ID: Infographic features a black background with transparent colour wheel in the upper right corner. In the centre, in all caps, yellow text reads “Heat Waves” with a pink shadow to the right of each letter. Above reads “two thousand twenty-five” in white, image reads “Emerging Artist Residency” in all caps. Below the Heat Waves text is Eyelevel’s white logo with a black grain texture. Across the image's lower third, a gently waved white line with two white dots draws horizontally across.

Pictured in the Doudna Fine Arts Center Black Box Theater, Photo by Jay Grabiec.

ID: A photo of a mixed-media installation of six 8" x 4" ft panels in a black box theatre lit by stage lights. Artist Brigitta Zhao stands blurred in front of the third panel.

Photo by Deidre Sokolowska

ID: A photo of an ornamental wooden frame with a cyanotype print in it, hanging on a whitewall. The print depicts two people lying in water surrounded by floating flowers. Under the frame, large black text reads "In Absenstia".

Photo by LEO

ID: A photo with a long shot view of a seashore. A large body of rocks stretches along the middle of the photo. In the background is the blue open ocean, and land can be seen in the distance.  In the foreground, part of the shore is visible and on the left side of the frame is a person standing sideways, looking into the distance.

SJS @ UTA, January 10, 2025 (2) by Maya Keleris, Acrylic on 4x4" panel

ID: A photograph of a small square wooden canvas lying on a cerulean background, casting a small shadow at the bottom. The painting on the canvas depicts a medium long shot of a hockey player in a white and blue jersey numbered twenty holding out their left hand towards the three blurry teammates in the stands. A red logo peeks out from behind the player's stick to the lower right of the square canvas.

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Various

HEAT WAVES 2025

1 Jul – 20 Aug 2025
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Welcome Eyelevel’s 2025 HEAT WAVES artists!

HEAT WAVES is Eyelevel's annual low-pressure, self-directed residency for local early-emerging artists.  The four selected artists work in the shared studio room at 2482 Maynard Street for the month of July. Residents receive 24-hour studio access, a stipend to cover materials, and support from the Eyelevel staff. This program prioritizes artists who are new to artist-run centres and face systemic barriers to professional opportunities in the arts. 

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We invite you to join us online on August 20th from 6PM - 7PM for a group artist talk over Zoom. click to register

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Our 2025 HEAT WAVES Residents are:

Brigitta Zhao (she/her/they, @brigittazhao on Instagram, website: brigittazhao.com)

Brigitta Zhao is an artist currently based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), where she fell in love with the ocean and the vibrant art community. She moved to Halifax to attend NSCAD University, where she obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree and hopes to put down roots near the sea - a theme that deeply influences her recent work. Born and raised in China, she has spent the past decade moving across different parts of North America. These nomadic experiences inform her belief in art's power to unite communities, create meaningful connections, and celebrate our shared humanity while examining the complex relationship between people and the natural world.

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Deirdre Sokolowska (they/them, @unwashedace on Instagram)

Deirdre Sokolowska is Polish-Canadian settler artist and filmmaker living on Mi'kma'ki (unceded Mi'kmaq territory) in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. Working across narrative and experimental film, printmaking, and illustration, they explore queer identity, emotional memory, and the subconscious. A 2025 NSCAD University graduate and a 2025 Student Art Award nominee in film. They're currently expanding on their exhibition Night Sweats, an installation of print, photography, and composite imagery exploring the fragmented, surreal nature of dreams and mental health, inviting audiences into the beauty and isolation of the dreaming mind.

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LEO (they/she, @aaliyahfawkes on Instagram, website: https://readymag.website/5573657)

My name is LEO. I am a queer Bahamian artist, photographer, and songwriter who resides here in Mi'kma'ki. I integrate touches of Bahamian experiences and culture within my art. I aspire to show others who indulge in my artistic practice how I capture moments, snapshots of life and the beauty of everyday objects through my eyes.

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Maya Keleris (she/her, @mayakelerisart on Instagram, website: https://mayakelerisart.squarespace.com/)

Maya Keleris is a Halifax-based painter and printmaker. She graduated from NSCAD University in May 2024, with a BA in Art History and BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts. Her work explores contemporary sports fandom. Examining the sense of unity and belonging that can come with being a sports fan, as well as the distance created when experiencing games primarily through a screen. The iconic sports moments we remember are only as sharp as the quality that the TV allows. In a world that has become deeply intertwined with the digital, Maya’s work highlights the distance it creates by abstracting and embracing the artificiality. 

Artists include:

Brigitta Zhao, Deirdre Sokolowska, LEO and Maya Keleris

1 Jul – 20 Aug 2025

ARTIST TALK: AUG 20, 6-7PM

ONLINE (click to register)

2482 Maynard Street
Halifax, NS
Canada