Description
An established Mi'kmaq artist, Alan Syliboy's work is influenced by the indigenous Mi'kmaq rock drawing and quill weaving traditions. Alan Syliboy studied privately with Shirley Bear and attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where twenty-five years later, he was invited to sit on the Board of Governors.
The definitive retrospective of the incredible career of one of Mi'kma'ki's most prolific artists, featuring 70+ colour images as well as essays from curators, art historians, Mi'kmaw artists and scholars.
"Most of my subjects deal with family, searching, struggle, and strength… All these things are part of my art, and my art gives me strength for my continuing spiritual quest." —Alan Syliboy
Alan Syliboy's artistic output is immediately recognizable across Mi'kma'ki and especially in Nova Scotia. His vibrant colours, flowing lines, and luminous figures—moving across murals, books, albums, and gallery walls?have become part of the cultural landscape, beloved for the stories they carry and the ancestors they honour.
Alan Syliboy: The Journey So Far presents more than seventy full-colour images, highlighting works from his 2024 Dalhousie Art Gallery retrospective along with additional imagery. It features essays by gallery curator Pamela Edmonds and Mi'kmaq artists and scholars Catherine Anne Martin, Diane Langevin, Michelle Sylliboy, Catherine Girard, and Aaron Prosper, plus an in-depth artist interview.
This landmark volume fills a critical gap in Canadian art history, showing that Syliboy's practice is more than artmaking—it is the sustenance of memory, voice, and a distinctly Mi'kmaq way of seeing that moves across generations.