NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT

We’re tremendously excited to announce Nocturne’s new leadership team of Yeha Ahn and Melany Nugent-Noble.

Starting with a few volunteers 15 years ago, Nocturne grew from a hard-working volunteer board of directors to having a full-time Executive Director. To support our growth and capacity in the community, In addition to bringing on a new Executive Director, we are introducing a new Artistic Director position to the Nocturne team.

Through speaking with many stakeholders, including artists and community leaders, we heard loud and clear that there is a need to grow and nurture administrative and leadership roles in the arts.

After the last two and a half years it has become even more clear how vital this work is for the health and sustainability of local arts organizations. With that in mind, we are excited to announce Yeha Ahn (she/her) as our interim Artistic Director.

This new role will work closely with staff and the board to launch a call for a permanent Artist Director in coming months. Designating Yeha to this position was only natural with her years of experience in the arts, event management, and community connections as well as her experience with organizations like NAIG 2020, ISANS, and the Khyber Arts Society. This will be Yeha’s seventh Nocturne festival after volunteering on the board of directors for many years. She will be stepping down from her board position to take on this important role in this transitional time and we couldn’t be more grateful and excited to continue to work with Yeha!

We are also thrilled to announce Melany Nugent-Noble (she/her) as the incoming Executive Director, taking over for Lindsay Cory. Melany’s engagement with Nocturne Festival began in 2021 as a spotlight artist: “My experience with the Nocturne Festival and Halifax’s art community was a magical experience for me [...] I appreciate how much community engagement there was at the festival, and it was a major part of my decision to relocate to to Kjipuktuk/Halifax.” Melany comes to this role with a career spanning 20 years in the arts and with various arts institutions, galleries, and in government, most recently as the Assistant Director at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in Kelowna, BC on the unceded territory of the syilx (Okanagan) people. Melany will start in her new role as Executive Director on August 17, 2022.

Melany and Yeha are so excited to continue the legacy of Nocturne’s work with our curators, artists and community stakeholders to increase the impact and reach of our organization. For the next few months, we’ll share what they’re working on as they dive right into preparing for the festival this October. You can reach out to Yeha at [email protected] and Melany at [email protected].