Page 27 - Dreamscapes Magazine | Winter 2021-2022

HALIFAX
ON DISPLAY
ARTISTS FIND INSPIRATION ON THE ATLANTIC COAST By Bruce W. Bishop
t the age of 47, Anna Leonowens, a prolific travel writer and author born in India, arrived as a new immigrant to this garrison town on the Atlantic. Leonowens, whose own life story spawned the Broadway musical hit and fea- ture film, The King and I that was based on the epic novel, Anna and the King of Siam, was always a keen, dynamic self-promoter, who later decided to “stimulate and contribute” to the city’s cultural life. She is one of the
founders of today’s Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (a.k.a. NSCAD).
Now 134 years after NSCAD was founded, Halifax remains an ever-changing metropolis with a thriving art scene whose tentacles have spread across the province. (The municipality has less than half a mil- lion people but continues to grow.)
As a writer myself who was born and raised in Nova Scotia, walking the streets of this naval-rich city has allowed me to get a whiff
”One intrepid globetrotter who once spent five years in her 30s as governess to the Thai royal family must have wondered if she made the wrong turn when she settled in Halifax back in 1878.
ABOVE: A fish mural in downtown Halifax adds a splash of colour by Barrington Street & George Street. Discover Halifax
A
WINTER 2021/2022 DREAMSCAPES 27