Jeremy Tsang stands near his exhibit for Nocturne: Art At Night on Dresden Row in Halifax. It’s the first time the artist has participated in the festival but he said he hopes to come back again. (October 18, 2014) 曾伟豪与他在艺术之夜的作品“双喜楼”。这是他第一次将作品带入艺术之夜，同时他很期待再次加入本项活动。（2014年10月18日) Photo: Colin Chisholm
文/Colin Chisholm
译/Christine Qin Yang
在哈法丰富的节庆活动中， 最不容错过的一项即是哈法艺术之夜(Nocturne: Art At Night)。
哈法艺术之夜吸引了来自不同年龄层以及不同文化背景的人群。
本届哈法艺术之夜出现了一位年轻的加拿大华人艺术家，他叫曾伟豪(Jeremy Tsang)，出生于安大略省，在哈利法克斯读的大学。他的作品“双喜楼”便是他作为第二代华人移民的一个缩影。
“我本身对艺术的兴趣连同我加拿大华人的身份启发了我的创作。”他说：“作为移民，你要背井离乡，一切都要重新开始。你也需要不断尝试改变自己，用各种方式去适应新环境。”
当我采访曾伟豪的时候，隐约听到旁边传来艾美•怀恩豪斯(Amy Winehouse)的歌曲《Rehab》以及旅程乐队(Journey)的《Don’t Stop Believing》。这些旋律透过带有中国元素装饰的铁门传进屋里。
曾伟豪告诉我：“当我在这里学习和生活时，我总是对城市中那些不起眼的角落充满了好奇，它们给予我艺术创作的灵感。我曾认识一位男子，他的摩托车总停在附近。他告诉我，90年代时，这个地带很热闹，因为当时法律对未成年人饮酒的规定还不是很明朗，朋克摇滚乐团也常常在这演奏。”
每年，艺术之夜活动都会在哈利法克斯市中心、城北以及达特茅斯市中心开展。全城约有数以万计的观众们驻足参观艺术节不同主题的展览，而艺术家们也都使出浑身解数为参观者呈现这座城市的创造之美。
曾伟豪今年第一次加入艺术之夜，他希望来年能再次参与这个活动。
他说:“与这么多观众面对面的交流互动是一个很难得的机会，平时在展馆里很少有这样的契机。”“因为他的展览英文名称叫‘Double Happiness Dim Sum’,有些观众来了以后说以为这里会有点心吃，结果发现没有，感觉被误导了。但是这类的情感分享是很重要的。”
曾伟豪接着说：“有群孩子以为我的展厅隔壁有派对，还试图撞开门进去。还有人为了去隔壁的‘派对’把这整栋楼都转了个便。这正符合这个作品的创作意图。”
除了曾伟豪之外，今年艺术之夜还有另一位加拿大华人艺术家，他叫Jack Wong。他的作品“吃光盘中餐”创意是为参与者提供食物，但前提是展厅内的所有作为要坐满，同时大家要保证待到午夜12时。
哈法艺术之夜活动委员会主席Lorraine Plourde告诉我们，“边缘视觉”是今年艺术之夜所有作品的共同主题。
Plourde说：“这个主题吸引了很多来自不同社区艺术家们的艺术作品。当你身处为非主流社区的一员，你就常常会觉得自己与大环境格格不入，这种感受影响着今年的许多艺术家及他们的作品。”
每年，活动委员会都会收到许多作品提案。经过主委会的认真审查后，最符合活动主题的申请者才能在将自己的作品在活动期间展出。
“我们有各行各业的艺术家们来共同营造我们城市的艺术氛围，这就是我们想要推广的这座城市独有的艺术特质。”Plourde接着说：“这也是我们办活动的目的。”
曾伟豪认为，参与艺术之夜这样面向大众的艺术展，更能够增进多元文化背景下加拿大人对不同社区的了解。
他说：“每个作品都是艺术家们的文化缩影，因为艺术源于生活。不论你来自哪里，文化对一个人的影响都及其重要。艺术和生活是如此紧密的联系着，因此你的文化也就决定着你的艺术观。”
艺术之夜每年10月在哈法举行。2015年艺术之夜的具体时间将于数月后公布。(完)
One of Halifax’s biggest festivals Nocturne: Art At Night has quickly become one of the city’s must-attend events.
People of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures come out to take in a night of culture.
For artist Jeremy Tsang, his work ‘DOUBLE HAPPINESS DIM SUM’ is a reflection of his experience as Chinese immigrant to Canada.
“It kind of stems from my interests and my background as a Chinese Canadian and how when you move away from your homeland it’s sort of a new identity that you create,” he said. “You try to go through all of these different elements of re-associating yourself in a new environment.”
As Tsang describes his work, songs like Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab’ and Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ can be heard emanating from what appears to be a karaoke joint, flanked by Chinese symbols and barbed wire.
“I was always very intrigued by nooks and crannies as my art practise while I was studying and living here, numerous cities have that characteristic,” he said. “I met this guy who parks his motorcycle here every day and he just told me about how in the 90’s this space was more open because people weren’t targeting illegal drinking as much, and punk rock bands would play here.”
Nocturne takes place all over Halifax’s downtown, north end, and downtown Dartmouth. Dozens of artists participate and tens of thousands of people come each year to witness the city’s creativity.
This is Tsang’s first time participating in the festival, but he hopes to come back.
“It’s an opportunity to interact with such a huge audience, that you don’t normally get a chance to in a gallery setting,” he said. “So many people came and said ‘I thought there was dim sum, that’s such a bad trick,’ and these emotions are important.”
“A bunch of kids actually bashed through the door, thinking there actually was a party on the other side,” he said. “There were people trying to get there by exploring all the different parts of the building, which is part of it too.”
Tsang’s piece wasn’t the only exhibit on display by a Chinese-Canadian artist, Jack Wong’s ‘Clearing a Full Plate,’ at Gallery Page and Strange required attendees to stay until every seat was full, and promise to stay until midnight, if they wanted food.
Lorraine Plourde, chairperson of Nocturne’s board said each of the exhibits for 2014 were part of a unifying theme – peripheral visions.
“The theme really lent itself nicely to welcoming projects from various communities,” Plourde said. “When you are in a minority setting, sometimes you feel like you don’t belong to the majority group, and we saw that reflected in the projects.”
The event’s board receives proposals, which are then reviewed, and the applications that best suit the festival’s theme are approved.
“We want to highlight the qualities of the artistic community here in the city, and this is made up of a wide range of practises and people,” she said. “We want to have an event that reflects what the community is.”
Jeremy Tsang said participating in public art shows like Nocturne is a way for Canadians of diverse backgrounds to get to know each other better.
“Every artist is showing their cultural heritage, because your art stems from your own experience,” Tsang said. “No matter what culture you come from, it plays an important role in your upbringing. Art and life are so intertwined that your culture flows through the art subconsciously.”
Nocturne takes place each October, a date and theme will be picked for 2015’s festival in the coming months. (End)
