Rooted in the French word terre, meaning “land,” the term terroir is often used in the culinary world, particularly the wine industry, to describe special characteristics and attributes within a geographic territory in relationship to local climatic conditions and organic features. Terroir, then, can be understood as the sum of the effects that the physical and climatic environment has on the production of certain goods, like wine, in concert with interwoven sequences of the human decision-making process. Here, in Terroir: a Nova Scotia Survey, we see how this set of ideas translates to contemporary artistic output: local histories and traditions, the human condition within a specific place.

Terroir: a Nova Scotia Survey presents new and recent work by 29 artists with ties to and from around the province. Included are pieces by Wayne Boucher, Mark Bovey, Carly Butler, Matthew Collins, Melanie Colosimo, Frances Dorsey, Denise Dumas, Margarita Fainshtein, Steve Farmer, Lorraine Field, Angela Glanzmann, Ursula Johnson, Laura Kenney, Janice Leonard, Anne Macmillan, John Macnab, Dawn MacNutt, Sarah Maloney, John Mathews, Ben Mosher, Jayé Ouellette, Susan Paterson, Amanda Rhodenizer, Steven Rhude, Kent Senecal, David Stephens, Susan Tooke, Christopher Webb, and Charley Young.

From painters, weavers, sculptors, printmakers, makers of video and installation art, hookers, and beyond, Nova Scotia is home to some of the country’s finest artists. Terroir: a Nova Scotia Survey showcases that talent and unearths its roots.