for final reports from artists

Applicants will be informed of any adjustments to the timeline.

Nocturne is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts NS, HRM, and local community partners. Learn more about our festival partners and sponsors here.

• Artists should consider the various weather conditions that might be a factor.

• Take a look at examples of previous Nocturne projects from our archive.

• Work offline first and then move all your information to the Google form.

• Watch the info session recording, here.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have and to accommodate applicants facing barriers to completing an online application or any part of our application process.

Please note, for accessibility purposes, Nocturne will also accept proposals via phone, video, or audio file as needed by the applicant. Please get in touch via email at [email protected] to arrange this submission type. This process will take approximately one hour, and it will include a recorded interview that takes place between an organizer or committee member and the applicant to go through each section of the application together. The conversation will be recorded and shared with the jury via video or transcription.

Signy Holm (she/her)

Programming Coordinator

[email protected]

Melany Nugent-Noble (she/her)

Executive Director

[email protected]

Brigitta Zhao (she/her)

Director of Artist Care and Support

[email protected]

Marite Kuus (she/they)

Festival Curator

[email protected]

At the end of each festival season, we ask participating artists what advice they would give other artists applying to Nocturne. Here’s what the 2023 Nocturne cohort had to share:

• Application

  • “Pitch hard! Don't soften the pitch.”

  • “Go even bolder! I would have loved to have attempted something even more challenging and more interactive.”

  • “I think I might tell me and other artists who apply to be persistent. Each round of applications is different from the last, the theme changes, and the jury changes. If you're confident in your idea/project just keep trying.”

  • “Advocate for your work and your name”

• Funding, Planning, and Resources

  • “Be very clear about costs! My first time doing Nocturne as an independent artist (many years ago), I undervalued nearly everything and was well out of pocket for the project, thinking that it would be better to appear as "cheap" as possible.”

  • “Definitely make use of all resources the festival offers to support the artists and plan ahead so you can have flexibility during the night of the festival, be it for last-minute adjustments (they are always needed) or for enjoying other projects as the night progresses.”

  • “Applying for a project grant for additional funding alongside the Nocturne funding would have been great. I wish I would have sought that out. I also wish I was organized enough to know what I needed for help, and then maybe it wouldn't have taken me so long to install. I'm really glad I came 5 days early though and I'm also glad I built the piece at home first and shipped it rather than try to get it all printed and cut there. That planning helped me in the long run.”

  • “Be aware of other grant application deadlines and their timing with respect to Nocturne. If you're out of province consider all the ways you can plan your work before actually arriving there”

  • “To research travel costs a bit more and book hotels a lot earlier.”

  • “Learn how to ask for accommodations. Have self-awareness around what your needs are for your project. Connect and talk with other Nocturne and past participants to get a sense of their experience.”

• During the Festival

  • “Consider the audience as part of your project!”

  • “Consider how you will pace yourself through the length of the evening, remembering that you can set a schedule of performance times, or plan to have a volunteer team to help you balance the durational element of the event.”

  • “Think carefully about what you will need to complete the festival night. Imagine the night progressing and try to think of things that could come up.”

Sensory Friendly Solutions

Why Access is Love and There is No Such Thing as “Barrier-Free” by Aislinn Thomas

Bodies in Translation

Connectability - Four Patterns of Sensory Processing

Tangled Arts Accessibility Toolkit