Curtis Botham: Fishers

A Raw Look at Nova Scotia’s Iconic Industry

Lobster Fishers, 48 x 60 inches, 2024. Image credit: Document original

Curtis Botham: Fishers
A Raw Look at Nova Scotia’s Iconic Industry

February 15 – March 29, 2025
ARTSPLACE Gallery, Annapolis Royal, NS
www.arcac.ca

ARTSPLACE Gallery is proud to present Fishers, an exhibition of large-scale charcoal artworks by Curtis Botham that explores the realities of Nova Scotia’s commercial fishing industry. Botham has immersed himself in fishing communities across the province, engaging directly with fishers and processors to create a series that captures the industry’s labour, machinery, and working conditions with striking intensity.

“Fishers is a project I’ve been working on since 2021. My prior projects focused on Nova Scotia’s heavy industries in rural areas (coal, lumber, and steel); this project examines the most quintessential industry of the province,” said Botham.

Through firsthand experience on fishing boats out of Lunenburg, Liverpool, and Chester; observations at Ashmeg Seafoods in Sambro; and residencies across the province, Botham has developed a body of work that rejects the sentimental, postcard imagery of coastal life.

“This work presents the industry as raw, gritty, and deeply intertwined with the province’s economic and cultural fabric,” said Sophie Paskins, ARTSPLACE Gallery Director.

“This exhibition showcases all of the large-scale artworks completed in the project so far, with a documentary-style approach that sheds light on the hands and processes behind the seafood industry,” said Board Member Ted Lind.

The series serves as both an artistic record and a prompt for deeper conversations about sustainability, labour, and the evolving nature of the fishing trade. Looking ahead, Botham aims to continue expanding his study into topics such as First Nations fishing rights, open-pen fish farms, and the impact of industrial fishing practices.

“I hope to find ways to continue exploring this subject in the coming years, making art that illuminates the labour of seafood for people outside of the industry while making people who work in the industry see themselves and their labour as art,” Botham adds.

For further information please visit www.arcac.ca

Curtis Botham’s Fishers opening reception is Saturday, February 15, 2025, 12:00 – 2:00pm. Light refreshments served, all welcome. Artist Talk February 15, 1:00pm. Fishers continues through March 29. Artist residency March 1 – 29 (supported by The Robert Pope Foundation). Check the website for additional programming.

Sambro Harbour, 84 x 60 inches, 2023. Image credit: Document original

Curtis Botham graduated from NSCAD University in 2017. He has won numerous grants and awards, including scholarships from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, the Canada Games Young Artist of Excellence Award, and numerous grants from Arts Nova Scotia and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. His large-scale charcoal drawings have been displayed in galleries around Nova Scotia, and three of his works have been purchased by the Nova Scotia Art Bank.

ARTSPLACE is a public art gallery that is operated by the Annapolis Region Community Arts Council (ARCAC). ARCAC is a registered charity, dedicated to encouraging and promoting the arts. Supported through the Province of Nova Scotia and the Canada Council for the Arts.

ARTSPLACE Gallery
396 St. George Street, Annapolis Royal, NS
www.arcac.ca
admin@arcac.ca
902-532-7069

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Accessibility: ARTSPLACE is accessible via an outdoor ramp to the main floor galleries. There is an accessible, gender neutral washroom on the main floor.