Art Pays Me

The Art Pays Me Podcast is a series of discussions about art, design, business and life with creatives of diverse backgrounds. Hosted by Nova Scotia based artist and designer, Duane Jones.

Chanelle Jefferson, Mixed media artist 06/24/2025

Stephanie Joline, 2024 Indigenous Artist Recognition Award 06/09/2025

Stephanie Joline, 2024 Indigenous Artist Recognition Award Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the . Presented annually by and the , these awards celebrate artistic excellence across Mi'kma'ki. This would not be possible without the fantastic production work of and . On this episode I spoke with 2024 Indigenous Artist recognition Award recipient, , an Indigenous filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is Stephanie’s second time on the show so it was great to catch up with her and get vulnerable about feeling like an outsider and deserving of awards. Equally adept at film and television, Stephanie's stories provoke conversation, break boundaries, and are deeply rooted in inclusivity and feminism. Her feature films include Night Blooms (2022), a coming-of-age story set in the 1990s, and Play Your Gender (2016), a documentary that pulls back the curtain on gender bias in the music industry. Stephanie has also directed for television and streaming platforms; (Women of This Land 2024, CBC; Words Matter 2022, CBC Gem; Stream Me 2020, Amazon Prime; Farm Crime 2020, CBC Gem; Spirit Talker 2019, APTN). In 2020, she was awarded the Irving Avrich Award from TIFF, recognizing rising Canadian talent. The following year, she was long-listed for the DGC Discovery Award, and in 2022, she received Best Nova Scotia Director from Women in Film and TV Atlantic and won her first Canadian Screen Award for directing in the factual television category. Stephanie's newest releases include I Place You Into the Fire, which weaves together documentary and animation as Mi'kmaw poet Rebecca Thomas illuminates the ongoing impact of colonization and shares insight into her world as an Indigenous artist. Brought to life by three Indigenous illustrators, the film offers a poignant exploration of empathy and justice. And Women of This Land, a documentary series that spotlights the resilience and cultural richness of Indigenous women in Atlantic Canada as they share their stories of connection to land and heritage. /episode/index/show/artpaysme/id/36930205

Aux Tale Gravy Music Group, Record label 05/26/2025

Susanne Chui, 2024 Established Artist Recognition Award 05/12/2025

Susanne Chui, 2024 Established Artist Recognition Award Welcome to a special series of Art Pays Me interviews with the winners of the . Presented annually by and the , these awards celebrate artistic excellence across Mi'kma'ki. This would not be possible without the fantastic production work of and . On this episode I spoke with Established Artist Award recipient, . A central figure in Halifax’s contemporary dance community, Susanne became Co-Artistic Director of in 2012. With Mocean, Susanne has developed roles in works by Heidi Strauss, Serge Bennathan, Tedd Robinson, Lesandra Dodson and Claire French, and co-created Burnwater: Alchemy with Erin Donovan (Hear Here Productions). Susanne trained professionally at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and was based in Toronto from 1999-2007. During that time she danced for many independent choreographers and extensively with Yvonne Ng, with whom she toured to Singapore in 2005. She was a founding member of TILT: sound + motion dance company, where she had the pleasure of performing works by some of Canada’s finest choreographers including, Robert Abubo, Marie-Julie Asselin, Bill Coleman, Lesandra Dodson, Deborah Dunn, Sasha Ivanochko, Sharon Moore, and Heidi Strauss. Since returning to Halifax, Susanne has become immersed in the dance community collaborating with dance artists Jacinte Armstrong, Lesandra Dodson, Veronique MacKenzie, Gwen Noah Dance, Phin Performing Arts, as well as with SiNS, a collective she co-founded in 2005 with Jacinte Armstrong and Sara Coffin. Susanne collaborates across disciplines, working regularly with master musician Jerry Granelli and teaching at Creative Music Workshop, an annual improvisation-based summer program. As a choreographer she has received funding from Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia and her works have been presented in Moncton, Toronto and in Halifax by Kinetic Studio and the TD Halifax Jazz Festival. She was the first recipient of Kinetic Studio’s Explorations Choreographic Scholarship and was the 2012 recipient of the Diane Moore Creation Scholarship. In 2016 she received the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia’s Masterworks Award, for her role as a dancer in Mocean’s Canvas 5 x 5, choreographed by Tedd Robinson. An active arts manager, Susanne has worked in various roles in the arts community. She has served on the boards of Live Art Dance Productions, Kinetic Studio and the Legacy Centre for the Performing Arts, and participated on various committees and juries including Arts Nova Scotia, City of Halifax, Nova Scotia Talent Trust and the Canadian Dance Assembly. She is a member of Dancer Transition Resource Centre, Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists and Canadian Dance Assembly. /episode/index/show/artpaysme/id/36533260