Introducing Nocturne’s 2024 Festival Curator: Shuvanjan Karmaker!
Nocturne is thrilled to announce Shuvanjan Karmaker(he/him) as Nocturne’s 2024 festival curator, who has selected the theme of Microcosm for the 2024 festival.
Shuvanjan joins the Nocturne team, bringing experience working both as an administrator and performing as an artist in festivals and arts organizations, including Halifax Jazz Festival, Everyseeker, SuddenlyListen, Mayworks Festival, Open Waters Festival, Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival (Fredericton), Evolve Festival (NS & NB), and Inspire Festival (Moncton).
Today, Shuvanjan works as an independent music director, leading both small and large ensembles to showcase music from the local BIPOC community and composing original music and arrangements of his own.
For Nocturne 2023, Shuvanjan was a collaborator on the project IN THIS HOUSE, which explored histories of House Music with Soul, Funk, and Jazz renditions, highlighting the past pioneers who shaped the genre and the new generation of musicians that are pushing the genre forward today.
Before moving to Kjipuktuk/Halifax in 2009 to study International Development at Saint Mary’s University, Shuvanjan grew up on Bengali Classical and in the local DIY music scene playing and promoting underground music and contemporary art; writing for The Independent; and composed and recorded music for documentaries and theatre in his home city of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Informed by both Bangladesh-Indigenous and Canadian immigrant perspectives, Shuvanjan is passionate about representation in the arts community and highlighting shared experiences: “Growing up, I’ve seen my family members who are artists and civil workers fight for their indigenous land rights. Living and working in Kjipuktuk has helped me realize that I am not alone in this journey, and there are many just like me who are forging new paths to protect & share their cultures.”
Shuvanjan has selected the theme of Microcosm as a platform for artists to consider and share stories and to create connections around shared love, experiences, tragedies, and/or responsibilities. Continues Shuvanjan: “I invite artists to start conversations, leading us to their vision and understanding of microcosm-macrocosm analogy, connecting our community members to each other's experience and the cosmos as a whole.”
Nocturne takes place October 17-20, 2024. Submissions for artists to participate will open in early 2024. In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like to send a welcome to Shuvanjan, you can reach him at [email protected]
📷 by Nathaniel Cole, Studio 204
[A smiling man in a yellow jacket and blue shirt smiles at the camera. He is standing on a white background. On the left-hand side, there is a reflection of the man, that appears to be a reflection.]