LUMINOUS PATHS: NANAIMO’S 150TH & BEYOND

bailey macabre – bailey macabre is an agender nêhiyaw/michif/Ukrainian self-taught interdisciplinary artist and writer residing on the homelands of the Snuneymuxw on so-called Vancouver Island with matrilineal ties to Beardys & Okemasis Cree Nation. Their practice includes a variety of mediums from comics and digital art to painting, sculpture, beadwork and zines.

David Martinello – David Martinello uses print, sculpture, painting, film, poetry, installation and performances alongside traditional woodworking to investigate the expressive attributes of wood. By curating an impressionistic response to the material’s characteristics, Martinello contemplates wood’s legacy to develop a holistic account of its influence in natural and constructed environments. Martinello’s practice is informed by a BFA from Queen’s University and years of building furniture with his company Alternative Woodworks. He has curated several shows and owned a gallery, and his art has been seen in galleries across Canada and public artworks commissioned by municipalities in BC and Alberta.

Jenny Smith – Jenny Smith is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on community engagement. With a first love of literature, she was a winner for the Royal British Columbia Museum’s writing contest on Leonardo Da Vinci’s art, and her paintings have been featured in multiple literary journals, including on the cover of Room Magazine. In 2021, her interactive-engagement sculpture “In Your Hands” was installed on the West Vancouver waterfront for the summer. In 2023, she engaged hundreds of Pender Island residents in a community art project themed upon the inner child. Her current work explores relationships between technology, nature and the unseen world.

Mauro Dalla Costa – Mauro is a multidisciplinary artist from Argentina based in Nanaimo since 2017. He specializes in printmaking, particularly screen printing. Mauro also explores 3D art, animation and other creative disciplines. His work combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary techniques inspired by geometry, space and the universe. He creates pieces that invite reflection and connection blending meticulous detail with experimentation.

Monkey C – Monkey C Interactive is the interactive work of artists David Parfit and Scott Amos. Whether it’s a strange and whimsical musical instrument like the Bubble Organ, a giant motion-responsive LED cube sculpture, a tech-house-looping mutant cash register or a 5-story-tall musical stairwell, Monkey C Interactive’s public art installations and interactive sculptures have amused and delighted countless people in their hometown of Victoria, BC and at numerous festivals and events.