Bachelor of Fine Arts student, Sydney Currie, has been selected as valedictorian by the 2025 graduating class.
Currently based in Halifax, Sydney is originally from Ottawa, Ontario. Her painting practice is process-driven, investigating the relationship between intuitive, automatic gesture and deliberate, critical reflection. Rooted in somatics, observation, and meditation, her work is currently abstract, and aims to construct embodied, emotionally vulnerable spaces.
During her time at NSCAD, Sydney participated in multiple group exhibitions, co-curated several artistic projects, and deepened her commitment to process-based experimentation—which resulted in her debut solo exhibition, The Dance, at the Anna Leonowens Gallery in January 2025.
Tell us about your art journey to NSCAD?
Funny story, NSCAD was the only school I applied to for my post-secondary education. I’m happy to say it worked out.
I first heard about NSCAD through my incredible friend Amy, who’s high school held a university fair. NSCAD had a table there and they gave her a brochure. She knew I was thinking about applying to art school, so the next time we were together, she gave me the brochure. We must have been 15-years-old at this point, which is so special to think about. After the 10th Grade that summer, I was visiting Halifax to see my grandmother and some family, and toured NSCAD’s campuses. It changed everything for me. I knew this was a community I would thrive in.
What was your reaction when you found out you were elected valedictorian?
I was very honoured. It felt like a full-circle moment. I’ve been lucky to meet so many fantastic people at this school, and the support of my peers means a lot. I’m happy to address and congratulate everyone after receiving their well-earned degrees.
What were the practices you did to help you keep your grades up?
I thought of my studio as a homebase, it was my anchor to rely on. Every morning, I would leave my house and go to the studio to write out all my tasks for the day. Sometimes on really big paper with pastels or paint (bright colours helped). Maintaining that practice was grounding and allowed me to be productive in all sorts of ways, academic and not. I think location is really important. My advice is to find the spaces that work for you or build them yourself. Cover those studio walls in big papers if it helps you keep tabs on your responsibilities. Also, I always kept in mind that the mandatory art history classes only benefited my artistic practice! They are a valuable addition, not a hindrance. Sitting with my paintings as I wrote essays was always my strategy.
Who are your biggest academic influences?
Classmates were some of my greatest influences, but I’ve also had a great experience with professors at NSCAD. Someone who jumps to mind straight away is Sara Hartland-Rowe, who I first met in my second year. She taught me about learning to ‘kill your darlings,’ which, in the context of painting, means being comfortable with erasing or painting over something that you are emotionally tied to, but that is not serving the painting as a whole. She taught me how to sit with that fear and discomfort, and to trust the work at every stage.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned at NSCAD?
For me, it’s learning how to lean into fear. Experiencing fear is actually experiencing the edge of something really special. You’re going to learn something if you take a step forward, either about yourself or the people around you.
I think this is extremely relevant in a critique context. Critique is a sacred space, as HaeAhn Kwon taught me in Intermediate Sculpture. Making a conscious effort to contribute and to show up for others is invaluable. I’ve learnt to jump into conversations even when I’m experiencing doubt.
What’s been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned outside of the classroom?
That community is everything. That growth happens in conversations. It’s easy to contextualize this in a classroom setting when we’re all assigned a seat, but as soon as we step outside, it’s even more important to foster these connections and to build spaces where people can be together. Whether it’s asking someone on a coffee date, or to go for a drink after class, keeping people in your bubble is huge and helped me a lot.
If you could go back to your first year, what advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell myself that these people are your people. Artists will understand you in a way that you’ve never felt before. I would give myself the permission to be vulnerable, always—in critique, in class, in meeting new people. To keep your heart open. It goes a long way for inviting people in but also for strengthening that voice inside of you.
Do you have any advice for younger students?
Make your voice heard and show up to events! One of my goals at the beginning of my time at NSCAD was to go to every opening at the Anna Leonowens Gallery on Monday nights. Having done that consistently for years now, I’ve gotten to know so many great people and engaged with all sorts of work in a gallery setting.
Otherwise, just give this experience your full heart and people will feel it. I’ve always been really authentic in the work that I’ve done here, and it’s paid off in so many unexpected ways.
What are your plans after graduation?
After moving out of NSCAD and into a new space, a new homebase, my plans are to keep painting and keep talking about art with the people I love.
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Sydney Currie will be addressing the graduating class of 2025 in a valedictory speech at NSCAD’s Convocation ceremony on May 13. You can check out Sydney’s portfolio on her website or follow her on Instagram.