Our Common Woods facilitated by The Deanery Project is one of many public artworks installed across the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The Deanery Project: Erin Philip, Alan Syliboy, Steve Sekerak, Theodore Heffler, Cary Staple, 2017
Repurposed wood from trees removed during redevelopment
Halifax Common
About the artwork
In 2014 construction began on redevelopment of lands bordering the Halifax Commons. Widening of North Park and Cunard streets to make way for two new roundabouts led to the cutting of approximately 15 maple and elm trees ranging in age from 40-120 years old.
When trees are cut from our urban forests they are typically chipped up and sent to the landfill for cover or occasionally bucked up for firewood. Rarely, very rarely, they find their way to a craftsperson and are turned into value added wood products ranging from tables and boxes to benches and spoons or buildings.
The City of Halifax engaged the Deanery Project, an environmental and arts learning centre on the Eastern Shore, to facilitate a process and curate a program where trees cut on the Halifax Commons will be used to create 5 art projects which will be installed on the Commons during the summer of 2017.
A curatorial approach was taken to select artists who had strong connections to forests, the arts, and a high level of skill in woodcraft. The curatorial team includes: Kim Thompson and Stuart Reddish from the Deanery Project. The artists selected were: Alan Syliboy, Erin Phillips, Gary Staple, Theo Heffler and Steve Sekerak. Robert Conrod is the sawyer.
The artworks stand as iconic sculptural pieces at their respective locations. The series of works, named “Our Common Roots”, were never meant to be permanent but the city aimed to maintain the pieces in consultation with The Deanery to maximize their lifespan on site.
In 2024, due to wear and tear, one of the pieces Flight, by Erin Philip, will be removed. It was particularly vulnerable as it was meant to be a functional work that inspired play and engagement. Through consultation with The Deanery and the artist to see what could be done to extend the lifespan it was decided that this work has run its natural course and there is no further intervention we can do without changing the intention of the work completely.
Maintenance work has also taken place on two others of the Our Common Woods series, elm elm maple elm by Theodore Heffler has been tended to by the artist removing a large chunk of rotted wood, and the paddles from the Mi’kmaw Sign Post by Alan Sylliboy were replaced in consultation with the artist. The Bench, by Steve Sekerak, which was never installed will soon find its home inside the Halifax Common Aquatic Facility community space.
About the artist
The Deanery has become a dynamic education and demonstration site for environmental sustainability, skills development, the arts, and community building. Our staff is available to work with groups to develop experiential, place-based learning activities on our site, or in their communities. We support a wide range of ways for groups and individuals to engage with our space, and our team, from workshops, meetings and retreats, to special events and artist residencies.
Alan Syliboy is an internationally renowned Mi’kmaw artist, filmmaker, musician and social justice advocate whose works have inspired renewed community pride in Mi’kmaw culture and heritage. He lives on the Millbrook First Nation reserve in Truro.
Gary Staple designs and builds fine furniture, as well as custom commissions, out of his busy new shop in Seaforth.
Gary learned carpentry the old-fashioned way, working under well-seasoned carpenters on the Eastern Shore, and eventually starting his own contracting company with a friend. Left wanting more, he sold everything he owned in 2013 and journeyed to the best furniture making school he could find, the Thomas Chippendale International School of furniture in Scotland.
Steve Sekerak is a master craftsman/fine woodworker living in a gorgeous old church he and his wife repurposed as their home, overlooking Jeddore Harbour on the Eastern Shore. He retired in 2007 after 23 years as artist in residence at the Dalhousie School of Architecture.
Erin Philip has worked across Canada building and restoring furniture, and wooden boats. She currently practices her craft in Lunenburg where she continues to expand her interests in fine wood-working, education and history.
Based in Nova Scotia, Theodore Heffler is a sculptor and installation artist working predominantly with natural materials. His interest in the social context of these materials informs a bridging of sculpture and craft, the formal and the everyday, and contemplates our relationship to nature in the information age. Through process, participation, and locality, Heffler’s practice shapes new ways of experiencing our changing landscapes.