Bio

Cortney S. Cassidy is an emerging artist based in Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Canada). They are a recent graduate of NSCAD University, with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. They are the recipient of awards such as the Joseph Beuys Memorial Scholarship and the Robert Pope Painting Endowment Scholarship. They have a wide range of experience in arts facilitation, community engagement and arts administrative roles. In June 2024, they were the selected 2024 VANS Artist in Residence at ARTsPLACE in Annapolis Royal, NS. They were the selected 2024-2025 NSCAD x MacPhee Artist in Residence in Dartmouth, NS.

Artist Statement

My work explores ideas and experiences around gender, queerness, spirituality, fear and dreams, while contemplating the complex histories of painting, which hold many stories of dominance, oppression and exclusion. I am excited by the secret visual languages that have been developed by those left out of painting’s history. I use bright colour palettes, movement, gender ambiguous forms and imagined environments to explore sense and perception, translated through a queer body. Community collaboration and mentorship is a key part of my practice, as I believe creative discussions and interdependence are essential in nourishing my work and the groups that I’m involved in.