Annual Africville Picnic

Bright, beautiful flags and banners created this past July 2019 with families at the annual Africville Picnic! It’s such an honour to be invited to facilitate an art project at this reunion.

Getting all set up to explore stamping, folding and dyeing!

A quick rinse will make the colours pop and the designs will be in full contrast!

Once the fabric comes out of the rinse water, it’s ready to dry and be attached by grommet to a bamboo poll!

In full flag-waving celebration!

Thank you to the community of Africville! Over 100 flags were made and filled the park in just a few hours!

July Dates & Locations

Art Bikers will be traveling to many neighbourhoods this summer! Watch for them in the locations below. Sometimes the schedule will change so please check for weather related updates!

art bikers blog

Isleville Post Returns!

Art Bikers will be at Isleville Park during the #NECC Annual BBQ from 4-6pm Wednesday, June 19th!

Come join us to swap stories and messages! 

Celebrating Bike Week with Highly Visible Results!

The Art Bikers are so excited to meet participants for their first pop up event of the year!

Behind the scenes, in the studio…

Ahead of Art Bikers field work with participants, there is an intensive and joyous creation period of research, design, testing, playing, and problem solving in the studio. Considering how to ensure children and adults alike have fun in their artistic creations is really important to Art Bikers. Also, they have to factor in weather — hot sun and blustery wind — that is just as eager to participate in our projects as the folks we encounter in public spaces!

Centred on spontaneous creativity and fun, collaboration and learning, Art Bikers Summer 13 team is eager to bring their passion for art making to public parks and places. This summer, look for the team in Dartmouth North, Africville, Fairview, Clayton Park, The Dartmouth Pizza Oven, Glen Garden, Mulgrave Park and so many other spots! We’ll be posting our schedule as soon as it is finalized.

At the Halifax North Common…

It was a genuine gift to hold space for participants to create original designs in renowned Mi’kmaw artist, filmmaker, musician and social justice advocate Alan Syliboy’s installation called Mi’kmaw Sign Post. This interactive art was created in partnership with The Deanery Project and Halifax Regional Municipality. Find out more about the artist and his participation in Our Common Woods placemaking project here: http://thedeaneryproject.com/our-common-woods/

After riding to the North Common, the Art Bikers set up and got ready to claim some space in the great outdoors! Pinnies could be seen across the park and caught the attention of approximately 70 people who participated in making their very own design! Huge thanks to Halifax Bike Week for their support of this activity! Awarding us a grant for materials for this project meant we were able to create innovative, adjustable pinnies for cyclists of all sizes.

First stop, the outdoor fitting station! Pick your favourite pinnie, try it on, twirl in the sun and cheer!

Designing one of a kind paper stencils and learning about how screen printing works with Art Bikers Salma and Undine.

Frist challenge: how to get an idea onto the page to be translated into bold shapes cut out for the stencil. Art Biker Sorrel is there to support!

Print time! The best part is pulling your first print and seeing the surprise of the big reveal! Adults love it as much as kids! Artist Devon looks on in support, guiding the process.

Veteran Art Biker Eric braces the screen for this eager cat!

It was a busy stretch with participants really getting into their work!

And after all that work, it’s time to try on and celebrate these bold pinnies!

Folks were thrilled with the results and eager for biking safely off to other Halifax Bike Week activities!

Pictured here: some cycling enthusiasts in the latest visibility wear, compliments of the Art Bikers!

Not pictured here: the incredible family of parents and children catching up to — and riding partway like ducklings behind — Art Bikers as they cycled back to the studio! This family was a total highlight, among many, at Art Bikers’ first event of the year! Kind thank you to all the folks who joined us and to the 4Cs Foundation for supporting such an incredible program.

Bike Week: First Event of the Season!

DATE: Saturday, June 8th, 2019

TIME: From 1-4pm

LOCATION: Emera Oval, Halifax North Commons

DETAILS: As part of Bike Week, Art Bikers are hosting our first pop up to promote safety on the road! Young cyclists are encouraged to join us in making bright, colourful safety vests — with unique silkscreened designs — so they can be seen while biking.

This free event is open to all, and we look forward to meeting you to celebrate the beginning of Season 13!

Be safe and seen this summer while you ride!

Add your very own design to your vest! Art Bikers will teach you our favourite paper stencil method for silkscreening a picture onto bright green and orange vests! All supplies are included.

Meet our 2019 Art Bikers: Undine, Eric, Salma, Sorrel and Devon! And celebrate Bike Week!

Highlights of training

This season’s Art Bikers team has been busy in various training sessions that include time to understand the goals of the program; community arts and community building; safety in the studio, while traveling together by bicycle, and while working in the field with participants of all ages; exploring various art mediums; anti-oppression and intercultural competency; and bicycle maintenance — among others. It’s a deep period of learning, reflection and skill building in anticipation of the dynamic season ahead.

The training period — which lasts almost a month — is also a time for the Art Bikers to begin collaborating, understand how best to support one another, get oriented and help support a healthy and vibrant studio ecology, and bring their skills and talents to the team. The Art Bikers develop a Working Together Agreement that creates a framework for strong communication, emotional/physical/spiritual wellbeing, and strategies for thriving in their fieldwork alongside participants.

Here are a few highlights from training, so far, in Season 13.

A moment of radical joy in celebrating the learnings from the anti-oppression workshop by South House facilitator Carmel!

Thank you for following Art Bikers!

Art Bikers is a 4Cs Foundation legacy program. We are excited to begin Season 13, programming all over Halifax Regional Municipality in the summer of 2019!

We no longer use this site for updates, but please find a link to our new Art Bikers blog here:

http://www.wonderneath.com/art-bikers-blog

We would love to hear your ideas and feedback! To contact us:

Call: 902-454-6860 (studio) or 782-234-5489 (mobile)

Email: artbikers@gmail.com

Mail:

Art Bikers
c/o Wonder'neath Art Society
2891 Isleville Street
Halifax, NS
B3K 3X6

Are you interested in making a donation to support Art Bikers? 

Please follow this link:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/wonderneath-art-society/

Thank you for your support!

Welcome to the Summer 2019 Art Bikers Blog!

Season 13 Art Bikers!

Art Bikers is a mobile community arts program founded by 4Cs Foundation and run in partnership (since 2017) with Wonder’neath Art Society.

Begun in 2007, Art Bikers has been building community through all ages art programming throughout Halifax Regional Municipality in parks and public green spaces.

Art Bikers’ studio is located at 2891 Isleville Street, in Halifax’s north end.

Contact us:

By phone: 902-454-6860

By mobile: 782-234-5489

By email: artbikers@gmail.com

Follow us on social media

Instagram @artbikers

Facebook facebook.com/artbikers

Twitter @artbikersevents

Art Bikers 2019: Now hiring! 4 positions!

Be part of the 4Cs Foundation legacy program! We are eager to share the details about our upcoming summer Art Bikers positions. For more information, please follow the link below. Deadlines are April 24th & 25th depending on the position.

If you do not have access to a hybrid bicycle, but are otherwise qualified, please apply and we will track down a bicycle for the summer. Questions: call 902-454-6860

wonderneath.com/art-bikers