Nocturne 2026 Community Groups & Galleries Call for Submissions

Signy Holm
Posted on March 3rd, 2026
by Signy Holm

ABOUT THIS CALL

Kjipuktuk/Halifax galleries, museums, cultural and educational institutions, community groups, and local businesses are invited to submit their plans to participate in Nocturne: Embodied City as part of our signature night-time art experience, showcasing installations, static projects, performances, and community projects on Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 6:00 PM - midnight.

Nocturne’s 2026 Festival Curator, Annalise Prodor selected the theme Embodied City to inform this year’s festival. In Annalise’s words, “to question what it means to be embodied in urban environments can offer relief and create opportunities to engage lived experience more directly. Embodiment, or tuning into the body’s sensory experience, can spark creation, connection, and change through art, collective practice, and site-specific interventions”.

All applicants are invited to explore this theme within their proposals. To learn more about Annalise and this year’s theme, click here.

Festival Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026 6:00 PM - MIDNIGHT

Deadline to Apply: August 3, 2026, 11:59PM (ADT)


A NOTE ON ARTIST ENGAGEMENT

Nocturne celebrates Kjipuktuk/Halifax and Dartmouth's vibrant local art scene. Nocturne encourages Community Groups & Galleries to work collaboratively with an artist(s) or members of an arts organization. Nocturne also encourages fair financial compensation to any artist(s) involved with creating or collaborating on a project for a Community Group or Gallery.

APPLY NOW

ELIGIBILITY

Nocturne is a FREE, night-time festival featuring contemporary and performing arts of many different genres. Though the scope of the festival is quite wide, there are some key criteria that needs to be met for projects to be eligible. Community Group projects should:

  1. Take place within one of the following areas:

    1. Downtown Kjipuktuk/Halifax, including Barrington Street, Hollis Street, Argyle Street and surrounding areas.

    2. Waterfront and Port: Lower Water Street, Waterfront, Kjipuktuk/Halifax Port and surrounding areas.

    3. Spring Garden Road and surrounding areas, SMU and Dalhousie Campuses

    4. North End & Quinpool Road (from Robie to Oxford Streets, Agricola and Gottingen Streets and surrounding areas).

    5. Downtown Dartmouth (from the Ferry Terminal to Pleasant Street and surrounding areas).

  2. Focus on the showcasing of local art and artists, or engage the community through the arts

  3. Be FREE and not require payment to engage with the artwork

  4. Be open specifically from 6:00 PM - MIDNIGHT on Saturday, October 17, 2026

  5. Have the staffing/volunteer resources to manage the project

  6. Have a venue or prospective venue

  7. Be self-funded. Nocturne does not provide funding to participating Galleries and Community Groups.


COMMUNITY GROUPS & GALLERIES CATEGORY DEFINITIONS

COMMUNITY GROUP:

  • For-profit and non-profit community and cultural organizations, businesses (retail) and other cultural, educational and historical institutions, that do not meet the definition of a gallery, but will participate by coordinating their own nocturne arts event or activity, with the participation of artists or members of the arts community.

  • Includes other arts organizations (circus arts, dance, theatre), community groups, university galleries and other organizations.

GALLERY:

  • Organization or business whose day-to-day primary operations are the exhibition and/or promotion of visual arts and/or artists.

  • Includes public & commercial galleries, artist-run centres, arts cooperatives, university galleries.

MUSEUM

  • Organization in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.

LOCAL BUSINESS:

  • If you are a local business or for-profit group that does not fit the categories listed above, but wishes to participate in Nocturne: Art at Night, please contact us at [email protected] for further information

SELECTION CRITERIA

Applicants should be aware that participation in Nocturne is not automatic solely on the basis of meeting the general eligibility requirements. All applications will be reviewed and selected against the following criteria:

  1. Merit

  2. Presentation

  3. Originality

All projects must exhibit contemporary art or present a high-quality, original project that reflects the scale and spirit of Nocturne.

FEASABILITY:

Your application should include details about:

  • your project and how you plan to do it.

  • production and technical requirements and a plan to meet those requirements

  • staffing and volunteer requirements

  • accessibility

  • health and safety needs and a plan to meet those needs (if required)


HOW TO APPLY

Submit your proposal by completing THIS FORM.

The first section of the form will ask about eligibility criteria. If you cannot answer one or more of these questions, please contact us at [email protected] to proceed with your submission. We're here to help!

Please include all relevant details pertaining to your proposal.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 1, 2026, 11:59PM (ADT)

We will process applications on an ongoing basis, and aim to notify participants within 2 werks of receiving their application.

Please note that due to print deadlines, late submissions will NOT be accepted


Banner Image: Extraction by by Dalhousie Architecture Students Association, Blake Klotz, Jacob MacDougall, Camila Lima, Maya Kerfoot & Melanie Roberts. For Nocturne: Ground, October 18th, 2025. Photo by Greg Ellison.

FAQ'S

  • How will projects be evaluated?

    Merit, Presentation, Originality: Is your project high-quality, original, and reflects the scale and spirit of Nocturne?

    Feasibility: Do you provide details about the production and technical requirements and how you plan to meet those requirements?

    Accessibility: How is your project accessible to diverse audiences and equity-seeking groups?

    Safety: All projects are reviewed for safety requirements as they are included under our liability insurance.

  • What type of groups are eligible to participate?

    COMMUNITY GROUPS

    • For-profit and non-profit community and cultural organizations, businesses (retail) and other cultural, educational and historical institutions, that do not meet the definition of a gallery, but will participate by coordinating their own nocturne arts event or activity, with the participation of artists or members of the arts community.
    • Includes other arts organizations (circus arts, dance, theatre), community groups, universities and other organizations.

    GALLERIES:

    • Organization or business whose day-to-day primary operations are the exhibition and/or promotion of visual arts and/or artists.

    • Includes public & commercial galleries, artist-run centres, arts cooperatives, university galleries and museums.

    MUSEUM

    • Organization in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.

    LOCAL BUSINESS:

    • If you are a local business or for-profit group that does not fit the categories listed above, but wishes to participate in Nocturne: Art at Night, please contact us at [email protected] for further information.

  • What are some examples of project proposals for this call?

    ART INSTALLATIONS or EXHIBITIONS: Installations can be view-only displays or immersive (where the public can interact with the work).

    PERFORMANCE: Proposals may also include live performances from individuals or groups.

    WORKSHOPS: Projects that engage with the public through either teaching a skill or creating collective artwork

    Please note that these are just examples, and feel free to think outside the box! Your project can fit into multiple categories and be multi-disciplinary in nature.

    To see more examples of past projects, visit our Project Archive.

  • Is there anything else I should know?

    Nocturne encourages Community Groups and galleries to work collaboratively with an artist(s) or members of an arts organization. If working with an artist, Nocturne also encourages fair financial compensation to any artist(s) involved with creating or collaborating on a project for a Community Group or Gallery.

    Nocturne is dedicated to providing safer spaces. We aim to host spaces that are widely accessible, amplify marginalized voices and leadership, and actively prioritize anti-oppressive principles. Our organizational goal is to provide inclusive events free from harassment and discrimination.

    Selected applicants must agree to adhere to Nocturne's Policies and Code of Conduct.

  • How do I apply?

    Apply by filling out the Submission Form before the deadline of August 1st, 2026.

    The first section of the form will ask about eligibility criteria. If you do not meet the criteria or you’re unsure and still want to participate in Nocturne, please reach out to us at [email protected].

  • Are there other ways I can get involved?
    • Waterfront Chalet Call for Community Groups: In addition to this call, we are also accepting submissions to Nocturne's Waterfront Chalet Call for Community Groups. To learn more about this call, click here.
    • Supporting Nocturne: If you are a local business or for-profit group that does not fit the criteria for this call, but wish to participate in Nocturne: Art at Night, please contact us at [email protected] for further information on sponsorship opportunities and more!
    • Hosting a Project: Do you have an amazing space of your own that you would like to see activated by artists? Nocturne may have additional projects in need of venues throughout central Halifax and Dartmouth. Please reach out to [email protected] for more information.
    • Volunteering with Nocturne: If you are interested in volunteering for this year's festival, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on our upcoming call for volunteers!