CBU to Host Ellen Furey as 2023 Artist in Residence

Cape Breton University is excited to announce Ellen Furey as the University’s 2023 Artist in Residence. Furey’s artistic path began in Unama’ki/Cape Breton, and at the age of 18 she left the Island to study music, theatre and dance, eventually turning toward experimental dance and theatre. As CBU’s Artist in Residence, Furey hopes to connect with new people, build on cohesiveness and break away some of the leftover isolation from the first years of the pandemic. 

Each year, CBU hosts an Artist in Residence who joins the campus for a four-month term during which they pursue creative projects, connect with students and employees and engage with the Island community. The initiative was developed to create partnerships with artists who share a passion for enriching the creative arts experience. During her residency, Furey will be offering a variety of workshops and classes for CBU students and the general public. 

“The Artist in Residence program will afford me with a rare opportunity,” says Furey. “It is incredible to share and exchange my work with the place I was raised.”

Throughout the past 11 years, Furey has had the opportunity to present her work in England, USA, Belgium, France, Germany, Scotland, Switzerland and Austria. Cultural exchange and creating in different contexts has been an important element in her understanding of a wider artistic conversation. Furey has worked in co-authorship with UK artist, Malik Nashad Sharpe, on their last two major performance works, and with a range of independent artists in different ways over the past decade. She has been a part of several projects as a dance dramaturg and artistic advisor. Since 2019, Furey has been working formally as an advisor, co-curator and now consultant of Montreal dance organization, Danse-Cité. Over the past two and a half years, her two areas of focus have been intuitive/spiritual practice and conflict management.

The Artist in Residence program is just one way CBU is working to foster creative arts on campus. “It is a rare opportunity to have an artist of Ellen’s calibre in our community,” says CBU Creative Arts Coordinator and Director of the Boardmore Theatre, Todd Hiscock. “Her presence over the next four months will surely ignite the creative energies of our campus and community.” 

Students are invited to participate in workshops and attend performances to learn and experience experimental emergent forms, embodied practice and expression through movement. For a full list of community and on-campus events, visit cbu.ca/events. 

For more information on the Artist in Residence program, visit cbu.ca/artist-in-residence.