Tuesday, November 1, 2022 (Halifax, NS) - Convocation is one of the most celebratory times of year for Dalhousie University. Twice a year, the university community comes together to celebrate a huge milestone in the academic journey of its students. During the university’s convocation ceremonies, it also celebrates extraordinary individuals who have demonstrated service to their community and made significant progress in their fields. Dalhousie University is pleased to recognize artist, community builder and curator of African Nova Scotian stories, David Woods with an honorary degree during its fall convocation ceremony on the morning of Wednesday, November 2, 2022.
Born in Trinidad, Woods immigrated to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia when he was a teenager. His diverse, multidisciplinary skills as an artist are largely self-taught, but his educational journey included a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dalhousie University in 1981. Woods’ artistic pursuits include poetry, acting, directing, playwriting, painting and even quilting. He is also a researcher and community builder who pictures possibility in all theatres of society and, through colour and collaboration, conjures it into existence. Woods’ creations, performances and works have frequently touched upon essential stories of the African Nova Scotian and African Canadian experience, including the current national tour of his curated exhibition of African Nova Scotian quilts, The Secret Code.
As associate curator of the Nova Scotia Art Gallery, he mounted the first ever exhibit on African Canadian visual art. He has founded many longstanding arts and cultural groups including the Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia, the New Brunswick Black Artists Alliance and the Cultural Awareness Youth Group of Nova Scotia. His research work has shone a spotlight on under-told stories of the African Canadian experience, from landscape painter Edward Mitchell Bannister to the now-famous story of civil rights activist Viola Desmond.
Having been a past recipient of the Nova Scotia Poetry Award, the George Elliott Clark Literary Award (2017), and the prestigious Harry Jerome Award for Arts and Entertainment, this will be his Woods’ first honorary degree.
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Contact:
Lindsay Dowling-Savelle
Media Relations Manager
Dalhousie University
902-222-8810
Lindsay.savelle@dal.ca
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