Eyelevel and Nocturne 2021 co-present: Invisible Threads are the Strongest Ties

Eyelevel is pleased to announce our project for this year’s iteration of Nocturne: Art at Night 2021: Invisible Threads are the Strongest Ties by Melany Nugent-Noble!

The project is one that meditates on anonymity, distance, connection, and community. Consisting of a series of 30 beacons that each change colour and become brighter when they are closer together and dimmer when they are further apart, Nugent-Noble’s project will be available to Halifax residents during an evening activation as part of the festival on October 16, 2021. Reserve a beacon in advance here

Join us on October 14th at 5PM at the Central Public Library's BMO room for an artist talk!

Anonymity and distance can often characterize the ways in which we move through physical spaces, daily routines, and behaviours. However, by elevating an element of chance connection with others during such tasks, there is potential to amplify the connection or curiosity of others with whom we share space, interact, and form a community. 

Invisible Threads are the Strongest Ties aimed to enhance the intersection of strangers as a means to disrupt the patterns in which we exist and amplify the moments that may otherwise be lost in the repetition and routine; to create curiosity about community and those that we share our communal spaces and routines with, and to acknowledge chance (situated-ness and temporality of interaction) and the creation of varied experience in its retelling.

Participants will have the opportunity to keep a beacon with them as part of their evening as they explore the Nocturne Festival. As the beacons move around, they communicate with each other and respond to the proximity and movement of other beacons by becoming brighter when they are closer, and dimmer when they are further apart. The beacons also change colour based on the number of beacons that are nearby. There are no other indicators of the proximity of other beacons. Participants only know of others’ locations or identities if they are seeing them in person. As such, participants only engage with others through the different colours and intensity of light from their beacon.

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About the Artist:
Melany Nugent-Noble is an interdisciplinary artist based in Kelowna, Canada. Her work as an artist responds to the political and social nature of public spaces and takes various forms including community-focused installations, and art books made from public government documents and speeches. Her processes as an artist are grounded in and S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), and informs her understanding of the relationship between making art, problem-solving, and creativity. Nugent-Noble has an MFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2015). In 2020, she was the City of Kelowna’s inaugural Artist in Residence.

COVID-19 Protocols:
Eyelevel and 2482 Maynard have COVID protocols in place for the space that will be honoured (masks, contact tracing, social distancing, low-touch snacks and frequent sanitization). At the site during Nocturne, hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes will be available to the artist and volunteers to sanitize beacons in-between uses. Volunteers will wear masks, and visitors will be supported with social distancing.

Eyelevel and Nocturne will be requiring all attendees to be fully vaccinated or have proof of medical exemption. To learn more about Phase 5 protocols at Eyelevel, please visit ​http://eyelevel.art/post/phase-5-covid-19-protocols-eyelevel