HALIFAX.- Nova Scotians and visitors to the province will enjoy a year of art dedicated to Nova Scotia’s artists. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia launched its 2015-16 season of exhibitions on March 18 with participation of several artists.

“Artists and the cultural community are a vital part of Nova Scotia, shaping our sense of ourselves and attracting visitors from other provinces and countries,” said Tony Ince, Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage. “A full year featuring Nova Scotian artists in the home of Nova Scotia’s art collection is only fitting.”

Blockbuster exhibitions John Greer : retroActive and Last Art College: Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 1968-1978 are expected to draw large crowds of art lovers with a special interest in Nova Scotia and its influence on contemporary art. John Devlin’s Springtime in Cambridge features visionary drawings that reflect the artist’s interior life. Devlin’s work is making an impact on the outsider art scene through galleries in Paris and New York.

Borrowing heavily from the language of wine, Terroir looks at regional artistic production through the culture from which it emerges through a re-examination of the permanent collection. This exhibition opens in April and remains on view until April 2016.

Two historical exhibitions, Arm’s Length: the Northwest Arm and the Artist and Greeting Cards and Other Ephemera from the artist, bring the province’s visual arts history and social history to life. These exhibitions always appeal broadly. The Path We Share features the work of four First Nations artists. Their collaborative exchange is centered on reconciling the parallel journeys of the Mi'kmaq People and the whales of the North Atlantic. Naked Craft will also touch on our history and social journey, bringing together leading ceramicists from Nova Scotia and Scotland.

The Sobey Art Award shortlist exhibition opens in the fall. This exhibition will feature the works of the five finalists, each representing a region of Canada, of a juried process leading to $100,000 in prizes funded by the Sobey Art Foundation.

Two major shows in Yarmouth will open this year. Lucy Jarvis: Even Stones Have Life opens in May; Capture 2014: Nova Scotian Realism opens in November. The latter is organized and circulated by the Dalhousie Art Gallery and Professional Living Artists of Nova Scotia, featuring highlights from a successful tour of the exhibition.

“Each year, exhibitions are developed by our curatorial team and approved by the board of directors to ensure we have a balance of expert and lay opinion in our planning,” said Ray Cronin, Director and CEO, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. “We’re proud to be able to present our next year of exhibitions to our members, donors and the public, who support us so well.”

In addition to the exhibitions announced, other exhibitions and programs will be planned. The next announcement of major exhibitions will be for 2016-17, and will take place in the winter of 2016.